THE GONG SHOW - The Long Center Non Equity Auditions

AWARD-WINNING LUNACY
AUDIENCE FRENZY
GROUP SALES DELIRIUM
BOX OFFICE MADNESS

“Yes, it’s back and it’s live and it is even more fun than the original if possible.”
-Laurie Lawson,
eljnyc.com



THE GONG SHOW LIVE
Off-Broadway’s 5th Sold-Out Season’s
Inaugural Blow-Out Bash
To Happen

1,744 Miles West Of New York
at
THE LONG CENTER
in
AUSTIN, TEXAS

October 16

TEXAS OPEN AUDITIONS

Saturday, September 27
for
International Casting Director
ROBERT RUSSELL
at
THE HIGHBALL

BRING IT, TEXAS. YOU ROCK.



Yodeling Milkmaids. Singing Spoons. Dancing Goats.
Ukelele-Playing Boris Karloffs. Unimaginable Contortionists.
Break-Dancing Soccer Moms. Gene Gene The Teen Machine.
B-Level Movie Starlets. Interpretive Dancing Superheros.
Fire-Throwing Gypsy Women. Robot Strippers.
Russian Sword Balancers. Disco Ballooniacs.
Waacking Dance Champions. Hollywood Lushes.
Shakespearean Bus Drivers.
Three Nuns. Two Cougars. And A Medium.

On Thursday, October 16, 2014, THE GONG SHOW LIVE will unleash its inaugural Fifth Season Blow-Out Bash one thousand seven hundred and eleven miles West of its Off-Broadway home at Austin, Texas’ THE LONG CENTER (701 West Riverside Drive).

And it’s going to be a lollapalooza.

Host Ray Ellin is bulking up.

Executive Producer/Director Leslie Gold is in serious Pre-Game.

The cast is chomping at the bit.

And.

The New York Management is flying in National Casting Director, ROBERT RUSSELL, to hold OPEN AUDITIONS for the GREAT STATE of TEXAS and its talent pool who all deserve a chance at the National SPOTLIGHT and a spot on stage in THE GONG SHOW.

The TEXAS OPEN AUDITIONS will take place on Saturday. September 27 from 2:00pm to 5:00pmat THE HIGHBALL (1120 S Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX) which is preparing for the onslaught.

At least two acts will be chosen for the Austin Premiere. The rest will live on in Mr. Russell’s heart and mind.

Mr. Russell will be looking for singers, dancers, jugglers, fire eaters, impersonators, comedians with a twist, musicians who surprise, aliens, strongmen, weak men and people who do astonishing things with their body parts to augment the already cast yodeling milkmaids, singing spoons, dancing goats, ukelele-playing Boris Karloffs, unimaginable contortionists, break-dancing soccer moms, B-Level movie starlets. interpretive dancing superheroes, fire-throwing Gypsy women, robot strippers, Russian sword balancers, Hollywood lushes, Shakespearean bus drivers, three nuns, two cougars and a medium.

BRING IT, AUSTIN. PLEASE. WE NEED YOUR GENIUS.

THE SHOW’S HISTORY
Executive Produced and Directed by LESLIE GOLD (The Award-Winning Radiochick) and produced by Emmy-Nominated Peppy Castro and Broadway’s Kenn Lubin in association with Sony Television Pictures, THE GONG SHOW LIVE opened in New York at B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill (42nd Street) on Thursday, August 12, 2010 as a tri-annual sold-out event, which garnered across-the-board rave notices that, after two years, led to the move to the brand new Cutting Room where it opened on Thursday, November 1, 2012 to more critically acclaimed sold-out shows and where it still holds forth these many years later.


THE INTERNATIONAL & ICONIC BACKGROUND
Between the years of 1976 and 1981 THE GONG SHOW was aired to millions of households in six countries where it collected billions of dollars from its advertisers. It was one of the most recognized brands in the worldwide pop culture lexicon. Its very title promised a good time. Guaranteed. Money back. Good time. Designed and built specifically for its audience, it delivered euphoric results to EVERYONE watching at home; but MOST importantly to EVERYONE in the Studio Audience. Hundreds and thousands of people barnstormed the NBC Studios in Burbank, California daily in the hopes of getting tickets to this runaway train. The real fun was being there and EVERYONE in America knew it. THE GONG SHOW experience was AUDIENCE-OBSESSED and manically driven by an elf-sized nuclear reactor called CHUCK BARRIS who reveled in the presentation of the famous winner’s $516.32 check endorsed by the network’s brass back at the Head Office, an office he was filling with mountains of cash from the 24 network shows he was single-handedly producing.

THE GONG SHOW LIVE is an even better idea than The Gong Show on TV. It’s LIVE. In a theatre. Where most of the 1970’s American population wanted to be. Right there and up close with the lunacy.

THE CASTING DIRECTOR
Leslie Gold hired New York Casting Director, ROBERT RUSSELL, to cast THE GONG SHOW LIVE. She wanted the best acts in the world. She wanted the most unique acts on earth. She wanted these acts to astonish, amaze, astound and stupefy the audience. She wanted better acts than anything on the networks. She wanted the impossible. Well. Mr. Russell auditioned over one thousand acts. Thirty-five were chosen. Fourteen of which will perform nightly. Mr. Russell delivered. Gong that!

And now he’s on his way to Austin.

An A-list casting director with over 25 years under his belt. Mr. Russell is a unique casting director with a talent for finding the unusual. He has worked for such heavyweights as Warner Brothers, Telepictures, Mark Burnett, Merv Griffin Entertainment, VH1 and every major television network. Robert cast such monster television shows as “Survivor,”,“Big Brother,” “The Bachelor,” “The Apprentice,” “Change of Heart,” “VH1’s My Generation,” “The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll” and “Rock Star INXS” to name just a few. In the reality TV world Robert Russell is known as “The Go To Casting Guru”. In addition, Robert has been tapped to cast full length feature films such as “Burlesque” and “Go Go Tales”. Robert’s interest in The Gong Show comes from his love for the original show and the challenge of replicating and elevating Chuck Barris’ vision on stage.

THE CELEBRITY JUDGES
The acts will be judged by a panel of celebrity judges including Miss Gold, Chuck Nice and an Austin Icon.

THE GONG
All judges have GONG privileges.

THE GONG SHOW 10 ORCHESTRA
Keyboard - Frank Pisani
Guitar -Artie Dillon
Bass- Jimmy Caputo
Drums-Felipe Torres/Peter Greco
Musical Director- Frank Pisani

THE 21st CENTURY HOST
Ray Ellin started his career as a standup comic, improviser and writer in his teens. He is the host of the all-new GONG SHOW LIVE, a resurrection of the legendary ‘70s talent competition. He recently hosted/co-created the pilot for the TV game show Worth The Wait. Ray also hosted LateNet With Ray Ellin, the first comedy/variety show to simultaneously combine both in-studio and interactive online audiences. The show features A-List celebrities, top comedians and musical guests including Chevy Chase, Hank Azaria, Leonard Nimoy, Paul Shaffer, Fran Drescher, Gilbert Gottfried and more. In addition to LateNet With Ray Ellin, Ray has been the host and writer of the syndicated television shows: The Movie Loft, New York Now, Premium TV and BrianFuel TV. Ray has hosted hundreds of live events; corporate, charity, sporting, fashion and, of course, comedy. He has a long list of television credits including appearances on HBO, FOX, VH1, DISCOVERY, ABC, NBC and England’s Mancs vs. Yanks. Ray was also profiled on Dateline NBC in which it was discovered that his blood pressure actually drops right before he goes on stage! Profiling the top three Latin comics in the country, Ray executive produced, directed and wrote the film The Latin Legends of Comedy which was distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. Ray co-created, produced and wrote the animated seriesLa Familia featuring John Leguizamo, and the Jack Daniel’s Latino Comedy Series, a 13-week comedy event in New York City. The enormously successful program was tapped by other major U.S. cities including Chicago and Miami. As an actor, Ray has taken on a variety of theater roles. He co-starred in the romantic comedy Killing Cinderella, and produced and co-starred in the short films Yellow, The Try-Out, The Face, Felix the Painter and Felix’s Rhapsody. He has appeared in several television commercials including spots for Volkswagen, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Budweiser and a multi-part campaign for the Sci-Fi Channel. Ray lives in New York, has two older sisters, has no tolerance for women who don’t eat on dates and likes Barry Manilow.

THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / THE DIRECTOR / HEAD JUDGE

Leslie Gold is an accomplished broadcaster based in NYC with a 12 year record of success. Currently she is heard on 150 stations across The Fox News Radio Network. Gold is a persuasive, provocative and compelling communicator who is always well-informed. Her television experience includes hosting a program of her own, and recurring guest spots on numerous news and entertainment outlets. “The Radiochick” has inspired intense audience loyalty, and has achieved remarkable ratings success in many desired demos. Her previous history as a successful entrepreneur provides credibility and perspective to all Gold's on-air work. Gold is also Executive Producer and rights holder of “The Gong Show Live - Off Broadway” a professional, theatrical recreation of the iconic television show.

RADIO
Created, built and hosted “The Radiochick Show” for 10 years (1999-2009) in NYC, a daily 4 hour talk show combining news discussions, interviews with celebrities and newsmakers, comedy and undercover segments. At WNEW, the Radiochick rapidly took the show from 17th to 3rd among men. Hosting the morning show at Q104.3, she was the only woman headlining a morning drive radio show in New York. In little more than a year she delivered the highest morning show ratings in the station’s history. At Sirius Satellite Radio she created one of the most popular and exciting shows on the service, and one day collapsed the company's phone system from caller overload. While at CBS Radio/WFNY, she was given the ever-important afternoon drive timeslot, was syndicated to other markets, and headlined her own event at the Hard Rock Café in New York City which was filled to capacity and had fans lining up for hours to attend. Gold has also maintained an excellent relationship with advertisers, with many sponsors loyally following her as her program evolved over time. Gold was invited to guest host on the Fox News Radio Network, an invitation which turned into a recurring host position on the 150 station network.

TELEVISION
Host of the “The Radiochick on the Prowl” which was specifically created for Time Warner's Metro Channel. In addition to her own show, Leslie has made many other television appearances including Larry King Live, Nightline, The CBS Early Show, ABC Nightly News, MSNBC,CNBC, CNN, Fox News, WB11 News. In 2004 she was a recurring contributor to Fox's Good Day NY. She appears often on the Fox Business Channel.


THE LONG CENTER
The Long Center is Austin’s Creative Home, built “by the community, for the community.” The organization is primarily funded by private citizens and corporations and by nature understands the importance of giving. As a non-profit, the Long Center collaborates with community partners to sponsor educational programs, host free events on the City Terrace, subsidize rental costs for emerging art groups, and gift tickets to charitable and community-minded organizations. The Long Center also provides the best overall live entertainment experience of any venue in Austin. It is home to the Symphony, Opera and Ballet and boasts additional eclectic programming spanning diverse audiences. A commitment to acoustic excellence combined with exceptional theater site lines and an unparalleled outdoor view of Austin creates a magical experience and lasting memories. Austinites of all ages and interests are invited to explore the Long Center to expand their cultural perspective and appreciation of the arts. For more information, please visit TheLongCenter.org or call (512) 474-LONG (5664) for ticket information.

THE THEATRE
The Long Center
701 West Riverside Drive
Austin, Texas

THE PLAYING SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 16, 2014

CURTAIN:
7:30pm

TICKETS:

(512) 474-5664),
(800) 735-2989

http://thelongcenter.org/event/gong-show-live/

APPROPRIATE FOR: The entire family.