INTO THE WOODS – Equity Principal Auditions
New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater LORT $765/week minimum.
Book: James Lapine
Music: Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Dir: Timothy Sheader
Co-Dir: Liam Steel
Casting: Jordan Thaler/Heidi Griffiths
1st reh: 6/19/12. Runs at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park from 7/24-8/19.
Equity Principal Auditions:
Thursday, February 2, 2012 Chelsea Studios
10 AM – 6 PM 151 West 26th Street, 6th Floor
Lunch from 1:30 – 2:30. New York City
Please prepare a brief, contemporary musical theater song. No pop/rock/R&B. No a cappella singing. Bring sheet music in the correct key; an accompanist will be provided, but may not transpose.
Please bring a photo and resume, stapled back-to-back.
Seeking (all roles are available):
Casting Directors’ note: “This is a physically demanding ensemble production on a multi-level stage. All cast members must be extremely comfortable with climbing stairs and with contributing to the aesthetics of this production’s universe outside of their individual roles, both through acting and physicality.”
Baker:
35+. Role for a performer who is equal parts actor and singer, as he carries the main conflict and emotion of the show. The Baker is an anxious but goodhearted man who feels somewhat powerless to create the life he wants. His charm and lovability come from his lack of status, his anxieties and his boy-next-door qualities. A reluctant hero with good intentions who is sometimes held back by a fear of being assertive or upsetting others. Ultimately learns that taking responsibility is the only way to serve his goals without harming others.
Baker's Wife:
30+. Driven by her strong desire to start a family at any cost. Quick on her feet and industrious of thought. She is a clever woman who manipulates her husband when necessary and is not willing to take a backseat in determining her own fate. Her story is largely about discovering how her actions affect the world beyond her own family. She is an everywoman. Role for an actress with emotional range and highly evolved comedic gifts.
The Witch:
30s-50s. Frightened, aggressive and possessive woman, still hung up on her childhood experiences. She is driven by an intense need for her world to be set right and for a sense of family and belonging as well as power and beauty. She wants it all, including emotional fulfillment, and is not afraid to use any means to get it. Trapped in a cycle of abuse that ultimately gives way to a moment of transcendence. Her transformation from Act 1 to Act 2 requires an actress with enormous vocal, emotional and physical range.
Narrator:
9-12. Seeking a young boy with strong musical, movement and acting skills. Unafraid to be the center of things. A sense of adventure and curiosity, but also a definite sense of self. This is HIS story. He is on stage throughout.
Jack:
Seeking actor 18+ to play early teens believably. Jack is a naïve teenager in the midst of puberty at its most awkward stage, acne and all, and discovering his sexuality. Full of life and possibilities. His spirit of adventure is often tempered by his fear of the world beyond his mother's apron strings.
Jack's Mother:
45+. Single mother who has raised her son under hardship. Working-class and unsentimental. Strong comedy, which conceals a tough broad. Not a fairy-tale old-lady mother.
Cinderella:
20s. An outsider in her own family, led by a strong sense of morals. Usually caring and kind, but with a bit of grit and the fortitude to learn from her struggles and come out stronger. At first a loner and a dreamer, she comes of age as she falls in love, suffers betrayal and ultimately takes responsibility for her own actions, wishes and desires. Not necessarily a Disney princess.
Cinderella's Stepmother:
40+. Used to an elevated level of comfort and status, and invested in retaining that life. Dry and angular. Role for a strong character actress with a little hauteur and edge as well as humor.
Florinda and Lucinda (The Stepsisters):
20s-30s. Full of character. Attractive in their folly. Witty. Most concerned with their own happiness. Long, lean and mean. Strong singers, strong dancers. Actors in these roles will cover other principal roles.
Prince / Wolf:
30s: Prince: A great sense of irony and pastiche needed. A film-star-like look, with the relevant narcissism. Wolf: Raw and compelling predator. Genuine sex appeal.
2nd Prince:
30s. Film-star-like look, with the relevant narcissism. Great sense of irony and pastiche.
Little Red Riding Hood:
Seeking actor 18+ to play early teens believably. Little Red is an impish teenager who is in the midst of puberty. She is discovering her sexuality and what it can do for her very quickly, yet she retains a level of innocence. Confident, spunky. Overindulges in everything, including food and sweets. Strident and no-nonsense. Full-figured a plus. Actor in this role will cover other principal roles.
Mysterious Man:
55+. A ghost-like presence. A man who has run away from his responsibilities, but has never escaped his own guilt. His conscience has led him to return to fix past mistakes, but not to an extent that leads him to directly engage in the action. NOT doubling with the narrator.
Rapunzel:
20s. In the first act, she is a fairy-tale siren and yearning beauty. In the second act, she becomes a neurotic, addicted, worn-down single mother of two. Actor in this role will cover other principal roles.
Granny:
40+. Seeking character actress to play Little Red Riding Hood’s granny. Granny is spunky and no-nonsense. Lives alone in the woods without fear. Doesn’t concern herself with how she comes off to others, either in appearance or behavior. Needs to be of the same brash world as Little Red. Actor in this role will cover other principal roles.
Cinderella’s Mother:
Late 20s – early 30s. Classic fairy-tale dead mother, at the age at which she died. Beautiful and serene. Held up in Cinderella’s memory as an example of perfect kindness and care. Actor in this role will cover other principal roles.
Steward:
30-50. Steward to the Prince. Officious. Determined to fulfill his duties at any cost. Actor in this role will cover other principal roles.
Casting Directors’ statement: “PLEASE NOTE: We are committed to casting diverse companies. We are seeking qualified actors of all cultures and ages.”
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