MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - Woodstock Arts Non Equity Auditions

Much Ado About Nothing

Directed by

Claire F. Martin

Age Range

18+

General Auditions

November 10th, 6 p.m - 10 p.m

Callbacks

November 15th, in the afternoon

What To Prepare

Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue from an English-language play written before 1800.

Payment

Actors will be paid a stipend of $150 at the end of the run of performances

About

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

For Beatrice and Benedick, wit is a full-contact sport, and each is happy to throw some elbows, believing themselves to above something as trivial as “love.” But would they really be pushing back if they weren’t…fighting against something? Their friends sure see right through all their bickering and sparring into what is hiding in their hearts. Sometimes a stubborn soul just needs that proverbial kick in the pantaloons to get out of their own way.

Set against the backdrop of soldiers returning home from World War II, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is fun and funny, but sharply aware of the “battle of the sexes” and the twists and turns in how our society values women, this adaptation by Claire F. Martin is going to have you laughing, crying, swooning, swaying, and reflecting all in one.

Rehearsals/Important Dates –

Rehearsals Start – December 8th Mon/Tues/Thurs from 6:30p-10p.

There will be no rehearsals from December. 20th through January 3rd.

First Saturday – January 24th from 9a-5p
Q2Q Saturday – January 31st from 9a-5p
Tech Week – February 2nd – 5th from 6p-10p

Performances – February 2nd -22nd (
Show Page)

Pay Rate –

We are able to pay actors a stipend of $150 for this production, with a $25 bump in pay for understudies/swings when going on for a performance, capped at $200.

PREPARATION

Woodstock Arts is deeply committed to building an inviting and inclusive arts community that celebrates the individual and diversity and treats everyone with fairness and respect. We invite artists of all genders, races, ages, sizes, and sexual orientations, as well as artists with disabilities to participate. We want to represent diverse communities in our organization and welcome you here.

Woodstock Arts is taking measures to ensure your safety and well-being. We want to make this experience as comfortable, safe, and fun as possible for everyone involved.

Auditions will be in-person on Monday, November 10th, from 6 p.m to 10 p.m.

Video audition submissions will be accepted until Monday, November 10th, at 8:00p.m. Auditions received after this time may not be considered. You can send your Video Submission to
zach@woodstockarts.org. Please Slate before your video audition. (NOTE: you will still need to fill out the online audition form along with a video submission.)

In-person callbacks for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will be on Saturday, November 15th in the afternoon between 11 a.m and 5 p.m.

Information about callbacks will be emailed separately.

For your audition please prepare-Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue from an English-language play written before 1800.

CASTING BREAKDOWNS- All roles are open ethnicity unless otherwise stated.

We are able to cast a company of 10 actors and two understudies. Most roles will double in some fashion.

Voice 1 (Margaret/Sexton)

• Margaret (20s) is a live-in maid at the Governor’s Mansion. She is close friends with Governor Leonato’s daughter Hero and his niece Beatrice. Margaret is clever, flirtatious, and eager to make her mark on the world.
• The Sexton (60+) is a world-weary bureaucrat who just wants to retire.

Voice 2 (Beatrice)

• Beatrice (30s/40s) is Governor Leonato’s niece and a proud “spinster” who thinks most men are a waste of space. She is best friends with her young cousin Hero, and has a rocky, banter-filled relationship with her ex, Benedick.

Voice 3 (Hero/Seacoal)

• Hero (22) is Governor Leonato’s daughter and a recent graduate of Wellesley College. She adores her cousin Beatrice, and has a huge crush on a young soldier named Claudio.
• Jane Seacoal (any age) is a volunteer neighborhood security guard who’s afraid her new boss Dogberry might be a lunatic.

Voice 4 (Leonato/First Watchman)

• Leonato/Leonata (50+) is the Governor of Messina and the proud parent of Hero. Doting, protective, and old-fashioned, Leonato is eager for life to get “back to normal” after the end of WW2.

Voice 5 (Messenger/Borachio)

• Messenger (20s/30s) is a chief warrant officer in the US Army who grew up in Massachusetts.
• Borachio (20s/30s) is a soldier from a poor family in New York who served under Don John in the Balkans. Street-smart, edgy, and charismatic, Borachio has an on-again, off-again relationship with Margaret.

Voice 6 (Don Pedro/Verges)

• Don Pedro (30s/40s) is a colonel in the US Army, originally hailing from Massachusetts. A natural prankster, Don Pedro is ready to kick back and relax with his friends after a grueling tour of duty. If only his party-pooping little brother Don John wasn’t hanging around.
• Verges (86) is the Deputy Captain of the Governor’s neighborhood security detail. Should he still be working a this job in his eighties? Probably not. Will he quit? Absolutely not; that’s how the Germans win.

Voice 7 (Benedick)

• Benedick (30s/40s) is a first lieutenant in the US Army and proud “bachelor,” originally hailing from Pennsylvania. A wisecracking cynic, Benedick gets a rude awakening when he finds himself back in a house with his ex, Beatrice.

Voice 8 (Don John/Dogberry)

• Don John (20s/30s) is a major in the US Army, and Don Pedro’s much-less-popular younger brother. Rude, shady, and self-serving, Don John wants to get back at Pedro for demoting him during his tour in the Balkans.
• Dogberry (30s) is a US Army fanboy who flunked out of officer training twice and subsequently became Captain of the Governor’s neighborhood security detail. Maybe had a brain cell once. Maybe.

Voice 9 (Claudio)

• Claudio (20s) is one of the youngest Captains in the US Army, originally hailing from Rhode Island. He idolizes his soldier-friends, Benedick and Don Pedro, and has a huge crush on the Governor’s daughter Hero.

• First Watchman (any age) is a volunteer neighborhood security guard who is VERY eager to do a good job for his new boss Dogberry.

Voice 10 (Conrade/Friar Frances)

• Conrade (30s) is a soldier from a poor family in Vermont who served under Don John in the Balkans. Savvy and duplicitous, Conrade knows how to manipulate people with words.

• Friar Frances (any age) is the local pastor, who baptized Hero and Margaret. Wise and thoughtful, she takes matters into her own hands when the returning soldiers ruin Hero’s wedding.

AUDITION FORM LINK