THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW - American Conservatory Theater Non Equity Auditions

AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER ANNOUNCES
OPEN AUDITIONS FOR UPCOMING PRODUCTION OF
RICHARD O’BRIEN’S THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019

Today, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon and Tony Award–nominated director-choreographer Sam Pinkleton (Soft Power and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) announced open auditions for the company’s upcoming production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, performing at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater April 23–May 17, 2020. The auditions will be held on Thursday, October 31 from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) (701 Mission St., San Francisco).

Says Pinkleton: “The Rocky Horror Show is a haven for people of all stripes to be their most brilliant, strange, honest, fabulous, and terrifying selves. It’s been blowing minds and opening hearts in San Francisco and around the world for over 40 years and I am—yes—shivering with antici . . . . pation to assemble a community of Bay Area performers who will take over the Geary in 2020 to collaborate on a musical blowout that could only happen in and for San Francisco. Come as you are and do the thing you love to do. If you’re nervous about singing, lip sync. If you want to wear a wig, wear three.”

“Nerve up your nerves and stop by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, known for its 26-year history of supporting the local arts community, adds MacKinnon. “Under the keen and abundantly creative leadership of Sam, we look forward to building a show that embraces this city.”

“Sam’s vision of creating a truly inclusive space for everyone, challenging ideas of what theater can be and who it is for, aligns with my vision for the Community Programs department,” said A.C.T. Community Programs Manager Stephanie Wilborn. “We are excited to embark on this journey with Sam, collaborating with him in creating meaningful and intentional relationships with community and allowing the art on our stages to resonate with the Bay Area community in a deep and complex way.”

Sign up in advance at
https://tinyurl.com/ACTRockyHorror or in person starting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 31 at YBCA. Auditionees are asked to include as many available slots as possible. An email from A.C.T.’s staff will be sent confirming their audition time slot. Each auditionee will be asked to sign up for an hour-long slot, which will start with a group warm-up and brief Q&A, followed by private individual auditions with you and the Rocky Horror Show team. Please plan on arriving 15 minutes prior to your audition slot to fill out any paperwork. Some auditionees may be asked to attend callbacks on Friday, November 1 at A.C.T.’s Studios (30 Grant Ave., 8th Floor, San Francisco).

All ethnicities, body types, gender identifications, and ability levels are encouraged to audition. Performers must be local and living in the San Francisco Bay Area to be considered for casting. No professional experience or union affiliation is required to audition.

Auditionees should prepare a song—any style of music—of their choice that they love to sing (under two minutes in length). Please bring sheet music. Auditionees can also sing a cappella or with a track. Tracks should be easily played from an iPhone or device that can be plugged into a speaker with an aux cable. Auditionees are welcome to accompany themselves on piano or guitar. All auditionees should bring a recent printed picture of themselves (it does not need to be a professional headshot) and a short resume detailing their experience as a performer. Halloween costumes are encouraged but not mandatory.

Video auditions are welcome for those who are unable to attend the open auditions. Auditionees should record a brief introduction including their name and some fun things about themselves, as well as the song of choice (under two minutes). Upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo as a shareable link. Please make sure the link is viewable to “Anyone with the link” and send to
avandenboogaard@act-sf.org no later than Thursday, October 31 at 5 p.m.

ABOUT RICHARD O’BRIEN’S THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
On a dark and stormy night, Brad and Janet get a flat tire . . . So begins the party at the Geary Theater. Tony Award–nominated director-choreographer Sam Pinkleton (Soft Power and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) reimagines this swirling, sci-fi world for 2020 San Francisco.

Before this cross-dressing classic was ever a midnight movie at the Strand, Richard O’Brien’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Magenta, and Riff Raff started life as a smash rock musical. Experience the Geary as never before in this outrageous celebration of sex, drag, rock’n’roll, and being who you really are. In a dazzling mix of sequins and fishnet stockings, “Let’s do the Time Warp again!”

# # #

MEET THE ROCKY HORROR TEAM

Sam Pinkleton (Director/Choreographer) is a New York City-based director and choreographer. His work on Broadway includes Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Tony Nomination); Significant Other; Amélie; Heisenberg; and Machinal. Opera: Salome (Oper Köln), Trouble in Tahiti (Dutch National Opera), Midsummer Night’s Dream (Montpelier Opera). Upcoming: Soft Power (Public), BREAK THE NIGHT (Virgin Voyages), Off-Broadway/Regional: BAM, Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, Roundabout, Public Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, TFANA, Berkeley Rep, American Repertory Theater, Kansas City Rep, Theatreworks USA, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Center Theater Group, and McCarter Theatre. Pinkleton is a collaborating artist with The Civilians, Pig Iron Theatre Company, and The Dance Cartel.

Ani Taj (Associate Director/Co-Choreographer) is a director-choreographer and founder of The Dance Cartel. She choreographs large-scale dance experiences, music videos, non-traditional musicals, VR and more, and loves to make dances inspired by Brazilian Carnaval. Highlights with Dance Cartel include: Ace Hotel NY, PS1/MoMA, the High Line, Brooklyn Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Shed, Ryan Heffington’s The Sweat Spot (LA), OBERON (ART); music videos for Yoko Ono, Reggie Watts, Shura & Vic Mensa; TV appearances on Conan and The Late Late Show. In 2019 Taj co-choreographed Wajatta’s VR experience Runnin’, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and won Best Interactive at SXSW. Currently Taj is making a giant and totally absurd immersive dance experience with longtime collaborator Sam Pinkleton, commissioned by Virgin Voyages. Favorite theater projects include choreography for RUNAWAYS (Public Theater at the Delacorte, NY City Center), Good Men Wanted (NYSAF), and dancing in Tony-nominated Broadway hit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Taj is an Adjunct movement professor at NYU (ETW).

Ada Westfall (Music Director) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, music director, performer, and proud transgender woman whose mission is to disrupt, interrogate, and diversify the fields of music, theater and their intersection. Career highlights include: In the Green (Lincoln Center - LCT3), Joan of Arc: Into the Fire (The Public), Big Apple Circus 42 (Lincoln Center - Damrosch Park), Death of a Salesman (BAM), Songbird (59E59), Rimbaud in New York (BAM), Remnant (MITU580), and The Last Goodbye (The Old Globe). Upcoming: Another Rose (Virgin Voyages) and The Rocky Horror Show (A.C.T.). Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Music in a Play: A Play On War (Connelly Theater). Associate Artist with two Brooklyn-based theater companies: Theater Mitu (since 2006) with whom she has toured internationally to cities such as Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo, Santiago, Sarajevo et al., and The Civilians (since 2016). BFA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
adawestfall.com - Instagram: @adawestfall

Janet Foster (Director of Casting and Artistic Associate) has cast for A.C.T. for seven seasons, including The Great Leap, Her Portmanteau, Edward Albee’s Seascape, Men on Boats, Sweat, Hamlet, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Hard Problem, King Charles III, John, Arcadia, Stuck Elevator, The Orphan of Zhao, Napoli!, and Endgame and Play. On Broadway, she cast The Light in the Piazza (Artios Award nomination), Lennon, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Taking Sides (co- cast). Off-Broadway credits include True Love, Floyd Collins, A Cheever Evening, The Monogamist, and Later Life. Regionally, she has worked at Intiman Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Old Globe, and American Repertory Theater. Film, television, and radio credits include Cosby, Tracey Takes On New York, The Deal, Advice from a Caterpillar, The Day That Lehman Died (Peabody, SONY, and Wincott awards), and “T” Is for Tom (Tom Stoppard radio plays, WNYC and WQXR). She also cast LifeAfter, a GE Theater podcast, and Passenger List, featuring Patti LuPone. (she/her)