SIGNATURE THEATRE OPEN CALL FOR 20010/2011 SEASON MUSICALS/PLAYS
Artistic Director: Eric Schaeffer
At Auditions: Michael Baron, Associate Director/Casting
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, VA 22302

2010/2011 4 Musicals and 3 plays
The breakdown will be announced shortly with the public announcement of the season. However, the musicals include two pop operas, a Sondheim, and a new musical - the plays are a comedy and two small cast character dramas.

EQUITY ONLY:
Tuesday, March 2nd, 10am to 6pm
Wednesday, March 3rd, 10am to 6pm
CALL 571-527-1824 for an appointment
Prepare either: 1) A brief song. Bring sheet music; accompanist provided. OR 2) Prepare a brief monologue. OR 3) Prepare 16 bars of a song and a brief monologue. All actors bring a resume and headshot stapled together.
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, VA 22206

NON-EQUITY open call:
Monday, March 1st, 10am to 5pm
NO APPOINTMENTS GIVEN. Sign-up starts at 9:00am
Please prepare 16-bars of a song and/or monologue. 90 second time limit.
All actors bring a resume and headshot stapled together.
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, VA 22206

2010-11 season musicals:

CHESS
Music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus; lyrics by Tim Rice; book by Richard Nelson; directed by Eric Schaeffer

1st rehearsal: July 20, 2010. Runs August 17 - September 26, 2010.

• Florence- Strong belt voice (to E). Mid-thirties. Born in Hungary and has been brought up in America since 1956. She is clever, theatrical, touching, vivacious, volatile.
• Freddie- rock tenor (to C). Mid-thirties. An American chess champion. A cross between Bobby Fisher and John McEnroe. Arrogant and temperamental, but a genius. Dangerous and obsessive.
• Anatoly- baritone (to G sharp). Early 40s. A Russian chess champion. Unexpectedly charming. An intelligent, feeling, passionate man.
• Molokov- Bass (down to F sharp) Fifties. Not a fake comic stage Russian. Intellectually formidable. Actor who sings well.
• Svetlana- strong belt voice. 30s. Anatoly’s wife. Domestic and wholesome. A dramatic contrast to Florence- not a contemporary cosmopolitan woman.
• Walter- bass-baritone (down to G sharp). Fifties. A marketing agent. Seemingly respectable, substantial, trustworthy. Actor who sings well.
• Arbitor- rock high baritone (up to A). 30s. International businessman. Smooth, but with a quick temper.
• Ensemble

SUNSET BOULEVARD
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton; directed by Eric Schaeffer

1st rehearsal: November 9, 2010. Runs December 7, 2010 - February 13, 2011.

• Norma Desmond- a reclusive silent movie star preparing for a comeback
• Joe Gillis- out-of-work Hollywood screen writer; “works” for Norma Desmond
• Max von Mayerling- Norma’s stoic German butler who holds a secret
• Betty Schaefer- Sheldrake’s assistant. She is a script reader for Paramount Pictures and with a notion for Joe Gillis
• Cecil B. DeMille- the great Hollywood epic film director
• Artie Green- Joe Gillis’ best friend and engaged to Betty Schaefer
• Sheldrake- Paramount Pictures producer
• Ensemble

WALTER CRONKITE IS DEAD
by Joe Calarco; directed by Joe Calarco

• Margaret- Late 60s. Warm. Searching for new horizons. A great storyteller.
• Patty- Late 50s. Talkative. Enthusiastic. An organizer. Loves traveling.

A FOX ON THE FAIRWAY
by Ken Ludwig; directed by John Rando

1st rehearsal: September 14, 2010. Runs October 12- November 14, 2010.

• Louise - 23, leggy, good natured, and a knockout.
• Henry Bingham - 40, crisp and capable.
• Justin - 23. Very sweet, but a walking train wreck.
• Muriel - 40. Tough as nails, she marches in like a tank.
• Richard - 45 and small-minded.
• Pamela - 39, beautiful, tanned and very sophisticated. She has seen it all.

ART
by Yasmina Reza

1st rehearsal: March 8, 2011. Runs March 29- May 22, 2011

• Serge- 40s; a dermatologist who aspires to “higher things” in life
• Marc- 40s; a very good friend of Serge’s. an aeronautical engineer, a practical, down to earth man. Opinionated.
• Yvan- late 30s/early 40s; just a bit younger than Marc and Serge, Yvan is still “finding himself”; generally a bit edgy; stressed “peacemaker”

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM
Music by Stephen Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein/Jule Styne/Richard Rogers/Mary Rogers, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, continuity by Ned Sherrin.

1st rehearsal: April 5, 2011. Runs April 26- June 12, 2011

• 2 men
• 2 women

WHEATLEY’S FOLLY
Music by Joseph Thalken, lyrics by Mark Campbell book by Michael Slade

1st rehearsal: February 15, 2011. Runs March 15– April 10, 2011.

• William Wheatley- Early 30s. The strong, handsome, charismatic first-time manager (producer) of RETURN TO BLACK CREEK(which is transformed into THE BLACK CROOK). While fighting the Civil War, he befriended a fellow soldier and playwright, Charles Barras. They made a pact that if Charles finished the play he was writing, and they both survived the war, William would find a way to produce it in New York City. Over the course of the play, he goes from the theatre naïf to savvy professional. (Baritone/Bari-tenor)
• Charles Barras- Early 30s. The playwright of RETURN TO BLACK CREEK. He can be charming and charismatic, but there is always an ulterior motive. He’s one of those theatre people who will do whatever it takes to get to where he deserves to be. He walks with a slight limp; the result of a war injury. (Baritone)
• Millicent Cavendish- Late 30s/early 40s. Millicent is a star; though a tad too old for the ingénue roles she’s been playing. She’s a strong, independent woman who lives her professional and personal life on her own terms. (Soprano/Mix)
• C.H. Morton- 50s, a comic character man. He and his wife Rose (see below) are well aware of how awful a play RETURN TO BLACK CREEK is, but they are also aware that any play starring Millicent Cavendish will probably run the season, and this means they don’t have to tour the provinces…again. (Baritone)
• Rose Morton- 50s, a comic character woman. In real life she is married to C.H. Morton, in RETURN TO BLACK CREEK, they play a comic, bickering husband and wife. She and C.H. have trod the boards for decades. (Character Mezzo-Soprano/Mix)
• George C. Boniface- Mid 20s, very handsome. He is Millicent’s current boy toy, which is why she insisted he be cast as Rodney (her love interest in RETURN TO BLACK CREEK). Though he is hardly the best actor in the world, he’s good enough, and his looks will blind many an audience to his other faults. (Tenor)
• Jeremiah Burnett- 60s/70s, a “grand old man of the theatre.” He has seen it all, and survived it all, and he’s “still here.” (Bass-Baritone)
• MME. Girmaud- 40s/50s, the Ballet Mistress of the Ballet Francais Spectaculaire. She is a strong, determined survivor. (Mezzo-Soprano/Mix)
• Marie Bonfant- Early 20s, the beautiful lead dancer of the Ballet de le Marais. She is driven, and becomes more so over the course of our play. (Light Soprano/Mix)
• Roman Korda- 50s. Hungarian. He was a modestly successful composer until about a decade ago when styles changed, and his type of music went out of favor. After it became clear the public was not going to “regain their musical sanity,” and realizing he could not write what was now in fashion, and needing to eat, he wound up as the pianist for the Ballet Francais Spectaculaire. (Baritone)
• James Timoney- 40s/50s. A stagehand at the theatre. He was formerly a
  sailor. He is big and burly. He has seen shows come and go.
• Dancers:
• Regine- 20s. French.
• Gabrielle- 20s. French.
• Justin- 20s. French.
• Simone- 20s. French.
• Jacqueline- 20s. French.

Signature Theatre conducts auditions in a manner that promotes fair consideration to minorities, seniors, and performers with disabilities.