All IU students, with any level of experience, are invited to audition for any theatre productions. A headshot and resume are preferred but not required. Dance productions are available to dance majors only, except with permission from Contemporary Dance faculty.
IUST auditions are open to everyone; our summer season is not restricted to current IU students.
Be sure to review our Audition guidelines
Orlando
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Lauren Diesch
Synopsis:
Orlando, a beautiful charismatic nobleman, has enjoyed a lifetime of adventures: he becomes the favorite of Queen Elizabeth the First, he dallies with many fine ladies, losing his heart to one mysterious Russian Princess, he wanders Shakespeare’s London and endures the chill of the Great Frost, he travels to Constantinople, where his reputation for spectacular debauchery is indeed vast. But after a mysterious nighttime encounter, Orlando sleeps for seven days, and wakes to live again -- as a woman. As Orlando adapts her bold, free demeanor to the strict and hampering skirts and expectations of feminine behavior, the changing world around her -- from Victorian England to the busy department stores of the 20th century -- illustrates the mutability of man and woman, and instinct of each to fit their place and time. A dreamy adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s famous tale, Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando is a magical and poetic dance between gender and through time, a fantastical world in which courtly movement and biographical narration combine to tell the story of a being who lives outside of human expectations, and enjoys twice the experience that humanity has to offer.
Production:
This production will be physical and use movement creatively. There are several moments of intimacy (touch, kiss) in the script between Orlando and several other characters (Sasha, Queen Elizabeth, Marmaduke, Archduke/ Archduchess, member of the chorus). An intimacy choreographer will collaborate to craft these moments.
Audition Material:
Please prepare one (1) contemporary monologue (under 90 seconds) of your choice and one (1) short poem of your choice presented as a movement piece (appx 90 seconds).
Rehearsals may begin a week prior to the start of school.
Audition Location and Date:
Dates: April 17 and 18
Time: 5 minute slots from 6:45-10:30pm
Room: A207
Roles:
Orlando—a Poet who lives for 300 years as a man and a woman*
*This role will be cast with a GNC (Gender Non-Conforming) individual"
Sasha—a Russian princess
Chorus:
The chorus will consist of 10 actors of any gender who, in addition playing the chorus, may double in any of the following roles:
Queen Elizabeth
The Archduke/Archduchess
Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, Esquire
Shakespeare
Miss Penelope Hartopp
A washerwoman
Favilla
Clorinda
Euphrosyne
A Russian Sea-Man
Othello
Desdemona
A Sea Captain
A maid—Grimsditch
A maid—Dupper
A Salesperson
Choreographer:
This production is also seeking a choreographer. If interested please contact Lauren Diesch at ladiesch@iu.edu to set up a meeting.
Assistant Director:
This production is also seeking an Assistant Director. If interested please contact Lauren Diesch at ladiesch@iu.edu to set up a meeting.
Cabaret
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed and Choreographed by Lauren Haughton Gillis
Cabaret is a musical that is based on John Van Druten’s 1951 play I Am a Camera which was adapted from Goodbye to Berlin (1939), a semi-autobiographical novel by writer Christopher Isherwood which drew upon his experiences in the poverty-stricken Weimer Republic and his intimate friendship with nineteen-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross.
Set in 1929–1930 Berlin during the twilight of the Jazz Age as the Nazis are ascending to power, the musical focuses on the hedonistic nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub and revolves around American writer Clifford Bradshaw's relations with English cabaret performer Sally Bowles. A subplot involves the doomed romance between German boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider and her elderly suitor Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor.
Overseeing the action is the Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub, and the club itself serves as a metaphor for ominous political developments in late Weimar Germany. The musical depicts Weimar-era Berlin during this chaotic interwar period as a carnival of debauchery and despair inhabited by desperate people who are unaware of the national catastrophe that awaits them.
We will be using the 1998 version of Cabaret. This show deals with antisemitic themes and includes violence, intimacy, and many sensitive issues. I am seeking triple threats who are storytellers. I am looking for performers who have the ability to approach the scenes realistically and cinematically and yet also bring a razzle dazzle larger-than-life quality to the musical numbers.
Cabaret Character Descriptions
Master of Ceremonies (Emcee)
Host at the Kit Kat Club-- a gender-nonconforming-presenting, exuberant figure; comfortable with being close to the audience; dark, comedic, sinister, vulgar...yet lovable; requires a strong presence that is playful and mysterious. Must act, sing (some in German), move well, and be comfortable with bawdy/suggestive staging/choreography.
Sally Bowles
A British cabaret singer at the Kit Kat Club. Quirky and flighty. Struggles with knowing the darkness of the reality of her life and has woeful luck in her relationships with men. Must act, sing, and dance well; comfortable with moments of intimacy and bawdy/ suggestive staging/ choreography.
Clifford (Cliff) Bradshaw
An American novelist and English teacher traveling to Berlin. Through his journey he explores the many facets and complexities of his sexuality, politics, and artistic goals.) Must act and sing well, comfortable with stage movement, light dance, and moments of intimacy.
Fräulein Schneider
A landlady who rents rooms to Cliff, Sally, and several other characters in her large flat. She is alone and is resigned to her place in life, but secretly longs for companionship. She is very critical of some people while looking the other way with others; comfortable with stage movement and light dance (waltz). Must act and sing well; moments of intimacy.
Vocal range low: D3
Herr Schultz
A Jewish fruit shop owner who falls in love with Fraulein Schneider; sweet, lovable, and adoring; heartbreakingly naïve about the political turmoil in Germany. Must act and sing well; comfortable with stage movement, light dance (waltz), and
Fräulein Kost
A prostitute who rents in Fraulein Schneider’s boarding house; larger than life personality, quick witted and sharp tongued; sexual and commanding nature; must act and move well and sing in German.
Ernst Ludwig
A friendly and likable German, takes English lessons from Cliff, and smuggles funds for the Nazi party; comfortable with stage movement and light dance (waltz); and sing in German.
The Kit Kat Performers:
These performers are often in salacious situations and costumes. They are an eclectic mix of types and aren’t necessarily a matching unit. It is very important they act, sing, dance / move well and with confidence. They will be part of various scenes in and out of the Club; should be comfortable interacting with the audience and comfortable with bawdy/suggestive staging/choreography; also, one doubles as Gorilla, and one as Chanteuse.
Boy Soprano
***Understudies & Swings (internal & external) will be assigned for all roles.***
Fall 2023 Auditions will take place in person the week of April 17.
You must fill out both of the forms below to sign up for an audition slot:
Your information Your time-slot
For more information about audition submissions or current IU Theatre & Dance auditions, please contact Production Manager Trish Hausmann.
Winter 2023 auditions are now closed.
For more information about audition submissions or current IU Theatre & Dance auditions, please contact Production Manager Trish Hausmann.
Auditions for IU Summer Theatre 2023 are now closed.
IUST 2023 auditions are open to everyone including non-IU students.
For more information about audition submissions or current IU Theatre & Dance auditions, please contact Production Manager Trish Hausmann.
The College of Arts