AUDITIONS
NON-­‐PAYING, NON-­‐EQUITY StageWorks Toronto presents CABARET Book By Joe Masteroff Music by John Kander Lyrics by Fred Ebb Director: Michael Yaneff Choreographer: Lorraine Kimsa Music Director: Tom Kerr AUDITION DATES Mar 22 (2pm-­‐10pm), Mar 23 (6:45-­‐10:45pm), Mar 24 (6:45pm-­‐10:45pm) CALLBACKS Sun., Mar 29 – Dance call 1pm, Callbacks 4-­‐8pm LOCATION FOR AUDITIONS Artists’ Play Dance – 401 Logan Ave Suite 201, Upstairs (Logan/Dundas) Performance Dates and Times (George Ignatieff Theatre) July 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 @ 8pm July 19, 25, 26 @ 2pm YOU MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL TECH REHEARSALS AND PERFORMANCES StageWorks Toronto is a theatre company founded in 2011 dedicated to bringing dynamic and challenging theatre productions to Toronto audiences. Visit us at http://www.stageworkstoronto.com Page 1 of 5 AUDITIONS
ABOUT THE SHOW The scene is the Kit Kat Klub, a night club in Berlin, as the 1920s are drawing to a close. The Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience to the show and assures them that, whatever their troubles, they will forget them at the Cabaret. His songs will provide commentary throughout the show, as the world outside is slowly changing, not just in Berlin, but throughout Europe. A young American writer arrives in Berlin by train, and is immediately thrown into a world he was not expecting. He meets Ernst (a German who smuggles goods in and out of Berlin), and Sally Bowles (the feature performer of the Kit Kat Klub which whom he is instantly taken.) The Weimar Government’s lifting of censorship made the Berlin “Kabarett” a place of decadence, excitement, liberality, and sexuality. Cliff’s involvement grows quickly, and the relationships he makes will change his life forever. AUDITION REQUIREMENTS • A dramatic monologue (maximum 1.5 minutes) • A song from the musical theatre repertoire (not from this show) with sheet music in the correct key (We may not hear the entire piece) • ONLY IF YOU ARE AUDITIONING FOR SALLY OR EMCEE: A second song short contrasting selection – approximately 16-­‐32 bars – with sheet music in the correct key Notes: An accompanist will be provided. No pre-­‐recorded music or a cappella is permitted. You may be asked to do some improvisation work with your text and/or song. The audition panel may choose only to hear a part of each selection. CALLBACK REQUIREMENTS If you are called back for the show, you will be asked to attend the dance call on Sunday March 29 at 1:00pm (same location). Those who are called back for some of the roles will be e-­‐mailed selected music and text to prepare. While this does not have to be memorized, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the material before the callback. This portion begins at 4:00pm, and you will be given a specific time in which you will be seen. If you are asked only to attend the dance call, you are being considered for a Kit Kat Dancer or ensemble. Page 2 of 5 AUDITIONS
REHEARSAL DATES AND TIMES Rehearsals will take place Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, with the first rehearsal/read-­‐through taking place on April 12th. This is to accommodate the warmer weather, and people being able to have a longer period of time off rehearsal if they want to get away for a few days. We opted for Sunday evenings so people who go away for the weekend don’t have to return to the city for the afternoon. NOTE: Rehearsals will not take place the Sunday and Monday of the Victoria Day Weekend (May 17, 18); however, we will still rehearse on Tuesday, May 19. Since Canada Day does not fall during a regularly scheduled rehearsal, there will be no interruption. A full rehearsal schedule will be provided at the first rehearsal/read-­‐through. Location for all rehearsals: Most rehearsals will be held at Artists Play Dance (401 Logan Avenue Suite 201-­‐upstairs) at Logan/Dundas. Select rehearsals with individuals or small groups (character work/vocal coaching) will take place at a location TBA. TO BOOK AN AUDITION Please e-­‐mail your headshot and resume (or relevant experience) with two preferred dates and audition times to auditions@stageworkstoronto.com. If you require additional information, please e-­‐ mail the above address or call Lauren at 416-­‐803-­‐5287 and leave a voicemail with your name and telephone number/e-­‐mail address. IMPORTANT CASTING NOTES This production will be challenging and offer great opportunities for strong actors with solid musical background. The characters are individuals with lots of room to develop their own personalities and recognizable traits and behaviours that will be developed throughout the process with the actors’ input. Age ranges are suggested and we may cast outside the range for some roles, where appropriate. The ages reflect playable age on stage and are subject to change. Cabaret features mature content including highly sexualized themes and dancing with extensive physical contact with other performers. Some roles will require nudity, and this will be outlined with the character descriptions. Please take this into consideration before you audition. Due to the proximity of Cabaret to the Toronto Fringe Festival, we will be unable to accommodate conflicts with the festival. Page 3 of 5 AUDITIONS
A NOTE ON NUDITY from director Michael Yaneff: One of the things that attracts me to Cabaret is how it is an incredibly raw and human story. It is set in a real place and time, against one of the most changing backdrops history has every seen, as the Nazis rose to power. It truly was the end of an area that saw the Weimar Republic change art and culture in Germany. The lifting of censorship in the late 1920s made the Berlin “Kabarett” a place of decadence, excitement, liberality, and sexuality. These places had similarities to burlesque shows of today, but they varied in their level of glamour. The dancers there were not revered, high-­‐
class people; rather, they often were made up of players in the underbelly of the city. It wasn’t always about the art, but about the sexuality, politics, and entertainment. In this production, I want to strip away all the glitz and glamour, and reveal the characters at their most human. Underneath the noise and the performance lie incredibly vulnerable people. For this reason, I want to include scenes that physically strip away clothing as the exterior, both as a realistic portrayal of how these clubs might have appeared at the time, and also as a metaphor for how these people are real, vulnerable, and accessible. Characters will be exposed, both physically and emotionally, to show just how defenseless they truly are, considering the fate that many of them would soon face, wearing either pink or black stars in places like Auschwitz. It is not gratuitous, and my aim is that the audience will accept it as part of the world. Sure, it will be used in some of the numbers as the characters’ attempt to titillate a Berlin audience, but as a 2015 Toronto audience, we will see through that and connect to these people, and hopingly see a piece of ourselves reflected in their real humanity. “Berlin transformed itself into the Babel of the world. Germans brought to perversion all their vehemence and There are a few main places where nudity will love of system. Made-­‐up boys with artificial waistlines feature, and it will mainly involve the Kit Kat promenaded along the Kurfiirstendamm … Even [ancient] Dancers (male and female), The Emcee, and Rome had not known orgies like the Berlin transvestite balls, where hundreds of men in women’s clothes and Fraulein Kost. We hope that performers will women in men’s clothes danced under the benevolent believe in the vision for the piece. At the eyes of the police. A mid the general collapse of values, a kind of insanity took hold of precisely those middle-­‐class audition we will be asking people’s comfort level. We won’t dismiss an auditionee based on circles which had hitherto been unshakeable in their order. Young ladies proudly boasted that they were the answer to this question, but it will help us perverted; to be suspected of virginity at sixteen would have been considered a disgrace in every school in gauge the comfort level and may affect some Berlin.” choices we make in rehearsal. (Austrian writer Stefan Zweig on Berlin’s cabaret scene) See the following pages for available roles and character descriptions
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AVAILABLE ROLES Please note: Age ranges are suggested and we may cast outside the range for some roles, where appropriate. The ages reflect playable age on stage. Several male roles will be doubled, to be determined later. We are looking for a total cast size around 22. Emcee (Baritone/Tenor): Male 25-­‐45. Enigmatic Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub. Speaks with a German accent. *NUDITY REQUIRED* Sally Bowles (Alto): Female 20-­‐35. British nightclub singer whose brassiness covers insecurities. Speaks with a British accent. Cliff Bradshaw (Baritone, little singing): Male 25-­‐35. Idealistic American novelist visiting Berlin for inspiration. Fraulein Schneider (Alto): Female 50+. Pragmatic German landlady. Speaks with a German accent. Herr Schultz (Baritone/Tenor): Male 50+. Gentle, optimistic Jewish shopkeeper. Speaks with a German accent. Fraulein Kost (Mezzo/Alto): Female 20-­‐35. A prostitute and tenant in Fraulein Schneider’s house. Speaks with a German accent. *NUDITY REQUIRED* Ernst Ludwig (Baritone/Tenor): Male 25-­‐40. Charming German businessman who befriends Cliff. Speaks with a German accent. Kit Kat Dancers (Various Ranges): Male & Female 18+. Performers on the stage at the Kit Kat Klub. Speak with German accents. Some will double as other ensemble members (sailors, staff, etc). *NUDITY REQUIRED* Ensemble (Various Ranges): Male & Female 18+. Various smaller characters that appear. Some of these may use Kit Kat Dancers, but some will require additional performers. NON-­‐PAYING, NON-­‐EQUITY Page 5 of 5