Thursday, November 6, 2014
Written by: Kristan Hellige
student waiting outside the theater for his audition
More than 140 UI students auditioned for 2014 spring productions. More than 50 roles are available in spring 2015 productions. File photo by Tom Jorgensen.

The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts will hold open auditions Nov. 13-16 for numerous spring productions: three Mainstage shows, four workshops, two readings, and one special project.

General auditions will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Nov. 13-14. Musical auditions for the workshop production Sea of Trees will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14. Callbacks will be held between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. Casting will be announced at 11 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16; some shows will begin rehearsal on Monday, Dec. 1.

General auditions are held in Theatre B, located in the Theatre Building along North Riverside Drive. There will be a registration table in the Theatre Building lobby. (The location for musical workshop auditions for Sea of Trees is to be determined.) Beginning at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 10, you may sign up for an audition slot.

Auditions for UI Theatre productions are open to everyone. For academic considerations, priority is given to theatre arts majors first, and then all other students of the UI. Members of the greater Iowa City community are also strongly encouraged to audition. There are many excellent roles available throughout the year and many nonmajors and actors from the surrounding community are cast each season. Occasionally, professional guest actors will also be employed.

In all disciplines and areas of theatrical production, the Department of Theatre Arts seeks to include persons of every race, color, culture, age, gender, creed, physical disability, and sexual orientation. The department is committed to nontraditional casting to expand opportunities in roles where race, gender, or the presence or absence of a disability is not germane.

One hundred forty-four UI students participated in last year’s spring auditions, with 60 roles being cast. There will be more than 50 roles available this semester.

Shows, workshops, and readings participating in spring auditions

Mainstage: Good Kids, directed by Alan MacVey; The Luck of the Irish, directed by Tlaloc Rivas; The Liar, directed by Eric Forsythe.

Workshops: Falls for Jodie (Eric Holmes, playwright); Sea of Trees (musical; Ryan Oliveira and Adam Phillips, playwrights); Family Dinner (Sarah Cho, playwright); The Stoddard Stud House (Matt Schutz, playwright).

Readings: Les Monstres Humain (Christopher Matheson, playwright); Nice People (Martin Alosha Robinson, playwright)

Special events: Book Wings, directed by Alan MacVey.

Specific needs

In addition to the number of open roles to be cast, the production teams need to fill the following specific needs:

The Luck of the Irish

  • Mr. Donovan: male, white, in his 80s but spry, Irish-American (plays Joe Donovan later in life). Actor must be 50 to 70 years of age, non-AEA.
  • Mrs. Donovan: female, white, in her 80s, Irish-American (plays Patty Ann Donovan later in life). Actress must be 50 to 70 years of age, non-AEA.

The Liar

  • Geronte (the father): middle-age to older.

Family Dinner

  • Grandma: Actress must be 70 and 89 years of age. The grandma everyone adores and loves. They put her first. She sometimes goes head to head with Mom.
  • Grandpa Paul: Actor must be 70 to 89 years of age. The late husband of Grandma.

For more information, visit the auditions website or contact Melissa L.F. Turner at melissa-turner@uiowa.edu.

The Department of Theatre Arts is part of the Division of Performing Arts in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.