[Capdist-auditions] Parade: Auditions for African American actors January 25th, 7:30 PM

[Spotlight Players]

Parade: Auditions for African American actors January 25th, 7:30 PM, Spotlight Players Community Theater, Chorus Room at Columbia High, East Greenbush, NY.  12061

Spotlight Players is proud to announce the Capital District community theater premiere of Parade (1999 Tony for Best Original Score, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle
 Awards for Best New Musical). Parade is composed by Jason Robert Brown who is steadily becoming a leading composer and playwright for American Musical Theater. It is a
 powerful dramatic musical based on the real life story of Leo Frank.  ‘Parade’ concerns the true story of the 1913 trial of a Brooklyn-born Jewish factory manager Leo Frank who was
 accused of raping and murdering a 13 year old employee, Mary Phagan. The trial, sensationalized by the media, aroused anti-Semitic tensions in Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
 Helped by his loving wife and the principled governor of Georgia, Frank's sentence was commuted due to illegalities with the trial and he was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville,
 Georgia. Sadly, in the end, a lynching party breaks him out of the prison and Leo Frank is hanged. 

Parade features many strong roles for African Americans, and due to the historical accuracy of the production, we are committed to cast these parts as accurately as we can.  Many
 companies shy away from productions like this, which feature ethnically diverse casts, with the mistaken fear that the community cannot fill roles that require a diverse ethnic view of 
our world. Spotlight believes a braver vision holds true-- one in which all points of view and all types of people should be presented in our productions.  We present these productions 
because of our desire to reach out and present serious theater that is thought provoking and different from the tried and true.  We recognize that there may be many potential actors
 and great singers who are afraid or inexperienced at taking a first step in auditioning for a dramatic theater role, and so we are taking this added step of holding a special audition date
 for African American actors and actresses.

The audition process is simple:

1) Please prepare 16 bars from a dramatic song from a Broadway musical.

2) Please be prepared to read excerpts from the play in a dramatic reading with other actors.

The show begins on Wednesday, May 12 and runs through Sunday, May 16. This may be your one and only opportunity to do this musical. The parts listed below have solos-- there 
are many. This is a show in which actors have the opportunity to be onstage a great deal of time and explore many emotional scenes. This is not a dance show, so for you 
acting/singing types, this is right up your alley. As there is very little dancing, scene-work and rehearsals will move quickly. Although we are auditioning in January and February, we 
will not start rehearsals until March. 

We are delighted to announce that we have received a grant from the Arts Center of the Capital Region, which will help enable us to make the tickets for this show free to the public. 
Because of this, you may be playing to a packed audience of over 900 and you will be able to invite anyone and everyone you've ever wanted to see you in a show. 

Listed below are the main African-American characters and their solos: 

Newt Lee, 50 and up, Sings 1 solo-- I Am Trying To Remember-- plus sections of Other Songs, Baritone, African-American. This role is for an African-American male who can portray
 an older man in character and voice. He is the night watchman for the factory and is originally accused of the murder as well.

Jim Conley, 20-40, Sings 2 solos -- That's What He Said and Feel the Rain Fall (not on CD), Baritone, Tenor, African-American male with a cunning personality who can command the 
stage. A factory worker also, he is the actual guilty party. 

Angela, 20-50, Sings Rumblin and a Rollin with Jim. Newt and Riley – Alto. Belt African-American female who can bring it home in the number Rumblin and a Rollin. She is Riley's wife 
and a laundry worker.

Riley, 20-60, Sings Rumblin and a Rollin - Baritone, an African-American male who can portray a subservient driver for the governor. 

There are also solos within songs for additional characters. We may be having ensemble members playing more than one of these characters. Versatility will be necessary for these 
parts. There are other parts in the play not listed above because they do not have solo work. This is just a list of characters who must sing a solo. We are looking for good singers. 

If you cannot make these auditions, the main auditions are February 9 and 10 at the same locations, and all actors are welcome to attend both nights.

If you wish to talk to the director, Michael Mensching, or pick up a CD then please e-mail him at Senor65 at aol.com or call 477-2256.

This project is made possible in part through a Community Art$Grant, a program funded by The Arts Center of the Capital Region through the New York State Council on the Arts, a
 state agency.
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