Audition Notice: "Trial by Fire"
"Trial by Fire"
By Eric Mansfield
Directed by Courtney Brown
Audition Information
Auditions: November 12 and 13 – 6 p.m.-10 p.m., Center for Performing Arts, Room D205
1. Auditions are open to all Kent State students
2. For the initial audition, all spring shows will be holding one group audition. Please prepare for "The Wiz" and "Men in Boats," per director’s request.
3. If you are choosing a character you connect with whose gender identity differs from your own for the "Men in Boats" audition, that is fine to use but if you want to audition for just "Trial by Fire," feel free to prepare a monologue/character that aligns your gender identity.
What to Prepare:
1. 60-90 second monologue from a play written after 1850.
a. Monologues can be comedic or dramatic. If you are auditioning for "Men on Boats" and "Trial By Fire," we recommend choosing a character you connect with whose gender identity differs from your own. If you are only auditioning for "Trial by Fire," feel free to prepare a monologue/character that aligns with your gender identity.
b. If the monologue isn't memorized, that is fine, please audition anyway.
2. For "The Wiz," prepare a cut of a song that is 60 seconds or less in the style of the show. Bring sheet music in the correct key, accompanist provided. We understand all B.F.A. Musical Theatre majors are required to audition with a song. "The Wiz" will cast from the BIPOC Kent State community.
Signing up
1. Sign up for a 3-minute time slot Here. More slots will be added in the 9-10 p.m. hour when previous slots fill up.
2. Fill out and submit this audition form by Monday, November 11th at 5:00pm. Please be prepared to upload a headshot and resume through This Form.
Callbacks
November 15 at 6 – 10 p.m.
Callback will consist of sides from the script. They will be circulated when the callback list is announced.
Auditions will be held in conjunction with auditions for other spring productions, including "The Wiz" and "Men on Boats." Directors and stage managers from all three production teams will be present for your audition – you may audition for all three productions (presenting a monologue and song) or choose to only audition for the plays or musical (presenting either a monologue or a song accordingly).
Dates and Details (rehearsal process):
"Trial by Fire" runs February 7, 8 and 9, with tech beginning Monday and Tuesday, February 3 and 4. It is anticipated we will do table work November 25 and 26 before Thanksgiving break, from 6 – 10 p.m.. Rehearsal will resume on Monday, January 13. Generally, we will rehearse 6 – 10 p.m. Monday – Friday and 2 – 8 p.m. on Sundays.
About the Play
Synopsis: When word spreads that a new Women’s Studies teacher at a Catholic high school has been allowing her students access to books from the conservative governor’s new banned book list, five teen girls look for a way to save their teacher’s job and reputation. You can read the script here.
Content Disclosure: the play deals with themes of censorship, misogyny, and access. References to banned books!; suicide, self-harm, death; sexual assault, rape; Micro aggressions.
Character Descriptions
Pronouns describe characters as written. Trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming actors are encouraged to audition; a character’s presumed gender can be in conversation with the actor’s gender identity.
Georgia Grimm: An English teacher beginning her first year at Knights Academy, her alma mater. She is one of the few women teachers and only Black woman on faculty.
Dan Shaw: White. Former police officer now working as a state mediator.
Sydney Adams: all ethnicities. An avid reader and writer. Possible physical or non-visible disability.
June Johnson: all ethnicities. Student athlete. Determined and focused. Nickname JJ.
Audrey Thompson: all ethnicities. Intellectual and committed to her school work. Natural leader.
Clara Connors: all ethnicities. Shy, bookworm. Rule follower.
Talea Simpson: Black, Latina, Indigenous, Asian/South Asian, MENA. Focused on preparing for college. Outgoing. Wants to be a lawyer like her mother.
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS FOR B.F.A. MUSICAL THEATRE STUDENTS
“B.F.A. Musical Theatre candidates are required to audition for all theatre division main stage productions and accept roles if cast. Exemptions to the audition requirement may be granted under certain circumstances. Circumstances include but are not limited to: religious beliefs, moral objection, psychological triggers with the play, and physical concerns. In order to be exempted from the audition requirement, students must submit a written petition to the performance faculty prior to the beginning of the casting process for the production in question. The performance faculty will make a good faith effort to deliberate and come to a decision on the petition at the first performance area meeting after the receipt of the petition. At no point will a student be asked to disclose sensitive personal information.”
For information on all the B.F.A. Musical Theatre requirements please go to the following. https://www.kent.edu/theatredance/revised-requirements-bfa-musical-theatre-program