AUDITIONS & NEWS

Contact

Mona is now booking headshot appointments for award-winning photographer Fabrizio on Saturday, June 21st (booked) and Sunday June 22nd. Make your reservation today!

Contact Mona at (512) 323-2090 or mona@thebizonline.com

ACoT Regional Auditions - August 23-24

ACoT is in its new space at 701 Tillery, Austin, TX 78702.

ACoT's new phone number is CIRCLE-1 or 247-2531

Theater...

STATE THEATER ANNOUNCES GENERAL AUDITION CALL

The State Theater Company will hold a general audition call for actors who have never been seen in previous auditions.  Equity auditions will be held June 11.  Non-Equity auditions will be held June 12.  All auditions are by appointment only.  Actors should prepare one two-minute monologue.  A résumé and headshot are required.

To make an appointment, please call (512) 692-0511.

Appointments are made on a first-come, first-served basis, in the order of call received.

Loaded Gun Productions is holding auditions for BELIEF, a new play by Travis Holmes

Need both men and women of various age groups.  Auditions will be held June 10th and 12th from 7:00 - 9:30 on stage at the Daugherty Arts Center.

For more information, visit www.loadedguntheory.com,
or email tarv@loadedguntheory.com or call (512) 447-6771.

Zach Scott is auditioning for BEEHIVE, the 60's girl group musical.  Actresses should prepare one up tempo number and one ballad from the 1960's. Callbacks will include dance auditions. Appointments required. Accompanist provided. Directed by Dave Steakley.

Call Bryan to schedule an appointment at (512) 476-0594, ext. 242.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Tablerock Festival of Salado would like to announce that William Shakespeare's comedy, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, will be performed on the main stage at the Goodnight Amphitheater on September 20, 21, 27, and 28.  The performances on the 20th and 21st will be in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Fantasy Faire. All performances will take place at 8:15 p.m., with ticket prices of $10 for adults and $5 for children under 8.

Open auditions will be held at Goodnight Amphitheater on Saturday June 21st at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday June 22nd at 2:30 p.m. In Tablerock’s backstage room. There are approximately 21 roles to be filled, and all parts are to be cast based on these auditions.

Come with a prepared Shakespearean monologue of at least 15 lines, and be ready to do cold readings from the play. The play is to be directed by David Dunlap, of Salado, who hopes to make Shakespeare an annual and permanent part of the Tablerock season.  

For additional information on auditions, rehearsal schedule, or performances, please contact David Dunlap by phone at (254) 947-8933 or by email at dunloptx@yahoo.com

Musical Theater...

THE CAFÉ DU CACHE
The Elevator Art Club is proudly producing an original musical entitled THE CAFÉ DU CACHE. We are currently looking for talented actors and actresses who can sing and dance. Emphasis will be on acting ability but experience in musical theater or in singing and dancing is a strong plus.
    
The show dates are July 25th, 26th, and 27th and August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd @ the Dougherty Arts Center Theatre. Actor or Actress must be free to rehearse fairly intensely in the month of July.

Auditions will be held by appointment from now until June 27th however it would be preferred if you schedule an audition before June 11th. What ever profit is made from ticket sales will be divided equally among cast and crew.

Cast description for THE CAFÉ DU CACHE:

* The Shadow Boy: His age is anywhere from 15 to 25. He is out going and very likable but also soft spoken and sensitive, a romantic. Preferred body type is lanky but this is flexible. Role requires a lot of singing and dancing.

* Eva: Her age is from 19 to 25. She is quiet and introverted but not weak. When she speaks she is self-assured; a very strong willed person. Preferred body type his skinny and waifish. Role requires singing but little dancing.

* Madame Marceau: She is in her 50’s. She is flamboyant and very dramatic; a drama queen. She has at times a French accent and at other times a German accent. Preferred body type is tall and not necessarily skinny but able to pull-off wearing a tight dress. Role requires singing and dancing.

* Jack Mulligan: In his 40’s or 50’s. He is an Ed Harris type. A little on the taciturn side but when he does talk people listen. Preferred body type is tall and solid. Requires some singing and dancing.

* Mr. Dubnow: He is in his 70’s or 80’s. He is Jewish but not so much a Woody Allen type but more of an Old World Jew. He has a corresponding accent. He is very likable but also a little crazy. Preferred body type is small and round but not fat. Requires singing and some dancing.

* Mrs. Dubnow: She is in her 70’s or 80’s. She is an Old World Jew and has a corresponding accent. She is likable but always kvetching or nagging about something. Preferred body type is small and round but not fat. Requires some singing and dancing.

* Mr. Picket: He is in his 40’s or 50’s. He is an anal-retentive English businessman who is very concerned with manners and propriety. Preferred body type is short and skinny. Requires singing and dancing.

* Jacques: He is in his 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s. He is a Frenchman with a blasé attitude; nothing phases him. He’s speaks only when necessary which isn’t often. No preferred body type. Little singing or dancing required.

* Peter Bloch: He’s in his 30’s, 40’s or 50’s. He is a social worker for the afterlife and like all social workers he’s on the peevish side; tired of working a thankless job. No preferred body type. No singing or dancing required.

Email René Pinnell at pithetech@austin.rr.com or call him at (512) 347-1722 or 799-8512.

Dinner Theater in Elgin...

Cowboy Dinner Theatre Original
Hometown Theatre in Elgin

One male actor still needed for original work to be performed July and August. The first part is for a cowboy in a dinner theater comedy. The show will be performed in and around Elgin, from July 11 to Aug 2, Friday and Saturday PM.

Please contact David Wills at dwills1@juno.com or call 272-4232 res or 923-3540 cell and leave message if nobody answers. 

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

UGLY MARIA
SOL-FLY PRODUCTIONS

Walk-in auditions for a brand new play by Austin local Chad Young called UGLY MARIA.  Held at Hyde Park Theatre on June 21st 2003 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.

There are extremely challenging roles for both men and women of all ages.  It will be directed by Josie Collier (presently the Assistant Director for Quake at HPT). The show will open August 3rd and run through August 19th on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

Please contact Josie (President) cell 713-398-9513 work 454-2399.

THE WILLIE WELLS STORY

The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum's Texas Spirit Theater is seeking actors to portray Negro League Baseball legend Willie Wells in its upcoming production, THE WILLIE WELLS STORY. Part calls for middle-aged, African-American, athletic male. Rehearsals begin mid-April, show runs June 14-August 30. Pay.

Send headshot, resume, and cover letter via e-mail or fax to John Lewis.

John.Lewis@TheStoryofTexas.com

or
fax 936-4699

or snailmail:
John Lewis
Texas Spirit Theater
P.O. Box 12874
Austin, TX 78711

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Updated this month!

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NEWS

Vote YES on Consolidation. From actor Tom Kane...

So according to the fancy flier I got in the mail yesterday suggesting I not vote for Consolidation...

Let's see...

That attitude would have resulted in:

Me becoming an accountant...

Columbus becoming a fisherman...

Martin Luther King working as a janitor...

F.D.R. telling Churchill, "Sorry, but we just don't want to get involved."

Look, here's a shocking truth: The Star Wars Movies are NON-UNION. No kidding. (That's why Lucas has always shot in England, and now New Zealand.)

And he is now shooting exclusively Digital. So if he ever decides to join a Union, it'll be AFTRA, not SAG. Why? Because AFTRA's rates would save him a few bucks.

In 2002, there were 6 Pilots shot on Digital.

In 2003, there are 46 so far, and the year's not even half over.

And they can all sign with AFTRA. Most did.

"Save SAG"??? If you truly want to Save SAG, consolidation is the ONLY answer.

Otherwise, 10 years from now, SAG will be the withered crone who wanders around outside The El Capitan Theatre, telling anyone who'll listen how she used to be a star.

Oh, and if you go to see FINDING NEMO at the El Capitan... There's not a frame of film involved. Not even a print. It was created 100% on computers and is being projected from a computer hard drive, through a state-of-the-art Digital Projection System. How does it look? Absolutely freakin' flawless. (My mouth dropped open for about 3 minutes.)

100% Digital. That means Disney could have recorded all those Voiceover actors under an AFTRA contract. And make no mistake, the minute they realize they can play AFTRA off against SAG to get better rates, they damn well will.

Vote YES on Consolidation!

-Tom Kane

How to Be the Perfect Actor in a Show

Thanks to Terrill Fischer for this.

The Perfect Actor
by: Mick Napier (Artistic Director at Second City and the founder of the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago)

From a director's point of view....

1. Shut up.
In rehearsals or notes, if you don't really really really have to say
anything..........then don't.
Some people talk for the sake of talking. This comes from a space of
rightness or need for affirmation or need to be perceived as vital and
intelligent. If you don't have to talk......don't.
Look at what you are about to say and ask yourself: "Is this REALLY
supportive to what is going on right now?"...... and if it's not, say nothing.
It's so easy to whittle away a rehearsal talking bullshit.
Everyone knows that 95% of what is being said will not come to fruition,
yet they do it and feel a false sense of productivity when they leave the rehearsal.
I've been sucked into that waste of time abyss more times than I'm willing to admit.

2. Know what you're talking about.
If you have to talk, know what is being discussed
right now, and have what you have to say be relevant to that and that only. I've wasted so
much time as a director wrangling tangents and bringing them back to the point at hand.
I'm pretty good at bringing it back to what's up, but I don't enjoy it and it usually
pisses me off.

3. Make Strong Choices.
We want to see your power, not your fear. Nobody has time
for your fear. When I direct, I assume competence.....not inability. That's all a director
wants from an improviser in this process. To take the powerful choices he/she creates,
and utilize them in the show. If I, as director, must constantly spoon feed and
suggest and coddle the actor in regard to their ideas, lines, and characters,
then there's a 90% chance that the person is coming from a huge space of
insecurity in the first place.
That's the problem right there, not the idea or character or anything. The
more you approach a director or other actors in this needy manner, the more you will
alienate yourself from the director's power and your own. When I teach, I expect insecurity....
when I direct, I expect the opposite. If you find yourself in a show and you are afraid......
then fake it. Do the first three things on this list and discover that the more you are perceived
as powerful, the more powerful you actually become. When I teach I have room
for insecure choices, when I direct I do not. Once you are proficient in this behavior,
then will you have the welcome right to discuss your scene with me or another actor.
The best thing you could say to me in notes is, "I'll make another choice and we'll see if it works".

4.Show up and be on time.
If something comes up, call. Really.

5. Don't be tired.
It's actually o.k. to be tired; most of us are when we work so hard on a
show. It's even o.k. to say you're tired. Just don't act tired. Be someone who isn't tired.
I've seen too many people say they're tired at the beginning of a rehearsal and then spend
the next three hours proving it to everyone around them. Oftentimes, tired is an excuse
for lazy/scared. If you find yourself saying "I'm really tired today"......know that everyone is
tired and that's a given and who cares and then get up on stage and be vital and engaging.
Don't let tired be an excuse, nobody cares.

6. Don't read in rehearsal. Don't read in rehearsal.

7. Don't talk about the show in bars.
If I don't believe that talking in rehearsal is very productive........then
think about it.

8. Try anything.
Be someone who will try anything. If you have a consideration about
something a director asks you to do, speak that consideration and do it anyway.
Be someone who says, "Sure, I'll try it." Sooooo many good ideas
have gone to hell because an actor (or director, for that matter) judges an
idea, talks it to death, and has it never be tried even once. It's so easy to be negative.......
you think you're being smart and insightful at the time, only to learn later that you're
merely a bore.

9. Eliminate this word from your vocabulary: Can't.
A process is about what we can do.....it's so easy and limiting to state that we can't.
A powerful person finds possibility with an idea, not it's limitations. (See
number 8 above). Should and ought to Use the word could instead. 'Should' forces your
suggestion on me, 'could' offers me the gift of choice and opportunity.

10. Don't interrupt anyone at any time......if you do, apologize.
If you interrupt another, you are instantly telling them a couple of things.
a. What that person is saying has so little value that you didn't bother to
listen.
b. You sought that as an opportunity to think about what you were going to
say, which you think is right and more important. Now what that person is thinking
about after being interrupted is just that....(he/she interrupted me), so they don't hear
the thing you interrupted them with. Pretty effective communication, ay?
As a director, I will promise to keep my eye on interrupting you if you keep your eye on
interrupting me and others.

All of this comes from years of me screwing up the above,
both as an actor and as a director.

In the words of Horatio.........God Bless.

Wisdom...

One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside himself. He said, "My son, it is between 2 wolves. One is evil: anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith..."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one I feed."