CONWAY — Auditions for roles for the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre 2011 Summer Festival will be held Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave. in Conway.
Actors will be seen from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and are asked to e-mail chiorim@lemoyne.edu to schedule an appointment. All positions offered by AST are paying positions, subject to negotiation. All actors are encouraged to view the website www.arkshakes.com for more information prior to scheduling an interview.
The theater’s fifth season will feature four shows — Othello, As You Like It, The Tortoise and the Hare and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Actors may be cast in one or two (but not three) productions.
The first rehearsal will be Monday, May 23, and will continue six days a week. Performances, which will run Thursday, June 16, through Saturday, July 2, will include performances at the Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA, the Hendrix Village green space at Hendrix College and the Argenta Community Theatre in North Little Rock.
Those who audition are asked to prepare a monologue (of any genre or type) and 16 bars of a song from any musical (song required only if interested in auditioning for Joseph). An accompanist will be provided, but the actor must bring his or her own sheet music. The length of the audition may not exceed three minutes. If called back for an acting, singing or dance call, the actor will be seen within the next 90 minutes and then released. Actors called back for Joseph may be asked to dance and should bring the proper attire. Actors auditioning should factor this call back into their schedule and plan on being at Reynolds Performance Hall for approximately two hours. Actors should bring current head shots/resumes.
Child and young-adult actors will be encouraged to audition for the children’s choir in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a later date.
The AST Festival is also seeking hard-working, qualified applicants to work in a number of technical capacities, including stage management, costume/wardrobe crew, set construction, sound and lights. Production interns will be paid a flat fee for seven weeks of work. Free housing will be offered on campus for those requiring it. Internships are for currently enrolled or recently graduated college students.
Interviews for production internships will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at Reynolds Performance Hall, will last no more than 10 minutes and are available on a drop-in basis during that time. No appointment is necessary. Applicants are encouraged to bring a resume and/or portfolio of their work. Production-internship applicants are also welcome to audition for acting roles.
For more information about the festival or auditions, visit www.arkshakes.com or contact Matt Chiorini at chiorim@lemoyne.edu, or call (501) 269-4815.