ROLES AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST SHOW OF OUR 45TH SEASON!
Email questions to director at: auditions@theupstartcrow.org
Medea
by Euripides
Presented by The Upstart Crow Theatre Company
Directed by Katherine Dubois Reed
We will be holding open auditions on:
- Monday, June 23 at 6:30pm for Children
- Monday, June 23 at 7:00pm for Adult Speaking Roles
- Monday, June 23 at 8:00pm for Adult Singing Roles
At: the Carsen Theater in the Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder: No need to sign up or register to audition. Just come on time to the time slot indicated.
About The Play:
Medea, by Euripides, is a powerful Greek revenge play. We will be using a new
English adaptation written with actors in mind, by TUC member Katherine Dubois.
Medea’s shock and grief when her husband Jason discards her to marry King Creon’s daughter quickly turns to rage. She vows revenge. When Creon arrives to banish her, she persuades him to allow her one day to make preparations for her departure. She now has one day in which to act. When Aegeus passes through on his way from consulting the Oracle, she tricks him into promising her sanctuary in Athens. Now she has a place to which she can escape. She sends poisoned gifts to Creon’s daughter which result in the death of the new bride and Creon. Finally, she murders the sons she has borne to Jason because she knows this is the way she can cause him the most pain. Ignoring his reproaches, she escapes to Athens with the bodies of the boys.
Auditions will be Monday, June 23, at the Carsen Theater in the Dairy Arts Center,
2590 Walnut St., Boulder:
6:30pm: Children, accompanied by parent or guardian, please
7:00pm: Adults auditioning for speaking roles
8:00pm: Adults auditioning for singing roles
Yes. you may audition for both singing and speaking roles. Prepared audition pieces not required. We will do cold readings from the script.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU
• A completed Audition Form
• A headshot if available
be sure to have a list of your conflicts between July 1 and September 14
Email questions to the director at: auditions@theupstartcrow.org
Director Katherine Dubois Reed will be casting the following roles:
Adults:
Nurse, any age. This is the boys’ nurse, not Medea’s old nurse.
Tutor, any age
Medea, a Princess of Colchis: late 20s to late 30s, or possibly older
Creon, King of Corinth: 40s to 60s, or older
Jason, rightful King of Iolcos: 30s to 40s
Aegeus, King of Athens: 50s to 70s, or older
Messenger, Jason’s servant, any age
Children:
Two sons of Jason and Medea: these are young children. The elder is maybe 9 or
10 at the most, the younger needs to be old enough not to fidget too much
onstage. Must have parent or guardian’s permission to appear in a play that’s not
appropriate for children to attend. Will probably be casting four kids for the two
roles, and alternating performances, to reduce the time commitment.
A Chorus of four Corinthian women:
Any age, probably two sopranos and two altos. The chorus has very few speaking lines. Looking for strong singers. The music will be sung a cappella; the tonality is modal.
Bonus!
As a break from murder, revenge, and betrayal, we’ll be presenting A Most
Pleasant Comedy of Mucedorus the King’s Son of Valencia, and Amadine, the
King’s Daughter of Aragon, With the Merrie Conceits of Mouse. This is a one-act
comedy that was very popular in England in the late 16th and early 17th
Centuries. (It also contains murder, revenge, and betrayal, but in a Much Lighter
Vein. “Very delectable and full of mirth,” says one publisher.)
There are quite a few editions, none of them exactly the same, but an internet
search for “Mucedorus” will give you the general idea. The earliest publishers
often cut scenes to reduce cast size, later editors wanted to “fix” the verse to make
it more regular. No matter what the internet tells you, the play was not written by
Shakespeare. As anyone who’s ever read even forty lines of Shakespeare can
easily tell.
Mucedorus will be presented on dark nights during the run of Medea. Although
actors are not required to do both plays, participation in Mucedorus is strongly
recommended. It will be so much fun! Mucedorus will be memorized and fully
staged, with scaled-back production elements. It runs just over an hour. Many of
the roles in Medea are small, so total line count won’t be excessive.
Rehearsals for Mucedorus will be interspersed with rehearsals for Medea.
Rehearsal schedule is Monday through Thursday, 7:00pm to 9:30pm, at
Manhattan Middle School of Arts and Academics, 290 Manhattan Dr., Boulder,
beginning July 1 until August 21. There will be no rehearsal on July 4th.
Production Details:
The performance venue is the Carsen Theater in the Dairy Arts Center, 2590
Walnut St., Boulder.
Here’s the performance schedule for the two plays:
Move-in to the theatre: Monday, August 25; as much help as possible, please
Tech/dress rehearsals for Medea: Monday through Wednesday, August 25 through
August 27
Opening weekend of Medea: Thursday August 28 through Sunday August 31
Thursday through Saturday performances are 7:00pm; Sunday is 2:00pm matinee
Tech/dress rehearsal for Mucedorus: Tuesday, September 2
Wednesday September 3 and Thursday September 4 (7:00pm both nights): perform Mucedorus
Friday September 5: Medea, 7:00pm
Saturday September 6: 2:00pm matinee Mucedorus; 7:00pm performance Medea
Sunday September 7: 2:00pm matinee Medea
Tuesday September 9 and Wednesday September 10: 7:00pm performances,
Mucedorus
Thursday September 11 through Saturday September 13: 7:00pm performances,
Medea
Sunday September 14: 2:00pm matinee Medea
All roles and technical positions are non-paid. We’re an all-volunteer company.
Email questions to the director at: auditions@theupstartcrow.org
In our classical theatre productions, we recognize that traditionally characters have been portrayed within a binary gender framework. We are actively challenging this by inviting actors of all gender identities, including gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary individuals, to audition for any role they resonate with. We are also committed to racial and ethnic inclusivity. While some roles may have specific requirements based on the character’s background, we encourage actors of all races and ethnicities to apply. We are dedicated to creating a welcoming and accommodating environment. If you have any specific needs, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Your comfort and representation matter to us.
In order to promote a respectful and productive work environment, harassment of any kind is not acceptable at The Upstart Crow (TUC). TUC also prohibits harassment and discrimination based upon an individual’s age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Harassment occurs when unwelcome verbal or physical conduct, because of its severity and/or persistence, interferes significantly with an individual’s work or safety, or adversely affects performance conditions. Harassment also occurs when a person uses a position of authority to engage in unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
We invite actors to attend open auditions for all of our regular shows. To receive reminders of upcoming auditions, sign up for our audition mailing list below. Unless otherwise specified, non-regional American dialect will be used for all shows.
The Upstart Crow Theatre Company is an actors’ company and actors are expected to help with tech work—set and/or costume construction weekend afternoons during the rehearsal period—and publicity. All actors are expected to help with move-in before opening and strike on closing night.
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