Auditions

Thank you for considering auditioning for Singin’ in the Rain. Auditions
are by appointment, and signing up for an audition time is encouraged to
avoid a long waiting time. Those that show up at auditions without a
scheduled time will be accommodated as it fits into the schedule.

Tuesday, March 18 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Wednesday, March 19 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Vocal and Script Auditions

If you want to dance in the show, you must be audition vocally. If you
are auditioning for a supporting role that doesn’t require dancing (Dora Bailey,
R.F. Simpson, Sid Phillips, etc.,) then you do not have to audition for dance.
Check with the Production Staff when you register if you have questions.

Here’s what Musical Director Matt Adams Wenger says to prepare for Vocal Auditions:

“16 bars-ish or about thirty seconds, I'm not picky. Just enough time
to see what you can do. I will be testing ranges based on what they
say they want, high and low. So make sure they're in good health and
don't hold back!”

Scripts will be provided for the script readings. We’re looking
more for your ability to take direction and interact with others
rather than a perfect reading without mistakes.

“For dance auditions, you definitely need to wear comfortable and flexible
clothing. Everyone should wear jazz or character shoes if they have them,
and of course tap shoes for those who would like to dance in the chorus or
play one of the three leads.”

If you have additional questions about Auditions email Jenny Parkhurst at jen@raininthetent.com

Please see the list of characters below to determine what you want to
audition for. Some auditioners may be cast in more than one role at
my discretion. I plan on casting approximately 50 people in the show.

Most roles are for played by a single person. Notice that more people are needed for:

Organization is 90% of directing a show: A complete list of each character and which scenes they appear in will be provided at auditions so you can determine your character’s involvement in the show.

Character	Role	Number of people

Dora Bailey	Gossip Columnist	1
R.F. Simpson	Head of Monumental Studios	1
Roscoe Dexter	Film Director	1
Cosmo Brown	Don's Childhood friend	1
Lina Lamont	Silent film star	1
Don Lockwood	movie star	1
Zelda Sanders	chorus girl	1
Young Don	vignettes	1
Young Cosmo	vignettes	1
Villian	silent movie	1
Lady-in-waiting	silent movie	1
Enemy of the King (men)	silent movie	2
Lady of the Court (women)	silent movie	2
Rod	Publicity Department	1
Kathy Selden	rising star	1
Police Man		1
butler		1
1st Assist. Director	Assist. To Dexter	1
2nd Assist. Director	Assist. To Dexter	1
3rd Assist. Director	Assist. To Dexter	1
Wardrobe Mistress	Monumental Studios	1
Hairdresser	Monumental Studios	1
"Beautiful Girls" Singer	male vocal solo	1
Beautiful "little" girls	featured dance section	5
Sid Phillips	Monumental Studios	1
Miss Phoebe Dinsmore	Lina's Diction Coach	1
Male Diction Coach	Don's Diction Coach	1
Sound engineer	Monumental Studios	1
Coconut Grove Dancers	female ensemble (dancers)	7
"This is a talking Picture" Man	talking picture demo	1
Ensemble Men	various roles	7

Auditions can be stressful. Be aware that I have been in your shoes many, many times. If something is wrong or amiss, please bring it to my attention. Oftentimes, we can fix it right there or make arrangements for another time. I am not Simon Cowell. However, I know what I’m looking for and can determine pretty quickly if it’s in front of me. Don’t worry if we stop you short. Time is of the essence at auditions, and stopping you short is not always a negative indication. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Break a Leg!

Superstition against wishing an actor Good Luck! has led to the adoption of this phrase in its place. Popular etymology derives the phrase from the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, the actor turned assassin, leapt to the stage of Ford's Theater after the murder, breaking his leg in the process. The logical connection with good luck is none too clear, but such is folklore. There is no evidence, however, to suggest that this is the true derivation, and since the earliest usage of the phrase dates to the 1920s, there is much to suggest that it is not. The best that can be said is that the origin is unknown.

A DICTIONARY OF CATCH PHRASES suggests that there may be a connection with the German phrase Hals und Beinbruch, an invitation to break your neck and bones. The German phrase is used by aviators and is equivalent to the English phrase Happy Landings!. Both phrases arose about the same time, the early twentieth century, but the connection between the German aviation community and American theater is unclear, so they may be unrelated.

A DICTIONARY OF SLANG AND UNCONVENTIONAL ENGLISH, published some eight years before the above, does not list the theatrical meaning. Instead, it lists an obsolete meaning of "to give birth to a bastard child," from circa 1670.

For contemporary English-speaking theater people, the ritual greeting reflects that calamitous 42nd Street production, "Break a leg."

However, the rather terrible curse may have had a more benign origin. Much earlier in stage history, when superstition had a less frightening hold on the craft, actors and their followers used a more gracious greeting: "May you break your leg," by which it was meant that the evening's performance would be of such grandeur that the actor would be obliged to break his leg - that is bend his knee - in a deep bow acknowledging the audience's applause.

Evidently, in the days of early vaudeville, the producers would book more performers than could possibly perform in the given time of the show - since "bad" acts could be pulled before their completion... so, in order to insure that the show didn't start paying people who don't actually perform, there was a general policy that a performer did NOT get paid unless they actually performed on-stage. So the phrase "break a leg" referred to breaking the visual plane of the legs that lined the side of the stage.
i.e. "Hope you break a leg and get on-stage so that you get paid."

"Break a leg" is sourced in superstition. It is a wish of good luck, but the words wish just the opposite. It was once common for people to believe in Sprites. Sprites are actually spirits or ghosts that were believed to enjoy wreaking havoc and causing trouble.

If the Sprites heard you ask for something, they were reputed to try to make the opposite happen. Telling someone to "break a leg" is an attempt to outsmart the Sprites and in fact make something good happen. Sort of a medieval reverse psychology. Of course it has became a popular wish of luck for theater performers.

In the nineteenth century theatre, when it was the norm for actors like Keen, Tree, and Irving to be actor managers. They would perform a role many times and for many years. When a new actor would take over a particular role that had become closely associated with one of these legendary actors he was told "break the legend". Over time this gradually got changed to "break a leg".