Description:

Blank Theatre Company is seeking actors to submit for their production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes. The production will be directed by Blank's Co-Artistic Director Danny Kapinos with music direction by Aaron Kaplan and choreography by Britta Lynn Schlicht.

Auditions by appointment will be held Sunday August 4th from 2:00-7:00pm and Monday August 5th from 5:00-9:30pm at North Shore Baptist Church, 5244 N Lakewood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640. Callbacks will be held by appointment Saturday August 10th from 1:00-7:00pm and Sunday August 11th from 11:00am-7:00pm at a location TBA.

There is an $80 stipend for this production. As per the Chicago theatre standards we are disclosing that actors are expected to help with strike.

SEEKING:

Edwin Drood - 20s (to play teenager), belt/mix to sustained E5. Young, idealistic, trusting, and naive. Played by the star of the company, whose diva behavior has started to grate the other actors.

John Jasper - 20s-30s, baritone (A2-A4). Brooding, the type of person you wouldn't want to be alone in a room with. Drood's uncle who harbors a not-so-secret desire for his nephew's betrothed.

Rosa Bud - 20s (to play teenager), soprano (A3-B5). Resents the unwelcome advances she receives from almost every man she meets, she is looking for a simple way out of her engagement but finds herself the subject of another man's obsessive desire wherever she turns

Helena Landless - 20s-30s, mezzo-soprano (G3-E5). A south-Asian immigrant who moves through her world with greater caution than her brother, warning him to keep his head down in order to stay out of trouble. Neville Landless - 20s-30s, baritone (C3-G4). A south-Asian immigrant who is unafraid to call out the prejudice he faces, even when confronting it may put himself in further danger despite his sister's warnings.

Princess Puffer - 40-60, low alto (F3-D5). Runs the opium den, profits off the worst habits of others and does so with glee. She's seen a lot and nothing shocks her. A fun person to be around for short amounts of time, but you suspect that her endgame is always going to be personal profit.

Reverend Crisparkle - 40-60, baritone (C3-G4). A man of the cloth and the missionary who brought the Landless siblings to England. In his youth, he harbored unrequited feelings for Rosa's mother and retreated to the church when she mysteriously died. Not the type of person you'd feel comfortable confessing to.

Bazzard - any age, bari-tenor (A2-G4). Reverend Crisparkle's assistant, apparently innocently longing for the opportunity to play a larger role in the narrative.

*Durdles - 30s, baritone (B2-F4). The clown of the company, quick-witted and dirty-minded, a hedonistic grave-digger

Deputy - 18+ to play young teenager, tenor. Durdles's protege. Despite a young appearance, he is every bit as sharp as Durdles.

*The Chairman - any age, baritone (D#3-F#4). Narrator and master of ceremonies, a warm presence who takes his role very seriously and is ready to step in for any actor unable to perform their duties.

Ensemble - All ages and voice types. Townspeople and members of the company. Ensemble members may understudy principle roles.

*The roles of The Chairman and Durdles have been cast. Seeking potential understudies for these roles only.

This production will utilize both internal and external understudies.

Actors of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and abilities encouraged to submit.

Note: The characters of Neville and Helena are a south Asian man and woman and given the ongoing conversation about awareness of representation on stage, Blank Theatre Company is committed to casting with these concerns in mind. While you are under no obligation to disclose how you identify, we rely on your integrity and support to ensure appropriate representation for this production. Please keep the character's intended identity in mind when considering whether this project is a fit for you artistically. Although the show presents characters who are traditionally white, cis-gendered, and able-bodied, we are excited to work with actors who do not necessarily identify with all of the above. If this applies to you, feel encouraged to let us know if there is a particular role you would like to be considered for when you submit to us.

Blank Theatre Company has adopted The Chicago Theatre Standards, which seeks to foster an environment of communication, safety, respect, accountability, and the health, safety, and well-being of institutions and its participants. We hope the following disclosures help you make an informed choice should you wish to audition/be offered a role in this production.

All theatres that abide by The Chicago Theatre Standards make the following audition commitments to you:

-You will not be asked to audition more than 3 times for this production without compensation

-You will not be kept at any audition more than 3 hours, or past 11pm.

-You will not be asked to disrobe or perform any intimate contact or violence as a part of your audition.

Time Commitment:
Rehearsals begin on Sunday, October 20th. Rehearsals will run Sundays at TIME and Monday-Thursday nights from 6:30-10:30pm from October 20th-November 26th. Actors will be off November 27-30 for Thanksgiving. Rehearsals will be held at Unity Lutheran Church, 1212 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60640.

Tech will be the week of December 1st. There are 2 preview performances December 7th & 8th. The show then runs December 10th-29th. Performances will be Thursday-Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. There is an industry night performance Monday, December 23th at 8pm. Performances will be held at The Edge Theater, 5451 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640.

Material To Prepare:
Please prepare 32 bars of a musical theatre song in the style of the show. Please bring your book in case the production team wishes to hear more.