Category Archives: Auditions

AUDITION DATES:

• Sunday, December 5, 2021, 3:00-10:00 p.m.
• Monday, December 6, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
  Call backs will be held Wednesday, December 8 at 7:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Clifton United Methodist Church, 3416 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45220

IN-PERSON AUDITIONS ARE BY APPOINTMENT:

• Please reserve your audition time via https://bit.ly/3nGlowv
• Please print and fill out the audition form prior to your audition.
• Walk-ins are welcome and will be seen in the next available slot.

VIDEO SUBMISSIONS: We will also accept video submissions. If you choose to submit a video audition, you must include all three elements of the audition, the song, the story, and the dance combination. The deadline for video submissions will be 5:00 PM on Monday, December 6, 2021. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered. Please include the audition form and virtual copy of your resume, and a copy of your headshot with the video submission. To submit a video audition, please submit materials to cmt.ragtime.auditions@gmail.com.

PLEASE PREPARE & PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR AUDITION:

• Please prepare 16-32 bars of a Broadway-style song that showcases your vocal range. Your sheet music should be in the proper key with cuts marked. An accompanist will be provided (no CD’s, tapes or a cappella numbers).
• Please be prepared to tell a short story about a time that you felt like an outsider, or about a time that overcame an obstacle.
• Please bring shoes and clothing appropriate for a dance audition.
• Please provide a copy of your resume.
• Please provide a copy of your headshot if you have one.
• Please bring proof of your COVID-19 Vaccination. We do require that the cast, crew, and production team be fully vaccinated. Masks will be required during rehearsals when not actively engaged on stage.

Please Note:
We are committed to making this process as accessible as possible.

• The dance combination, that will also be taught during the audition, will be available via video, upon request, a week before the audition.
• The callback sides and music will also be available virtually the week before the audition.
• Those who reserve an audition timeslot will receive an email with the access information.
• For those who are not on the SignUp Genius, please request materials via email: cmt.ragtime.auditions@gmail.com.

Additionally, we will have printed copies of the callback materials available at the audition.

ABOUT THE SHOW:
Based on the novel of the same name, Ragtime is a compelling epic capturing the American experience at the turn of the 20th century. Tracking three diverse families in pursuit of the American dream in the volatile “melting pot” of turn-of-the-century New York, Ragtime confronts the dialectic contradictions inherent in American reality: experiences of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair. Over the course of the show, the worlds of a wealthy white couple, a Jewish immigrant father and his motherless daughter, and a Black Ragtime musician intertwine. Together, they discover the surprising interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice and the unsettling consequences when dreams are permanently deferred. Featuring many of the historical figures that built and shaped turn-of-the-century America, including J.P. Morgan, Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit and Henry Ford, this musical sweeps across the diversity of the American experience to create a stirring epic that captures the beats of the American experience.

CASTING REQUIREMENTS:
CMT is looking for a large, diverse cast for this production. BIPOC and LGBTQ+ performers are encouraged to audition. All roles are open.

These roles include:

• Coalhouse
  A proud and talented pianist. A Black man who believes that he can take part in the new America and will be treated fairly.
• Sarah
  Washwoman. Sarah is a young Black woman, beautiful and filled with a strong will to live, fueled by an innocent spirit. Falls deeply in love with Coalhouse after much resistance.
• Mother
  The consummate wife and mother. A kind woman with incredible moral fiber. Refined, intelligent, graceful and open minded.
• Father
  Mother’s professionally successful husband. Fancies himself an amateur explorer, he is commanding and attractive. Enjoys being the family breadwinner, a traditionalist.
• Younger Brother
  Mother’s younger brother. He is an erratic and passionate soul, a firework waiting to be lit. Influenced greatly by Goldman’s teachings.
• Little Boy
  Mother and Father’s son. He is open-hearted and curious with inexplicable clairvoyance. Never passes judgement on others.
• Grandfather
  Mother’s patrician father. He is a retired professor, and easily irritated by nearly everything.
• Tateh
  A Latvian immigrant. He wears the trials and tribulations of his past on his sleeve, but remains optimistic that he will be successful. Full of genuine drive and heart. He lives for his little daughter.
• Little Girl
  Tateh’s daughter. A vulnerable child in a brand-new home, she has lost her mother and is guarded and shy. She clings to her father.
• Booker T. Washington
  Brilliant Black social activist. He is an eloquent and articulate gentleman with no patience for Black Americans leading less than exemplary lives.
• Emma Goldman
  Social activist. Originally from Russia, she is a leader, a fearless advocate for the oppressed.
• Evelyn Nesbit
  The beautiful vaudeville performer, famous for the murder of her high-profile lover by her rich husband.
• Henry Ford
  An American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company.
• Harry Houdini
  The famous magician, originally from Hungary. With notable physical ability, he stands as a symbol of the ‘American Dream.’
• J.P. Morgan
  The rich, famous financier.
• Sarah’s Friend
  A friend of Sarah’s who attends her funeral.
• Willie Conklin
  A racist volunteer fireman who destroys Coalhouse’s car.
• Ensemble: Baseball Fans; Coalhouse Supporters; Firemen; Immigrants to America; New Rochelle Citizens; Reporters; Vacationers.
• Played by Black actors: Coalhouse’s Lawyer, Harlem Citizens, Henson

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE:
RAGTIME opens April 29, 2022 and runs through May 7, 2022, at Aronoff Center Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center of the Arts.
Rehearsals will begin February 2, 2022.

RAGTIME is produced by Jacqlyn Schott and directed by Chad Brinkman with choreography by David Choate and music direction by Joshua Goines.

Book by Terrence McNally
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Based on E.L. Doctorow’s distinguished novel, Ragtime

RAGTIME is presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International.