Commonwealth Artists Student Theatre (CAST) is holding open auditions for roles needed in their upcoming production of NEWSIES.
NEWSIES: New York City, 1899. Jack Kelly and his ragtag team of newsboys make a meager living selling newspapers on the city streets. But when the prices of “papes” are hiked and the newsies are hung out to dry, there is nothing left to do but “open the gates and seize the day!” Led by charismatic Jack and independent, young newspaper reporter Katherine Plummer, the Newsies form a union and organize a strike against the greedy publisher of the New York World. Can a group of idealistic newsboys win against a foe as powerful as acclaimed publisher Joseph Pulitzer? Inspired by the true story of the 1899 Newsboys Strike, Newsies is an ebullient, joyful, and entertaining musical capturing the strength that young people have when they join together and stand up against injustice. With a funny, poignant book by Harvey Feirstein and stunning music by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman — including the show-stopping Seize the Day, power ballad “Santa Fe” and lovely new songs like Katherine’s “Watch What Happens — Newsies is a classic with the power to inspire.
We are accepting video auditions for vocal/acting and dance. Video submissions are due by Friday, May 29th by 5pm.
Audition requirements
- For NEWSIES, you need to recite a memorized 45 second to 1-minute monologue and sing a 32-measure excerpt from a Broadway show similar to Newsies that showcases your vocal talents. You will also need to learn a dance audition that will be found at https://tinyurl.com/CASTDance20
Please submit video auditions to our Artistic Director, Jason Burgess, at jasonburgess@caststages.org. If the files are too big, you may share them though a Google Drive link, Dropbox or other platform. If you have any questions about video submissions, please contact our Artistic Director, Jason Burgess, at jasonburgess@caststages.org. The audition information packet is attached to this email.
The roles we are looking to fill are:
Principal Characters
- Les (M) – Davey’s cheeky younger brother is inspired by the freedom of the newsies and loves their independent lifestyle; Les is an intuitive, precocious salesboy and a pint-sized charmer;
Featured Characters
- Romeo (M) – one of the Newsies
- Scab/Newsie (M/F) – one of the Newsies.
- Newsie/Featured Dancer (M/F) – one of the Newsies
- Oscar Delancey (M) – tough brothers who work at the distribution window for the World, taking the side of the publishers in the strike and are known to use their fists to make a point.
- Darcy/Cameraman/Bowery Beauty/Nun/Woman (M/F) – upper-class kid of a publisher who sides with the newsies et al.
Performance dates for NEWSIES are Friday, July 17th thru Sunday, July 26th. All performances will take place in the parking lot at Coney Island located on Kellogg Ave in Cincinnati, OH.
Commonwealth Artists Student Theatre is a Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati theatre collaborative, that through professional quality productions, arts instruction and developing community relationships, empowers students to achieve their artistic potential under the leadership of professionals.
For any questions regarding CAST, the production of Newsies or anything else, visit www.caststages.org or please contact Jason Burgess at 859-545-0770 or jasonburgess@caststages.org
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