Description:

Blank Theatre Company is seeking actors to submit for their production of Merrily We Roll Along with music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. This production will be Directed by Blank Theatre's co-artistic director Danny Kapinos with music direction by Aaron Kaplan.

AUDITION INFORMATION
Auditions by appointment will be held Saturday, March 18th from 12:00-5:00pm and Sunday, March 19th from 6:00-10:00pm at Unity Lutheran Church. The space is located at 1212 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60640.

Callbacks will be held by individual appointment on Sunday, April 2nd from 4:00-10:00pm and Monday, April 3rd from 6:00-10:00pm at the same location.

There is a $250 stipend for this production. This production is Jeff Eligible. Please note: An MRE will be included on this contact. We will have NO 10 out of 12s during this rehearsal process.

SEEKING:

FRANKLIN SHEPHARD (He/Him, 20-40 years old) A successful Broadway composer and film producer. Over the course of the play, we see him transform from a jaded, lonely, and cynical man into the young, optimistic idealist he once was.

CHARLEY KRINGAS (He/Him, 20-40 years old) A playwright and lyricist, Frank's main collaborator and best friend. Over the course of the play, he tries to hold onto the friendships from his youth that meant so much to him and struggles to reconcile his artistic ambitions with Frank's career ambitions. THIS ROLE IS CAST, SEEKING UNDERSTUDY ONLY.

MARY FLYNN (She/Her, 20-40 years old) A novelist and critic, best friends with Frank and Charley. Over the course of the play, we see her transform from a biting, sarcastic cynic in the throes of alcoholism into the ambitious and hard-working young artist she once was.

GUSSIE CARNEGIE (She/Her, 25-45 years old) A Broadway star and Frank's second wife. A driven woman who understands what it takes to succeed in show business and is willing to play the game. Perpetually unfulfilled, she is always looking for the next big thing and thinking five steps ahead of everyone else.

BETH SPENCER (She/Her, 20-40 years old) Frank's first wife. A warm-hearted idealist who is forced to confront the fact that the people she cares about and would give her life for prove themselves not to be the people she believed them to be.

JOE JOSEPHSON (He/Him, 25-45 years old) Frank and Charley's producer, married to Gussie for most of the play. A shrewd businessman whose cool demeanor masks his intense loyalty and affection. THIS ROLE IS CAST, SEEKING UNDERSTUDY ONLY.

ENSEMBLE (Any gender, any age 18+) A small ensemble will play a variety of featured roles. All ensemble members will play multiple named characters with spoken and sung solos.

This production will utilize both internal and external understudies for all roles.

Note: The story moves backward in time, beginning in 1976 and ending in 1957. Most of the characters are about 40 years old at the beginning of the play and 20 years old at the end. We are happy to consider performers at any point within this age spectrum for all roles.

Most characters we encounter currently are on the binary and are written with he/him or she/her pronouns and you will see that in the above character descriptions. However limiting the descriptions are, our casting seeks to be inclusive as possible, and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they are most interested in being seen for. We will also list race/ethnicity when specific to the character but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities.

Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or if there are any accommodations we can provide.

Covid policy - We will not be hiring any unvaccinated artists. If cast, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination. Everyone behind the table is fully vaccinated and will be wearing masks during auditions. Blank will continue to evaluate best practices to ensure safety of our artists and audience members as the ongoing pandemic situation continues to evolve.

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.