Auditions

Actors Theatre of Little Rock announces auditions for Heidi Shreck’s WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME. Auditions will be held BY APPOINTMENT on Saturday, May 25th. Audition appointments can be made and questions answered by emailing CASTING@ACTORSTHEATRELR.ORG. 

Auditions will be held at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church (1601 S. Louisiana, Little Rock, AR, 72206), and appointments will begin at 10:00am on May 25th. 

Performance dates are September 11-21st, 2024. Rehearsals will begin on or around July 29 and will rehearse 4 days a week until September. This production will be directed by Laura Grimes.

Once an appointment is made, those auditioning will be provided with sides from the script to prepare. We expect a well-prepared, committed performance, but memorization is not required. A copy of the script is available upon request. Video submissions available. 

Those auditioning must be 14 years of age or older by July 1st. No roles have been precast. All roles are paid. 

Nominated for 2 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.

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All video submissions are due May 24th @11:59pm and need to be emailed to CASTING@ACTORSTHEATRELR.ORG. Here are a few steps to creating a great self-tape:

1. The Slate: For your slate, talk straight to camera, introduce yourself with your name, pronouns, and the title of your piece.

2. The Framing: Please frame the top of your head to the navel.

3. The Setting: Use a quiet room with little or no background noise. TVs, fans, running water, and air conditioning can be distracting. The wall behind you should be non-distracting, and try to position yourself a few feet away from the wall to avoid shadows. Make sure the light comes from behind the camera, so we can see your face, and avoid filming in front of windows as this will create a silhouette.

4. The Delivery: A video via an unlisted YouTube link that includes a brief (under 1 minute) If singing, please have a piano or instrumental track accompany you. If you are doing sides, please have a reader. 

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Casting: (4 adult performers and 2 teen debaters, including swings and understudies)

Characters:

Heidi: (Caucasian, female-identifying, 40s-50s) A former debate champion who traveled the country in her teens giving speeches about the Constitution at American legion halls for prize money. Alternates between adulthood and her 15-year-old self throughout the play. Engaging, dynamic, smart, passionate, and witty. Based on playwright Heidi Schreck. 

Legionnaire/Mike: (Any ethnicity, male-identifying, 30s-50s) First appears as an assertive American Legionnaire monitoring the speech and debate, and a stickler for the rules/law. He later turns into Heidi’s ally and assistant, reflective and genuine. Mike is gay and a self-declared nerd.

Teen Debater: (Any ethnicity, female-identifying or non-binary, 14-18) Good debater, passionate and articulate. Looking for a student with possible experience on the forensic circuit and a willingness to share a bit of their own life and history onstage; acting experience is not required. This role appears in the 2nd part of the play and does a live debate with Heidi on the topic “Should We Abolish the United States Constitution?” They can take either side of the debate and present her case confidently.

Actors Theatre of Little Rock announces auditions for Clare Barron’s DANCE NATION. Auditions will be held BY APPOINTMENT on Saturday, May 25th. Audition appointments can be made and questions answered by emailing CASTING@ACTORSTHEATRELR.ORG. 

Auditions will be held at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church (1601 S. Louisiana, Little Rock, AR, 72206), and appointments will begin at 10:00am on May 25th. 

Performance dates are October 30-November 9th, 2024. Rehearsals will begin around mid-August and will start out being 4 days a week until October. This production will be directed by Lauren Carlton.

Once an appointment is made, those auditioning will be provided with sides from the script to prepare. We expect a well-prepared, committed performance, but memorization is not required. A copy of the script is available upon request. Video submissions available. 

Those auditioning must be 18 years of age or older by August 1st. No roles have been precast. All roles are paid. 

Please note: The play involves dancers aged 11-14, but performers of any age are welcome regardless of resemblance to teenagers. Dancers and non-dancers of all experience levels are encouraged to audition. This show contains coarse language, depictions of self-harm, simulated masturbation and descriptions of masturbation, sex and sexual violence. Characters also display moments of getting ready onstage, which may require actors to get dressed or undressed onstage—how and how much they undress will be determined by actors’ boundaries and does not need to be fixed. An intimacy coordinator will be present. 

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All video submissions are due May 24th @11:59pm and need to be emailed to CASTING@ACTORSTHEATRELR.ORG. Here are a few steps to creating a great self-tape:

1. The Slate: For your slate, talk straight to camera, introduce yourself with your name, pronouns, and the title of your piece.

2. The Framing: Please frame the top of your head to the navel.

3. The Setting: Use a quiet room with little or no background noise. TVs, fans, running water, and air conditioning can be distracting. The wall behind you should be non-distracting, and try to position yourself a few feet away from the wall to avoid shadows. Make sure the light comes from behind the camera, so we can see your face, and avoid filming in front of windows as this will create a silhouette.

4. The Delivery: A video via an unlisted YouTube link that includes a brief (under 1 minute) If singing, please have a piano or instrumental track accompany you. If you are doing sides, please have a reader. 

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Casting: Ages 18-80

Characters:

Amina: (BIPOC, Female identifying, 18+) The star dancer. Bff’s with Zuzu. Amina is likable, but also has a feral edge. She knows she's good and sometimes there's a sharpness to her skills - a sense of superiority, but one that is based in fact. Some dance skill would be fab. This role requires simulated masturbation and may require brief partial nudity.

Zuzu: (BIPOC, Female identifying, 18+) Always, always, always second best. Bff’s with Amina. A little nerdy and suburban, well-educated. She is likable, but insecure and hasn't come into her own yet. She's one of the youngest and most innocent. She needn't be able to move well necessarily, but more than anything in the world, she loves to dance. Ideally has some measure of slick dance or gymnastic/dance/acrobatic skills. This role may require brief partial nudity.

Dance Teacher Pat: (Any ethnicity, Male identifying, 30s-60s) The head of the dance studio. Not a new kid on the block. Is both sympathetic, but also right on the line of too far. He's not a stereotype of a dance teacher; he really cares, but he's also just a little meaner, a little less 'woke' than he should be at this point in his life. He probably was a dancer in the past, and his dance studio is his life.

Luke: (Any ethnicity, Male identifying, 18-29) The only boy on the team. Even though he is a little bit in love with Zuzu, it comes more from not understanding his own queer sexuality yet. He does love her, completely, but not sexually. He’s a bit young and naive but eminently sweet. We should adore him. This role may require brief partial nudity.

Connie: (South Asian, Female identifying, 18+) A talented dancer who thinks she should play the role of Gandhi. Any age. This role requires an onstage kiss and may require brief partial nudity.

Maeve: (Any ethnicity, Female-identifying, 50-70s) The oldest and least talented dancer on the team. She’s a little wacky. She loves wolves and weird shit, but is also cool enough that she really gets people's attention. She should feel magical in some way. This role may require brief partial nudity.

Sofia: (Any ethnicity, Female identifying, 18-50s) She's the most sexually knowledgeable, and is probably the most popular because she's the coolest. She's done more 'stuff' than most of her teammates, or at least has more knowledge about it because she has an older sister. Confident, prankster, and manipulative. She's the kind of person who probably peaked in high school. This role may require brief partial nudity.

Ashlee: (Any ethnicity, female-identifying, 18-25) Future president of a post-apocalyptic USA. Youngest of the group. This role requires an onstage kiss and may require brief partial nudity.

Vanessa/The Moms: (Any ethnicity, Female-identifying, 18+) As The Moms, she is both caring and fierce. We should sense that she is getting validation from the success of her child - whether here in dance or in the college they get into. Should be able to pull off the privilege and sense of entitlement without commenting on it. As Vanessa, she mainly needs to be injured and therefore sympathetic/pathetic.