Auditions are coming up for Royal Palm Players 2024-25 season
BY ERICA RESS MARTIN
While watching your friends in a Royal Palm Players production, have you ever dreamed about starring in a show? Well, this is your chance to take a chance and audition for next season’s slate of performances.
For two days, April 7 and 8, 2024, new and experienced actors have an opportunity to audition for four productions, with four different directors. It’s a thrilling experience as directors search for the perfect cast. You’ll get a part to read. Then you may be switched to another role, with a new scene partner. Directors need to see how you respond to direction, as well as how you interact with other characters in the storyline. Some of the plays require more rehearsal time. Some require memorization. Some require minimal blocking and no memorization. All are fun.
So, what is the easiest way to get on stage? Try out for a staged reading, with no memorization and minimal blocking. You’ll have many months to familiarize yourself with the script.
After several meetings with the director – via Zoom – before rehearsals even get started, you’ll gain the confidence to go on stage. Readings, also known as Reader’s Theater performances, star new actors or those who no longer have the time or desire to memorize a play. It’s all the fun with half the work.
The first Royal Palm Player show for next season is a staged reading: “Craving for Travel,” by Andy Sandberg and Greg Edwards. It runs November 15 and 16 in the Crowninshield Community House. This hysterical comedy is about rival travel agents, who happen to be former spouses. They compete for their industry’s most prestigious honor by interacting with thirty zany, demanding clients. With no memorizing, little blocking, a short rehearsal schedule and many very funny roles, a mix of new and more accomplished actors is needed.
“The Glass Menagerie,” a classic play by Tennessee Williams, runs January 16 to 18, 2025. It is a table reading, which means actors have their scripts in front of them. The blocking is limited, but the drama is not. With a cast of four, you can audition for the role of the overbearing mother, the crippled daughter devoted to her glass animals, the son who longs to be a poet, or the “gentleman caller” who is seen as the solution to the family’s problems. Every role is filled with beautiful language that runs the gamut of emotions.
“Social Security,” by Andrew Bergman, runs February 12 through the 16. This hilarious Broadway comedy is about married art dealers who suffer the foibles of the wife’s crazy relatives. Her goody-two-shoes sister and CPA husband drop off her archetypal Jewish mother, as they rush to save their college-aged daughter from sexual misadventures. The comedy reaches a feverish pitch when their most famous client, an elderly artist, falls for the mother. Six juicy roles, all age-appropriate, are available for this laugh-a-minute, fully memorized production.
And finally, the big musical audition is for “1776 – The Musical.” This timely, poignant, Tony Award-winning musical comedy is about the difficulty our Founding Fathers faced in getting the Second Continental Congress to agree – about anything. One of our favorite directors, Tad Ingram, returns to reimagine “1776” with a gender swap of some of the major roles. An ensemble backs up the cast of thirteen actors and singers. Shows run from March 12 through the 16. Memorization, blocking and full costumes are all part of this very special experience. Don’t worry. You have almost a year to learn your songs and your role.
Audition days bring us together in another important way. Since Royal Palm Players is a Community Theater, we work as a community, producing the highest quality of shows possible. There are roles for everyone, not just actors. Work backstage if you prefer. Help prop a set. Or do hair and makeup. Or paint sets. Or usher on show nights. Or help actors dress during quick changes. Or help stage-manage.
Every actor cast in a show pitches in on another show. That’s what binds us into a strong theater family. Our friendships strengthen each season and grow as new people join.
Royal Palm Players is committed to nurturing new talents. Nothing is precast before auditions. Our mission is to entertain, educate and engage. We pledge to bring in as many new participants as possible each year.
Call April at 941-964-2670 or visit RPP’s office at the Community Center. Then sign up for auditions on April 7 and 8. Try out for one show or every show. You might find yourself starring in one, then painting sets for another. At Royal Palm Players, you’ll make new friends, expand your talents and, most important of all, have fun!
