The Addams Family (show dates July 1 -3, 2022)
Directed by Don Wesley, Music Directed by Doris Jones
We are pleased to announce auditions for The Addams Family to be performed this summer at the Historic Hollywood Theater in Gowanda. The show is based on the Addams family characters created by Charles Addams in his cartoons which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre. In 2007, the producers obtained the rights to create a musical adaptation of the Addams family for Broadway. After tryouts in Chicago in 2009, the show opened on Broadway in April of 2010 playing for a year and eight months and winning two Tony awards for excellence in Broadway Theatre. The show is about love, family, honesty and growing up in a story filled with laughter and tears.
Preparing and Auditioning:
Auditions will be held at the Gowanda Presbyterian Church located at 64 East Main Street, Gowanda, NY 14070. Auditions will be private for each auditioner. Arrive at the auditions location early and check in following the signs to the sign-in area. You must choose in advance a specific ten minute audition slot in one of three offered sessions and fill in the requested information:
- Saturday, April 2 from 8 AM to 11:30 AM
- Saturday, April 2 from 1 PM to 5:00 P.M.
- Sunday, April 3 from 1 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Auditions must be scheduled in advance by signing up online HERE
A Company application must be completed ahead of time and turned in at your audition along with a recent head shot if you have one. If you do not have a recent head shot, one will be taken of you at your audition.
The company application form required of all auditioners is available HERE.
What happens at the audition?
YOUR READING: You will do a “cold” reading (one you have not prepared in advance) from the script or from another source selected by the director. Memorization is not required.
YOUR VOCAL: Prepare a one to two minute section of a song from a Broadway musical. You may bring the sheet music for this number or sing it a cappella (without accompaniment).
There will be no movement (dance) auditions. However, each auditioner should inform the director of any experience he or she has in dance training and performance.
From the director Don Wesley:
A Word on Vocal Auditions for a Musical
When an auditioner is trying out for a musical, I look at the singing part of the audition as an opportunity to “act” the song and perform it as a character. Since you get to choose the song and are responsible for preparing it, you should know the lyrics, and since there is not time to sing the whole song, usually only 16 bars or so of it, it is important to select a section of the song that has an emotional core to it that you can use. Happy or sad, the lyrics should provide you with some emotional content that you can use to “sell” the section of the song you have chosen. When the lyrics touch a singer’s heart in some way, a listener can tell. That’s what I look for in addition to vocal technique, when the auditioner takes the risk of feeling the emotion and sharing it in the song rather than just pretending to.
We will announce our casting decisions by email as soon as possible. All those who are cast must respond “accept” or “reject;” all rejects will be replaced by other auditioners.
This event is listed within:
