Tentative Show Dates: Fri. July 10th at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM and Sat. July 11th at 2:00 PM in the Grace A. Dow Library Auditorium [Likely to change to a later date] Auditions are likely to be one-on-one phone calls. Check the website once Governor Whitmer lifts the “shelter-in- place” directive This show is a straight play (non-musical), so no singing at auditions Initial rehearsals are likely to be by phone conference calls. In-person rehearsals will start after the “Shelter-in-place” directive is lifted and groups of 20 are allowed to convene. Live rehearsals will be done in compliance with government guidelines for groups of people Cast Size is a minimum of 12, optimum 16, max 20. http://billheeschen.com/Summer_Stage_Theatre “Robin Hood” Audition Packet (http://billheeschen.com/Summer_Stage_Theatre ) 1 Summer Stage Theatre Presents: “Robin Hood” The classic tale of the avenger of wrong and hero of the oppressed! CoViD-19 disclaimer: All dates, times and plans are subject to change as the CoViD-19 pandemic evolves, but we're gonna give this a shot! The other unknown is schools' adjusted calendars. Auditions: Most likely these will be one-on-one phone calls (~10 minutes) in order to satisfy social distancing guidelines. Dates/times are “to be determined” once more is known about school calendars and “shelter-in-place”. This is a straight play (non-musical) so no singing required at auditions. Some singing may be added to the show as time allows, but that will be at cast discretion. Cast will be Middle-School kids - those currently in 6th - 8th grade [By old Midland Public School guidelines: birthdays on or between Sep. 2, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2008] Tentative Show dates are: July 10 (2:00 PM and 7:00 PM) and July 11 (2:00 PM) in the Dow Library Auditorium [likely to be delayed] Audition cuttings are included in this packet. The show consists of two acts and runs a little over one hour. Please be prepared to read all parts in all cuttings. You may be asked to read lines for more than one character at a time. Rehearsal / Performance schedule: Dates and times are “to be determined”. I am assuming “Social Distancing” will continue to be mandated for most or all of the production run, so we are likely to do early rehearsals by group phone calls. We may be able to do some in-person rehearsals in outdoor settings (like back yards or parks) as government health guidelines allow. First rehearsal and parent meeting will be communicated during auditions. Remaining rehearsals prior to the end of Midland Public Schools (currently June 11) will generally be Wednesdays from 6:30 – 8:30. We will probably have a few on Tuesday and Thursday to accommodate conflicts, so it is important to fill in your conflict calendar accurately and completely! Although, who knows what will and won't be a conflict?!? Once MPS dismisses for summer break (currently June 12), rehearsals will be Tues. / Wed. / Thur. with exact timing depending on cast schedules (and CoViD-19). Most-likely timing will be 6:30 – 9:00 each night. Rehearsal locations and format will be communicated as health guidelines evolve. For the two weeks prior to the performance (currently June 29 to July 9) – we will have rehearsals each day except for the July 4th holiday (July 3-5). Rehearsals on July 7 and 8 will be in the Library auditorium. We will do two dress rehearsals on July 9. There will be matinee performances on Friday and Saturday (July 10 and 11) and one evening performance on Friday, July 10. Vacations and such: You are expected to be available for all scheduled rehearsals unless you’ve marked them as “prior commitments” on the audition form! We prefer that you miss no more than one full week of rehearsals, but will work to accommodate schedules. All cast members must be available for all rehearsals during Performance Week. Parent Involvement: There will be plenty of opportunity for parents to help out... you know the drill! TMI shows: “Robin Hood” will be a substantial show for everyone who is cast, so we won't be able to accommodate “dual casting” with other summer theater productions like TMI . See you at auditions! Mr. Heeschen and Mrs. Franjione “Robin Hood” Audition Packet (http://billheeschen.com/Summer_Stage_Theatre ) 2 Director Letter Mar 25, 2020 Greetings, everyone! This summer's show will be quite an adventure with the CoViD-19 pandemic interfering with pretty much every aspect of our lives right now. I'm willing to move forward with this production knowing that there are a lot of unknowns. It will require a TON of flexibility on everyone's part as we work through the health issues being faced by the country. I personally predict that “Social Distancing” will be in full force throughout the production, so our performance may be quite odd: Imagine sword fighting while staying at least six feet apart. We may also end up performing outside – like on the toboggan hill at the City Forest! It is likely that each actor will have to come up with his/her own costume since our costumers won't be able to interact closely with the actors. Worst case, we will have everyone record their own actions at home, then edit a funky movie together and put it on YouTube! Like I said – an adventure! So taking all of that previous paragraph into consideration... We are delighted to invite you to audition for this year’s Summer Stage Theatre show: “Robin Hood”. This is the classic tale of the defender of the down-trodden and oppressed – mostly victims of the sheriff of Nottingham by authority of Prince John who has taken over the throne while King Richard the Lionheart is off on the third Crusade. Lady Merle is in cahoots with Prince John to permanently install him as the king, but Robin – who is loyal to King Richard – has other plans. A chance encounter with Lady Merle's entourage sets the story in action and brings in plenty of opportunities for sword fights and other heroic deeds! This version of Robin Hood is a non-musical, so our apologies to those who were hoping for the usual SST musical. Between scheduling challenges for the Library Auditorium and the CoViD-19 outbreak, there's just no way we can put on a full-blown musical. If opportunity allows, we may add in a couple of the chorus numbers from the musical version, but it's not likely. We are planning to select this year's cast from current middle-school students in order to have a cast with similar experience levels. We are using the Midland Public Schools age range as the definition. Basically if you are currently in 6th, 7th or 8th grade, you are eligible. We are stretching it to include “young” 9th graders and “old” 5th graders: birthdays on or between Sept. 2, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2008. Our goal is to challenge everyone in the cast so that they come away from the show as a better actor/person than when they started the show. We accomplish this through a combination of education, direction and development of new ideas based on the actors' input and unique abilities. Part of the preparation is learning about the time period in which Robin Hood is set (late 12th century) as well as the alternate versions of the Robin Hood myth that have developed over the years. The character list contains the complete cast as well as the number of lines for each character. Roles will be cast with a gender-neutral approach. There are a few that will only work for male or female portrayals and are indicated with an M or F. Note that cross-casting is an option!! The last time I did Robin Hood, the title role was played by a female... Finally, be sure to fill in the conflict calendar as accurately and completely as possible – although with C-19, everything is subject to change! Break stuff, everyone! Mr. Heeschen and Mrs. Franjione. “Robin Hood” Audition Packet (http://billheeschen.com/Summer_Stage_Theatre ) 3 PLEASE PRINT Robin Hood (Audition Information) Name_____________________________________________ Audition Number ___________ Age_____ Birth date _______ Grade ____ School _________________________ Height ____ E-Mail______________________________________________________________________ Home Phone_(______)_______________ Cell Phone_(______)_________________________ Address______________________________ City ____________________ Zip ____________ Roles in “Robin Hood” in order of preference (see descriptions later in packet): 1__________________________2_______________________3__________________________ □ I will accept any role (trusting that the Director knows best). □ I am available for all tech/dress rehearsals and all performances. Please list all your rehearsal conflicts on the calendar on the next sheet. Please be honest. Conflicts and vacations may not exclude you from the casting pool. Thank you! Past Theatrical Experience: (acting, singing, dancing, musical instruments, etc.) ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ I have listed all my conflicts and if cast, I will commit my time and talent to this production, attending all rehearsals and performances with all the enthusiasm and positive energy