CASTING William Shakespeare’s

CASTING NOTICE

William Shakespeare’s

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (junior)

First performed around 1596, Shakespeare’s comic fantasy of four lovers who find themselves bewitched by fairies is a sly reckoning with love, jealousy and marriage. For centuries it’s been one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays.

The mission of the Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble is to bring young students into the world of “Theatre” using Shakespeare’s ageless language and eloquent dramatic insight into people and events. With the support of professional mentors they are able to realise their own special talents and perform with style and substance. Barriers of ethnicities are erased as our Ensemble explores the 17th Century world of the Bard.

Our journey began in 2010 at George Washington Preparatory High School in South Central Los Angeles. Over the past decade we have grown to include a broad community of actors, directors, playwrights and filmmakers, all from a wide variety of ages, races, religions, socio-economic backgrounds and levels of experience. We perform in parks, gymnasiums, high school auditoriums, beat-up black boxes, thousand-seat theaters, film, online and in the streets at street festivals.

Dr. Melanie Curtis-Andrews, and ICSE with some sponsorship by HelMel Studios (Val Kilmer's studio in Los Angeles), invite you to apply for our summer production of Shakespeare's: A Midsummer Night's Dream. There are NO DUES. You do NOT have to pay anything to participate. Costumes are mostly provided, which means you may be asked to get your own tights or other undergarments based on the overall costume design. You are requested to have your own shoes.

We will have live auditions, at HelMel Studios on Melrose, in Los Angeles. Production states: "The Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing at-risk youth the opportunity to perform the works of William Shakespeare." Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble (ICSE) is a subsidiary of InnerCity Performing Arts, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. EIN 46-3703973.

There are NO DUES to participate. Actors are compensated $25 per performance (5 show dates).

ROLES:

Casting youth ages 8-18. All roles are available. For reference:

https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/msnd/characters/

NARRATOR

HERMIA

LYSANDER

HELENA

DEMETRIUS

DUKE THESEUS

HIPPOLYTA

EGEUS

PHILOSTRATE

OBERON

TITANIA

PUCK

FAIRIES

NICK BOTTOM,

PETER QUINCE

FRANCIS FLUTE

TOM SNOUT

SNUG

ROBIN STARVELING

AUDITIONS:

Saturday, 10 June from 10a to 1pm (IN-PERSON)

REHEARSALS: We meet for 20 rehearsals, Tues/Thurs from 6-9p and Sat. from 10-1.

ADDRESS: HelMel Studios, 4361 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029

PARKING: Park on the street!!! Pedestrian entrance is in the back of the building

but DO NOT PARK in the back lot. These spaces are reserved for neighbor businesses.

WHAT TO BRING: YOU MUST BRING an 8x10 headshot or photo!!!

    Resumé with contact info stapled to the back. The director likes to look at your information and talk to you about it when she meets you and writes notes on it. It’s part of her process!

WHAT TO WEAR: Wear sweats or dance clothing. Tennis or dance shoes.

PREPARE IN ADVANCE:

Select a short monologue for any character from the play (available online). We are a teaching company, and we need to know what skill you are starting with.

SIGN-IN: When you arrive - please sign-in here:

https://bit.ly/ICSE_Sign-in

SLATE:

When at the audition, and before we do any scenes:

Please clearly state

your name

your age, if a minor (if over 18, you just say: “over 18”)

contact info (your phone or email, or your agent/rep/parent’s info)

the role you would like to audition for

We will then have you do a scene from the play. You should pick a role you want and find the scene online, and prepare it in advance. Only a short monologue from the play is needed. A half a page is fine.

Sincerely

Leslie Brown

Casting Director

Mention (Hamzah Saman, CSA)