DURBAN’S top theatre company, KickstArt, will be holding open auditions for the upcoming South African premiere of the hit Broadway musical, Shrek, due to run in May/June at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
KickstArt invites all performers over 18 years of age with strong singing and dancing ability to try out for the large featured ensemble.
Director, Steven Stead, indicates that his team is looking for five men and six women to play a variety of cameo character parts including, the Three Little Pigs, the Fairy Godmother, a Witch, Peter Pan, Ugly Duckling and a cross-dressing wolf.
Interested artists should be able to sing to a very high level, with strong Broadway-style ‘belt’ ranges, and also be good dancers, able to pick up a variety of choreographic styles easily.
Auditions will be held at The Playhouse Theatre’s Mayville Studios on Saturday, 24 January. Registration commences at 10am, with a dance audition at 10.30am. All those who make it through the dance audition will then be asked to sing individually for the production team. Prepare an uptempo Broadway or musical theatre song – not a pop song – that shows off range and character. Bring sheet music or a backing track on CD. Also, wear appropriate clothing and footwear for dancing, which means no slops or sandals.
Rehearsals will be held between 18 April and 15 May, from 2.30pm to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 5pm Saturday. Performances are scheduled 7pm nightly, with 2.30pm shows on Saturday and Sunday and during the school holidays.
KickstArt is also looking for two 10 to 12-year-old girls, and two 14 to 16-year-old girls to play the Young and Teenage Princess Fiona. These girls need to have strong singing voices, and be capable of singing confidently in harmony. They also need to be fair skinned, since they need to resemble Jessica Sole, the actress playing the adult Fiona.
Interested girls should arrive at Mayville Studios at 2.30pm and put their names on a register. They will be asked to sing a prepared song, preferably from a musical that shows off the belting range. No dancing is required.
For further information, email kickstart@letni.co.za
