KIDSTAGE 09-10 Company Originals Audition Information and FAQs

ACTORS

A person who might thrive in the actor role: takes big risks, learns quickly, loves challenges, enjoys having new perspectives on their character thrown at them, enjoys digging into a character, likes having and sharing their opinion, has previous theatrical, improv, speech (HI, DI, DUO), choir, voice lessons, or musical theatre experience (Please note you certainly don’t need to have experience in ALL of those things.).

Unexpected Musical Theatre Actors:

  • People who enjoy sports that have elements of strict repetition and in the moment decision making
  • The history buff who likes to pretend to be historical figures for special projects
  • People who love reading aloud
  • Someone who feels like if they only had the right words they could really express what they feel
  • The class clown
  • People who thrive on group projects when there is a strong group leader delegating tasks
  • People who can do really good impressions of others/impersonations
  • People who are extremely empathetic

As a sample of their work, actors will present one song and one monologue from published musical theatre pieces and plays, not to exceed one minute each, in a live audition format. This “sample” also fits the requirement for the Teen Select audition process.

Have something in mind, but not sure it fits the requirement? Call KIDSTAGE at (425) 257-6340 or email and double check.

WRITERS

The ideal writer has experience writing dramatic literature plays, scenes, or monologues. They have a strong sense of independence but also understand the importance of outside input and perspective. They have a dedicated work ethic and can commit to meeting deadlines. Writers will understand that there are musical theatre models for us to emulate, but will honor their own creative impulses as well.

Unexpected Musical Theatre Writers

  • Comic book fans
  • People who are frequently told by teachers, “You are a good writer.”
  • Poets
  • Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters
  • People who love to Journal
  • People who like to go on RANTS
  • People who have written scripts or skits

As a sample of their work, writers will submit no less than six and no more than 10 TYPED pages of contrasting examples of their writing. This means you might choose two or three from the following list:

  • Excerpts from plays
  • Monologues
  • Scenes
  • Short skits written for assemblies
  • Creative writing projects
  • Narrative descriptions about “what you did last summer” or your favorite place to visit
  • Poems
  • Comic book pages
  • Writing assignments when you tell a story from a particular characters point of view
  • Any piece of writing in the First Person

Have something in mind, but not sure it fits the requirement? Call KIDSTAGE at (425) 257-6340 or email and double check.

LYRICISTS

Lyricists have a way with words. In a few simple phrases, they artfully capture a moment, an emotion, or a situation. Lyricists will have a STRONG sense of collaboration as they will always be communicating with the composer and writer about their material. They have a dedicated work ethic and can commit to meeting deadlines. The ideal lyricist will be ready for the challenges of developing their own lyrics with no parameters, listening to a melody and creating lyrics to fit it, and taking a scene and adapting it into lyrics.

Unexpected Lyricists

  • Poets
  • People who have a writing style that teachers might have called strange or “in the wrong tone,”
  • People who make up parody lyrics for pop songs they hate
  • Witty people
  • Exceptionally good rhymers

As a sample of their work, lyricists will submit no less than four and no more than eight TYPED pages of contrasting examples of their writing. If you have had your lyrics recorded in a performance or if you have access to a recording device, you may submit this recording IN ADDITION to paper copies of the lyrics. This means you might choose two or three from the following list of examples:

  • Lyrics
  • Poems
  • Creative writing projects
  • Scenes
  • Parody lyrics to an existing song

Have something in mind, but not sure it fits the requirement? Call KIDSTAGE at (425) 257-6340 or email and double check.

COMPOSERS

The ideal composer has experience creating melodies and/or chord structures and they play an instrument (NOTE: the voice is an instrument). Many composers do not read music, but that skill is certainly helpful. They have a dedicated work ethic and can commit to meeting deadlines. The ideal composer understands that there are musical models within the musical theatre for us to look at and emulate, and has a healthy interest in fulfilling those models when necessary and breaking free of them when appropriate.

Unexpected Musical Theatre Composers

  • Have music playing in their head that they have never heard before
  • Hummers who make up melodies while they walk around
  • People who arrange vocal parts for their church or school choir
  • People who like to pick up instruments to see what sort of sounds they make
  • Individuals who are not in choir or band, but find themselves in the choir or band room playing the piano
  • People who compose or arrange for their rock band

As a sample of their work, composers will submit no less than three and no more than five minutes of RECORDED contrasting examples of their composing. If you have NO recordings, but have this music clearly notated, please inform KIDSTAGE in advance. This means you might choose two or three from the following list:

  • An up tempo melody (with or without lyrics)
  • A slow melody (with or without lyrics)
  • Parts you arranged for a choir song
  • A song you wrote for the piano or other non-voice instrument
  • A song you wrote for Reflections competition

Have something in mind, but not sure it fits the requirement? Call KIDSTAGE at (425) 257-6340 or email and double check.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Can I be an actor and on the writing team?

A. Yes, at this time, you can be an actor and be on the writing team.

Q. I’m interested in being involved, but I’m not sure which position is right. (Or I want to be able to be an actor if I’m not chosen as a writer.) What should I do?

A. Submit for all positions for which you would like to be considered.

Q. I want to compose and write lyrics, do I have to do ALL the requirements for both?

A. YES, you will need to complete ALL requirements if you want to have more than one responsibility.

Q. I want to write book and lyrics. I wrote a scene that goes into lyrics, can I submit that?

A. The scene will be submitted for writing and the lyric will be submitted for lyrics. We will cross reference the material.

Q. I want to write Lyrics and Music. Can I submit the same song?

A. YES. Make sure you submit PRINTED lyrics with your lyricist application.

A Message from the Director, Christian Duhamel:

When you work on a new work there are three essential skills that everyone involved in Company Originals has to cultivate and tap into on a daily basis during the process.

1)Desire

There are a lot of times in our growing up where we might not get to do the things we want to do (school, church, grandma’s house, whatever). Involvement in Company Originals demands that you have a ferocious desire to be a part of this amazing process. Maybe you’ve never felt a deep passion for musical theatre, but the idea of writing a full length musical gets your heart racing a little faster. Maybe you’ve never acted in a musical, but this sort of fast-paced, ever changing experience gives you butterflies in your stomach. Both of those physical feelings are your body expressing its desire, its interest in this project. I need you to want to be in the room. There is no room for people who don’t really want to be there.

2)Flexibility

The show we’re about to work on isn’t even written yet! It’s the tiniest seed of thought in the back of our brains. Only by coming together will we be able to make this seed grow. On it’s journey to becoming a full musical-flower (just go with me on the metaphor folks), we might have to push away boulders, suddenly twist to get into the sun, we might have to grow poisonous leaves to fend off unwanted grazers… alright, flower metaphor aside. When you work on a new work, things change. Everyone in the room has to be ready for these changes and respond to them with JOY. Change and evolution are necessary aspects of working on a new work, and by being flexible, we will be successful.

3)Patience

I don’t know any Broadway actor, writer, composer or lyricist who gets everything right the first time. Especially in the environment of developing a new piece, we have to be patient with ourselves, each other and the piece. There is a beautiful and intangible aspect to creating a new work, it is quite literally described as bringing the piece to life. We have to always be kind and patient with ourselves and each other.

If reading this note or hearing about this project from a friend made you curious, raised an eyebrow, made you nervous, made you nauseous, made you angry, or made you feel bored, call KIDSTAGE and ask for more information. If you were like, “I love comic books, but I don’t want to write, I want to be on stage.” HAHA, caught you. Come audition to be an actor. If you felt bored, listen up… as human beings, many of us TRAIN our bodies to respond to exciting situations with “boredom” because in our world it seems like everyone is telling us not to feel at extreme levels… so we develop a technique to not feel… boredom. Lastly, if you’ve ever listened to a musical or watched an actor on stage and said, “I can do better,” this is your chance. Company Originals offers you an opportunity unparalleled in the greater Seattle area. Come share your talent and enthusiasm with this amazing project as you and your peers collaboratively develop a completely original musical.