AUDITIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
Audition Call for
Alamance Children’s Theatre Production of
Directed by Madison Crisp & Savanah Blackburn
Tech Crew-Vacant/Interested Individuals Encouraged to Apply.
(See Below)
Alamance Children’s Theatre (ACT) will present The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, at the Paramount Theater in downtown Burlington, NC. In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids – probably the most inventively awful kids in history. You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdmans collide head-on with the story of Christmas!
Regular performance dates are December 1-3 and 8-10, 2023. There will be at least eight regular performances in total and two school shows. Both school shows will occur during the school day on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.
Auditions are open to youth ages 8 to 18. A prospective cast member must be a minimum of 8 years old and a maximum of 18 years old on the day that individual auditions for the production.
Auditions will be:
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 from 6:00-9:00pm
And
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 from 6:00-7:30pm
Location
Alamance Lutheran Church
4008 Highway 62 South
Alamance, NC
Please use the following sign up genus to register for your audition spot. Walk ins will not be allowed.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0E4CAEAB29A0F58-44469365-best
If you have conflicts with the audition dates above, please send an email to ACTBCPE@gmail.com as soon as possible for an alternative method/date to audition. These arrangements must be made prior to October 8, 2023.
Those auditioning should:
- Print out and complete the forms provided below prior to arrival at auditions.
- Be prepared for a cold read with other auditionees from materials provided at the auditions.
Potential cast members need to attend only one night of auditions.
There will most likely not be any callbacks.
A Character List is provided below.
In preparation for auditions, please read these materials and bring the completed forms to the audition. You may attach your own picture to the Audition Form. ACT will also be taking individual pictures each night.
ACT is seeking Tech Crew members for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. ACT encourages interested individuals to complete the form below and bring it to auditions.
The final cast list will be posted on ACT’s Facebook Page (and potentially ACT’s website) by Friday, October 13th at 4pm. Those individuals must email to accept or decline their roles at ACTBCPE@gmail.com by Sunday, October 15th at 12 pm.
On Monday night, October 17th all of the cast, parents/guardians, directors, and producers will meet at Alamance Lutheran Church at 7:00 pm. A great deal of important information will be discussed, so it is MANDATORY that each cast member and a parent/guardian attend this meeting. A $60 Participation Fee will be collected from each cast member ($50 for each additional sibling). This fee helps to cover some of the production’s costs. Scholarships are available to ensure that no young person is unable to participate. Please email ACTBCPE@gmail.com or speak to one of the producers at the parent meeting to make these arrangements. Scholarship families will be requested to “Pay what they can” and will be asked to contribute additional volunteer hours to the production.
Rehearsals will predominantly occur at Alamance Lutheran Church and will generally occur between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. There may be a few nights that extend to 9:30 pm, multiple Saturday morning/afternoon rehearsals and potentially a few Sunday afternoon/evening rehearsals. Some rehearsals with minimal called cast members may be at locations other than Alamance Lutheran. Not all cast members will be scheduled for each rehearsal but each cast member will be expected to attend all of the rehearsals for which he or she is scheduled.
You must put and potential times your actor may not be able to attend rehearsals on the audition paperwork. This includes weekly classes, scheduled vacations, band concerts, or any reason your actor would need to miss a rehearsal. Failure to disclose conflicts during auditions may be grounds for removal from the production.
Tech week begins on Monday, November 27, 2023 with rehearsals each day/night at the Paramount Theater. Tech Week rehearsals may extend to 10:30 pm. All cast members should be present this week with no exceptions! However, if an auditionee has a mandatory or long term commitment that may conflict with attendance during Tech Week, that conflict should be detailed on the audition form and specifically discussed with production staff at auditions.
Regular performances will be at the Paramount at 7:00 pm on December 1, 2, 8 & 9, 2023 and 2:00 pm on December 2, 3, 9 & 10, 2023. Both school shows will occur on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 during the school day. All cast and tech crew members must be present for all performances.
Auditionees should be aware that participation in other productions or other activities that overlap and/or create conflicts with rehearsals for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever may be considered in casting decisions.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
FATHER (Bob Bradley) – Solid family man MOTHER (Grace Bradley) – Trim, attractive, BETH BRADLEY – The narrator, strong voice and presence CHARLIE BRADLEY – Traditional kid brother RALPH HERDMAN – Ragged, scroungy, slouching manner, touch of adolescent cool IMOGENE HERDMAN – Loud, bossy, crafty LEROY HERDMAN – Tough, sure of himself CLAUDE HERDMAN – Tough, combative OLLIE HERDMAN – Looking for trouble, Claude’s usual partner in crime GLADYS HERDMAN – Small, wiry, fiesty ALICE WENDLEKEN – Prim, proper, pain in the neck MRS. ARMSTRONG – Largish woman, managerial in voice and manner MRS. SLOCUM – Pleasant, motherly woman MRS. CLARK MRS. CLAUSING MRS. MCCARTHY – A younger, less imperious version of Mrs. Armstrong MAXINE ELMER HOPKINS HOBIE DAVID BEVERLY FIREMAN FIREMAN SHIRLEY JUANITA DORIS REVEREND HOPKINS
Extra angel choir members, baby angels, shepherds
