The New Works Festival in the Department of Drama is auditioning actors for five new audio dramas, including an original musical. The deadline for audition video submission is February 10 at 11:59 pm.

Actors who perform in the New Works Festival will be asked to enroll for 1 credit hour in DRAM 2593: New Works Collaboration (Special Topics in Performance).

Please prepare the following:

• A 1-2 minute contemporary monologue. Record a video of yourself performing the monologue and either upload the video or a link to this Box folder.
• Complete this audition form.

For those interested in musical, prepare in addition to the above:

• One minute (32 bars) of a song from a contemporary musical, including verse and chorus. You may record the excerpt unaccompanied or accompanied. Record a video of yourself performing the musical excerpt and upload the video to this Box folder.

Important dates:

• Callbacks – Feb 11 & 12 over Zoom
• Rehearsals – Feb 14 – March 23
• Opening Night – March 24

You can access the scripts and character descriptions of the 5 audio dramas through this Box link.

Lovers, Reversed by Allison Kenney, directed by Niya Venkatraman
Amanda, a young woman, visits a psychic, seeking relationship advice. The psychic, Zed, delivers the worst tarot reading of their career, and decides to act as a personal consultant to try to salvage Amanda’s love life from its preordained doom. Amanda brings several potential partners to Zed for evaluation, and Zed reveals their secrets.

A Half-Hour Ride North by Karen Zipor, directed by Jakob Cansler
Claire urgently needs to drive David, her troubled childhood friend, to Canada. During the last 30 minutes of their ride, they discuss their old adventures and personal trauma — all while Claire grapples with whether she’s still a righteous person after committing a murder.

Boys the Musical by Izzy Ullman, with songs by Vahheed Talebian, directed by Laurel Voss
Abigail (18) is pressured by to “rebrand” herself in college as a party animal, and finds herself in a situation that is completely untrue to herself. Abigail must learn to assert what she wants, and who she wants to be, even if she isn’t quite sure what that looks like at age 18.

FUNeral by Rainah Gregory, directed by Max Tankersley
Vanessa (17) and Meghan (17) rush with their Mom and Dad (50s), only to realize mid-ceremony that they’re at the wrong funeral. A quick escape becomes impossible, though, when their Dad stands up to eulogize the deceased, a man he’s never met.

Strategy by Avery Erskine, directed by Jessie Fidler
Jeanette (20s) has returned home to help her father Mark (50s) recover from a stumble in his political race for state governor. But when it becomes clear that Mark plans to publicize Jeanette’s history of mental illness as a part of his campaign, Jeanette refuses to play along and questions Mark’s role as a father.