Dust Off Your Dancing Shoes! Free Audition Workshop Saturday

Are your audition skills a bit rusty? Summer Place Theatre is inviting theatre lovers of all ages and abilities to a free audition workshop on Saturday, March 26 at the Community Room at Naperville Central High School. Participants 17 and older meet from 1pm to 3pm, and those 16 and under get their own workshop from 10am to 12pm.

Singing and dancing in front of a panel of strangers is nightmare fuel for some, but if you want to be on the stage, auditions are unavoidable. What’s the best defense? A good offense! Walking into an open call as prepared as you can possibly be is a surefire way to stave off some of those audition jitters.

The workshop will be led by a panel of Chicago area theatre professionals who comprise the creative team for Summer Place Theatre’s July show, The Sound of Music. Director Jorge Bermudez, vocal director Mary Barrios, choreographer Jake Ganzer, and music director Emma Gingold will work with individuals and groups in this free two-hour clinic on how to improve your entire audition experience, from “Hi my name is” to “We’ll be in touch.” Topics like how to build a resume, how to choose a song or monologue, how to present a confident demeanor, and how to get through a dance audition even if you have two left feet will have you feeling ready to tackle your next audition. 

Attendees are encouraged to prepare a thirty- to sixty-second monologue, 32 bars of a musical theatre song, and a few copies of your acting resume, if you have one. If you don’t know how to do any of that, no problem: that’s exactly what this workshop is about! Select attendees will be asked to give example auditions with their prepared materials and participate in a short clinic with the panel. If you’re not prepared, or still on the fence about the whole “acting” thing, you’re welcome to sit back and observe! Everyone should bring dance shoes and wear comfy clothes for the dance workshop.

Summer Place Theatre’s audition workshop is a great opportunity for veteran actors and up-and-coming ingenues alike to improve their auditioning chops in preparation for springtime auditions for summer shows, like The Sound of Music. Getting to know the show’s production team is a nice bonus—it’s always easier to audition in front of a panel of friendly faces! 

The best part, though, is that this workshop will neither guarantee you nor exclude you from a role in The Sound of Music, or any show. The stakes are low and the learning potential is high!