Footloose - Summer 2024
Audition Information
Director: Rick Roemer
Music Director: Susan Finnigan
Choreographer: Kimberly Schafer
Stage Manager/Production Manager: Faith Castaneda
Initial Auditions for Magnolia Musical Theatre’s Production of Footloose will take place on Friday March 15 and Saturday March 16. Callbacks will be held on Sunday March 17
The production is scheduled to open on Wednesday, July 10 and close on Saturday, August 10.
Rehearsals are scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 1
An electrifying dance musical! Book by Dean Pritchford and Walter Bobbie, Music by Tom Snow, Lyrics by Dean Pritchford based on the film of the same name, this toe-tapping musical is set in the little southern town of Bomont, where dancing has been outlawed by the Reverend Shaw Moore after a terrible accident. New arrival Ren McCormack is quick to stir up trouble when he catches the eye of Moore’s rebellious daughter, Ariel, and comes up with the idea to throw a dance for the town. With an Oscar-nominated score and dynamic new songs, this show will make you want to cut loose!
What we are looking for:
We are looking for talented and diverse performers of all ethnicities for all roles. We are looking for 25-28 actors, age 16 and up.
Magnolia Musical Theatre desires to be as inclusive as possible and we enthusiastically encourage gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender and nonbinary actors to submit to audition for any roles listed. We also seek all races and ethnicities. Our character descriptions on the following pages are gender binary and are written with he/him or she/her. While they are limited in their writing, we hope that anyone who identifies with any of the roles, will come out and audition.
The Auditions:
Auditions will take place at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in the Youth Education Building at: 8134 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759
Participants will sing and dance in groups in their time slot. Please plan to be at the initial audition for about 2 hours from when your audition time begins.
Auditioners will first complete a vocal audition for the production team, and then will learn a dance combination from our choreographer. All auditioners will participate in the dance call during our general calls on March 15th and 16th, regardless of desired roles. Please come to the audition dressed in comfortable clothing for dance/movement for the full audition, as we will not have space for everyone to change after vocal auditions are complete.
Due to the structure of our audition process, we request that participants arrive 15 minutes before their audition start time. This allows sufficient time to sign in, and helps to ensure we run on time throughout the day.
Vocal Audition
Please come prepared with 32 bars of a song in the style of the show (Pop/rock, country, rockabilly), and make sure we hear your belt. If you are auditioning for one of the adult roles, please prepare 32 bars of any style musical theatre song with no belting requirement. An accompanist will be provided so please bring your audition song in a binder in the key you would like to sing in with any cuts clearly marked.
Dance Audition
Please come to the audition dressed in your dance attire, and warm up and stretch before you arrive or while you wait to sing. We will move directly into the dance audition as soon as the last person in the group has sung for the production team. Please wear soft soled shoes such as sneakers or jazz shoes. Please avoid heals (including character shoes) or hard soled shoes as the dance call will take place on a hard, semi-slick surface
What if I cannot attend general auditions?
If all auditions slots are full, please still fill out the general audition form and add yourself to the waitlist. Send [email protected] an email and we’ll send you instructions for submitting a video vocal audition and a dance reel OR contact you if a slot opens up. If you are physically unable to attend the general auditions, please send an email to [email protected] explaining why you are unable to attend – our production team will not reach out to you unless we receive your communication!
PLEASE NOTE: ALL performers who receive an invitation to callbacks are required to be present for callbacks in person.
Character Breakdown
Ren McCormack: Male. 18-25, tenor. Energetic, emotional, rebellious, likeable. Strong singer/dancer.
Reverend Shaw: Male. 35-55, Baritone. Local church leader; strict, stern, and solemn. Stil struggling with the death of his son.
Ariel Moore: Female. 18-25. Mezzo-Pop. Smart, a bit of the bad girl with
an edge, sweet. Strong belt; strong singer/dancer.
Vi Moore: Female. 30-50. Soprano. Rev Moore’s loving, supportive, resilient wife.
Ethel McCormack; Female. 35-45. Soprano. Ren’s mother: had a tough go, just trying to make it…would do anything for her son.
Rusty. Female. 16-25. Great soprano/pop voice. Ariel’s friend. A bit scatterbrained, sweet, fun, knows everything about everyone. Strong belt and comedic timing.
Willard Hewitt. Male. 16-25. Tenor. A simple country bumpkin with a warm heart and a big smile. Comedic timing and dance are a must.
Chuck Cranston. Male. 18-25. Tenor. The local bad boy and Ariel’s boyfriend.
Ulreen. Female. 16-25. Mezzo/Alto. Ariel’s friend. The smart one of the group. Strong belt comedic timing and dance.
Wendy Jo. Female. 16-25. Mezzo. Ariel’s friend. Strong belt, comedic timing and dance required.
Ensemble: Males & Females 16-70. Townspeople, students. Need strong characters of all ages. All teens dance. Adults dance at the prom.
Lulu Warnicker – Ren’s Aunt
Wes Warnicker – Ren’s Uncle
Coach Dunbar
Elenor Dunbar- coach’s wife
Principal Clark
Betty Blast – Owner of the Burger Blast
Cowboy Bob/Cop
Irene – Singer
Lyle – Chuck’s buddy
Travis – Chuck’s buddy
Jeter – Ren’s friend
Bickle – Ren’s friend
Garvin – Ren’s friend
High School Students
Callbacks
Callbacks will take place on Sunday, March 17 by invitation only from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in the Youth Education Building at: 8134 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759
Callback invitations will be sent via email on Saturday evening of March 16. Please keep an eye on your email and let us know as soon as possible if you are not able to make callbacks. Specific reading sides and cuts of songs will be provided for callbacks for all characters via a link in the callback email. Please come prepared to read all given sides.
The morning of callbacks will be dedicated to reading all sides for the production team for lead and speaking roles. Performers called back for ENSEMBLE ONLY will have arrival times in the second half of the day. Throughout the callback process, please stay within earshot of a production team member while waiting as you may be called in and out of the audition room.
A break will be taken for the production team at 12pm, and callbacks will resume with vocal sides at 1pm. Once vocals have been completed, adults will be released and we will keep all Teen Roles and Ensemble members to dance.
This will be a long day for any teen principal roles, so please come prepared with snacks and drinks. We understand callbacks can be a long and sometimes exhausting process, but we promise we will do everything we can to get you through the process as quickly as possible.
Are you ready to cut loose?
Video Submission
PLEASE NOTE: ALL performers who receive an invitation to callbacks are required to be present for callbacks in person.
Rehearsals and Performances
Rehearsals:
Rehearsals begin Saturday June 1, 2024. Physical scripts and scores will be available by request in April, but the cast will receive a link to a digital copy. Rehearsals will typically be held Tuesday – Friday evenings from 7-10pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 1-5pm. Rehearsals at our stage in Bee Cave at Hill Country Galleria begin June 19, and will be held from 7-10pm until tech week, when they will be from 7-11pm.
Performances:
Performances are Wednesday – Saturday nights, running July 10 – August 10. Shows will start between 8:00 PM – 8:15 PM. The show will be held at the Central Pavilion in Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave Texas.
Other Useful Information
Casting Process:
Please keep your phones nearby directly after callbacks. Our production team will be making offers to the cast that evening via phone. Once casting is completed (typically 2-5 days after callbacks) emails will be sent to everyone else who auditioned for the production.
Cast Compensation:
Everyone cast in the production will be paid a non-union stipend as a 1099 contractor. We require all performers to submit a W-9 before they can be paid for the production. You will receive a 1099 form in early 2025 for all work contracted.
Health and Safety Protocols:
While the Coronavirus public health emergency has expired, COVID-19 and other contagious diseases are still ever present. Magnolia Musical Theatre wishes to keep everyone in a safe environment and therefor asks for your cooperation in keeping your fellow human healthy. Everyone should self-monitor for symptoms. If you are not feeling well or show any symptoms of possible illness please DO NOT COME and contact our production team immediately. You should also wear a mask if you have direct exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or the Flu in the last 5 days. Magnolia Musical Theatre will have masks, hand washing stations and hand sanitizer onsite during auditions, callbacks, rehearsals and performances.
If you do test positive for COVID-19 or Flu, you must isolate for 5 days, and then only return to rehearsal or performances if your symptoms have improved. You should wear a mask until Day 10 or you have a negative test.