Initial Auditions for Magnolia Musical Theatre’s production of The SpongeBob Musical  will take place from Friday January 3rd and Saturday January 4th 2025. Callbacks will be held on Sunday January 5th 2025.

The production is scheduled to open on Wednesday July 16, 2025 and close on Saturday August 16, 2025.
Rehearsals are scheduled to begin on Monday, June 9, 2025.

Please Note: This is a very large musical so preference will be given in casting to those with the fewest conflicts during the process. We will not be accepting any conflicts for tech rehearsals and performances. 

About the show:

Plunge into this stunning all-singing, all-dancing, dynamic stage show! When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world. With lives hanging in the balance and all hope lost, a most unexpected hero rises up. The power of optimism really can save the world!

The SpongeBob Musical is based on the beloved animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg and features a book by Kyle Jarrow, with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics are by Jonathan Coulton, with additional music by Tom Kitt. The musical production was conceived by Tina Landau.

An exciting new musical featuring irresistible characters and magical music, this deep-sea pearl of a show is set to make a splash with audiences young and old. The future is bright, the future is bold, the future is The SpongeBob Musical.

What we are looking for:

We are looking for talented and diverse performers of all ethnicities for all roles. We are looking for 24  actors, age 16 and up (Actor must be 16 by rehearsals in June).

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.

Character Descriptions: 

SpongeBob SquarePants (Range: C3-B4) optimistic, innocent; energetic and sometimes hyperactive. This actor should move well and be an extremely physical actor – unafraid of climbing and being on tall objects. Naturally funny with great comedic skills and precision. Strong pop tenor. 

Sandy Cheeks (Range: A3-E5) A brainy athletic Texan squirrel who came to Bikini Bottom for a research project. SpongeBob’s most trusted ally on their quest to stop the volcano from erupting. Martial Arts skills a plus – unafraid of climbing and being on tall objects. 

Squidward Q. Tentacles (Range: A2-F#4) Grumpy, cynical, dry, short tempered, generally negative but lovable! This Actor must move well. Strong tapper preferred. 

Karen the Computer (Range: G#3-F#5) Sassy, the computer wife of Plankton. She’s been there for Plankton’s every scheme and plot. Strong comic actress, as well as Singer and Mover. 

Pearl Krabs (Range:Bb3-F#5) Mr. Krabs’ teenaged daughter who just wants to be understood by her father and sing with the Electric Skates. This is a character role with Gospel vocal overtones. 

The Mayor of Bikini Bottom (Range: F#4-B5) Standard Politician 

Perch Perkins (Range: E2-E4) News reporter 

Patchy the Pirate (Range: D3-F4 F5 falsetto) Misunderstood pirate from the painting 

Electric Skates: (Tenor, Baritone, Bass): Rock and roll band members, the Skates are hard-core rockers. Very comfortable on skateboards (ability to do tricks a plus). Also open to rollerblades/inline skating if the actor is expert. 

TownFish: (Ensemble Track) A variety of character types to play several featured ensemble roles; Roles for groups, soloist and comedians as well as strong dance roles. They include: 

The Foley Artist Fish: The Conductor and Narrator is a staged role that produces all sound effects specified in the script and score using percussion instruments, triggered digital effects, and other creative sound makers. This could include footsteps for SpongeBob and Squidward, dings for objects appearing, whacks for hits, and so on.

* Please note the roles of Patrick, Eugene Crabs and Plankton have already been cast. 

The Auditions:

Auditions will take place at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in the Youth Education Building at: 8134 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759Please park in the Mesa parking lot. There will be signage to follow. NOTE: Audition location is subject to change. We will send out a notification if the location is updated.

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 January 3rd and 4th, 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 and be prepared to sing in a character voice resembling the role you are auditioning for. Please do not choose a song from the show. 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.

Video Auditions:

If none of the auditions times listed work for your schedule or you cannot be in person for the general auditions, please fill out the form and add yourself to the waitlist. Send an email to [email protected], and we’ll send you information for submitting your video audition. Please note: you MUST be able to attend callbacks in person to be considered for the show.  

Callbacks: 

Callbacks will take place on Sunday January 5th by invitation only from 9am – 5pm.
Callback invitations will be emailed on Saturday January 4th along with specific sides for all characters.
A link to the drive that holds the sides will be provided in the email.

When signing up for an audition slot please note any conflicts during the rehearsal or performance dates.  Please note: conflicts do not necessarily negate the opportunity to be cast, but we must know about them up front to factor that into the casting decisions.  Barring emergencies, additional conflicts added/disclosed after casting could result in dismissal from the production. Adding all of your conflicts after casting could result in your removal of the production.

 

Rehearsals:

Rehearsals begin Monday, June 9, 2025.  Our schedule will include weekday rehearsals from 7 – 10pm and weekend rehearsals from 1 – 5pm. There will be one night off every week. Scripts will be available in March and we strongly encourage all performers to prepare before the first rehearsal. 

Performances: 

Performances are Wednesday – Saturday nights at 8:00pm July 16th – August 16th. 

Casting:

Once casting is completed (typically 2-3 days after callbacks), emails will be sent to the actors that will be offered a role in the production. Once the full cast has accepted, everyone else who auditioned will be notified via email.

Compensation:

All actors offered a role in the show will be paid a non-union stipend.

Magnolia Musical Theatre is committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment in which all community members feel a sense of belonging and does not discriminate in casting practices on the basis of an individual’s ethnicity, age, gender, physical and cognitive ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, country of origin, or other factors.  We strongly encourage candidates of any age 16+, abilities, gender, and ethnicities to audition for our production! For any questions about our audition process please email us at [email protected]