2010 MSMT Auditions
MUHLENBERG SUMMER MUSIC THEATRE (MSMT) celebrates it’s 30th season of bringing original productions of Broadway musicals to the Lehigh Valley on the Muhlenberg College campus.Friday, January 29, 2010 02:21 PM
Preliminary ADULT VOCAL auditions (over age 16) will be held Sunday, February 28, from noon to 6:00pm, Monday, March 1, from 6:00pm - 11:00pm, in the Empie Theatre, Baker Center for the Arts, on the Muhlenberg College campus.
If interested in The Mikado, please prepare no more than 32 bars of one memorized song from a classic Broadway musical.
If interested in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, please prepare no more than 32 bars from a Broadway show written AFTER 1975.
If interested in both productions, you should prepare two songs.
The musical directors request that you not sing from the The Mikado, or The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee scores. You must bring sheet music in the key in which you would like to sing; please, no accompaniment tapes. An accompanist will be provided for the vocal audition; please CLEARLY mark any cuts in your music.
Please note that we are looking for a wide age range for each production and we encourage community members to audition, however there are no roles available for children under the age of 16. For The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee three roles will be specifically cast for people over the age of 40.
Those wishing to audition must send an email to [email protected] BEFORE Friday, February 26, 2010 to secure an audition time. In your email please specify which date you are available and provide a cell phone number where we can reach you with any questions. You will receive a confirmation email with the date and time of your vocal audition. If you do not have access to email, you can call the Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance Office at 484-664-3087 during regular office hours BEFORE Thursday, February 25, 2010, to secure an audition time. If you leave a message, be sure to leave a phone number where we can reach you during the day, or where we can leave a message for you with your audition time.
If you live too far away from the Allentown area, or if you are unable to attend the auditions, you may submit a preliminary videotape or DVD audition. The tape or DVD should consist of a comedic monologue not more than two minutes in length, one song (see above), and a 90-second dance solo. Tapes must arrive before the audition date listed above to be eligible for consideration. If you receive a callback, you MUST attend the callbacks to be considered for the role. Callbacks will be held on March 14.
All performers are paid an honorarium for their participation in Muhlenberg Summer Theatre productions. Salaries typically range from $400-$500 for a first-year participant in a chorus role in a show, with higher salaries available for speaking roles. Please note that figure is a total salary figure, not a weekly figure!
Non-Performing Opportunities
Each year, Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre employs up to 50 technicians, costumers, and administrative personnel. Carpenters, electricians, and properties people are needed for the productions, as well as running crews, light board operators, sound board operators, and backstage crews. Costumers, first hand, stitchers, and wardrobe running crew members are needed in the Costume Shop. Box Office associates, house managers, and publicity/PR people are needed in the Administrative Offices.
High school stage management internships are available for those who are at least 16 years of age by the time they begin working for Summer Music Theatre. Interns work along side college students and professionals from the College, and guest artists from New York, learning valuable skills that they can take back to their high school programs.
Technicians and administrative salaries vary depending upon the position, though first-year carpenter/electricians and costume shop personnel start at $1,000 for the summer. First-year high school interns are paid $400. Free dormitory housing is also provided for anyone who does not live in the Allentown area.
The application deadline for technicians, costumers, and administrative personnel is March 1, 2010.
Technical or administrative internship applications can be found online at www.SummerBroadway.org. Completed technical/administrative applications can be sent via e-mail to [email protected].
THE 2010 MSMT SEASON
THE MIKADO
Directed by Charlie Richter
Musical Direction by Vincent Trovato
Choreography by Karen Dearborn
Set Design by Tim Averill
JUNE 16 – July 3. Empie Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance.
Performances Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays and select Saturdays at 2 p.m.
One of the most popular pieces in musical theatre history, Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic returns to the Summer Theatre stage in a tale of love triangles, rectangles, and rhombuses set in the militant regions of Japan. The show first opened in London in 1885 to an astounding response and was one of the Savoy Theatre’s longest running and most frequently played Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The Mikado became part of the MSMT history by being one of the original productions, along with Candide, in our very first SMT season 30 years ago in 1981. A family favorite for decades, The Mikado is Gilbert and Sullivan's most beloved comic opera. So be not a wand’ring minstrel and make your way out to see MSMT 30th anniversary production of The Mikado.
The Mikado is being directed by MSMT General Director Charles Richter, founding artistic director of the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre, former artistic director of the Pennsylvania Stage Company, and a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. The Musical director is Vincent Trovato, BLURB ABOUT VINNIE. The choreographer is Karen Dearborn, who has choreographed over 70 works in concert, theatre, and musical theatre including national tours of the Tony Award-winning National Theatre of the Deaf and several Equity theatres.
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE:
Directed by Bill Mutimer
Musical Direction by Ken Butler
Set Design by Matt Allar
July 14 – August 1. Baker Theatre, Baker Center for the Arts.
Performances Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Join six quirky tween spellers as they compete for the ultimate title of Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion and be sure to brush up with your dictionary before you arrive… you never know when you could be next to the mic! (Oh, and don't worry; you can use it in a sentence.) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, opened to dynamic and astounding reviews off-Broadway in 2005 which quickly pushed it to a Broadway house where it went on to be nominated for six Tony awards, winning two. Audiences are sure to have a B-L-A-S-T!!!
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is being directed by Bill Mutimer, the Artistic Director at The Main Street Theatre as well as a Partner/Artistic Director in the short lived Centre for the Arts on Main. The musical director is Ken Butler, who has provided musical arrangements for Cloud Nine and Our Town, musical direction and orchestrations for Schoolhouse Rock Live! and The Frog Prince, and wrote a new book and lyrics for Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.
SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE!:
Directed by Bill Mutimer
Musical Direction by Kristin Sgarro
June 23 - July 30. Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance.
Wednesday through Friday at 10am and 1pm, and Saturday at 10am.
The classic tunes that have taught us some of the most important lessons in life are now LIVE for your entertainment! The songs we all enjoyed on Saturday mornings now come to life on stage in MSMT’s kid’s show, Schoolhouse Rock Live!, based on the Emmy Award-winning 1970s cartoon series. Come out and enjoy the fun with hit songs like “Conjunction Junction,” “I’m Just A Bill” and “Interplanet Janet.” A vibrant cast will teach and re-teach us that “Knowledge is Power.”
Schoolhouse Rock Live! is being directed and choreographed by Bill Mutimer, the Artistic Director at The Main Street Theatre as well as a Partner/Artistic Director in the short lived Centre for the Arts on Main. BLURB ABOUR KRISTIN
For more information about MSMT visit our website www.summerbroadway.org or call
484-664-3333.
