Auditions Announced for Teen Production of The Crucible

The NBYT Teen Company is holding auditions for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible on Monday, February 13 at 6:00 p.m. at Trinity-on-Main Performance Center Annex at 19 Chestnut Street in New Britain.  The production will be rehearsed at Trinity-on-Main, and will be performed at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in downtown New Britain on April 20, 21 and 22, 2012. The production will be directed by Connecticut director, actor, educator and NBYT teaching artist, Becky Beth Benedict.

Auditions are open to thirteen to eighteen year-olds from any town. Roles are available for seventeen to twenty actors, and all levels of experience are welcome. No prepared monologue is required, but those auditioning will be asked to read from the play. Those who pre-register for auditions will be sent the readings in advance. To pre-register, call (860) 515-8115 or email auditions@nbyt.org. Those cast will be asked to pay a participation fee of $50, but will receive two complimentary tickets for the production. No one, however, will be turned away for inability to pay, so please ask about financial assistance if necessary. Teens may also call with interest in production and backstage positions.

Winner of the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play, The Crucible depicts the historic witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts, while commenting on the Communist scare of mid-twentieth century America. The story focuses on a young farmer, his wife, and a young servant-girl who maliciously causes the wife’s arrest for witchcraft. The farmer brings the girl to court to admit the lie, and it is there that the monstrous course of bigotry and deceit is terrifyingly depicted. The farmer, instead of saving his wife, finds himself also accused of witchcraft and ultimately condemned with a host of others.

The Crucible is the story of both undying and forbidden love, of desperate power, of cunning manipulation, of questioning belief, and of lost innocence. Based on real people and events and reverberating in our own recent history, it is a parable that never gets old.

The NBYT Teen Company is a program of New Britain Youth Theater in which teens can become involved in choosing, producing and promoting their own theater. The program offers leadership opportunities and a chance for teens to do the shows they want to do, all while under the guidance of NBYT directors.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Becky Beth Benedict is a theater director, actor, and educator based in Connecticut. She has an M.A. and B.A. in theater arts.   In addition to being an active teaching artist for the New Britain Youth Theater, Becky Beth teaches for Hartford Children’s Theatre, the Summer Institute for the Gifted at Yale, and Hampshire Shakespeare Company.  She recently directed Dead Man’s Cell Phone at the University of Hartford, David Mamet’s Boston Marriage with the Suffield Players, and Chicago at the Opera House Players.  Among her other recent directing credits are Almost, Maine at the Valley Repertory Company as well as three new plays in the “LabWorks 15 Minute New Play Contest,” including Reservations Cancelled, the festival drama winner. Becky Beth has served as the dean of the musical theater department of The Hartford Conservatory and worked with several New England theater companies including East Haddam Stage Company, Connecticut Heritage Productions, Hole in the Wall, The Repertory Theater of New Britain, and Castle Craig Players.

Registration Open for Classes and Homeschool Program

A new term of classes and homeschool programs begin this month at NBYT! Stage Performance is held on Saturday mornings beginning January 21, and Homeschool Enrichment is held on Tuesday mornings beginning January 24. Registration for both programs has already begun for children from any town.

In both Stage Performance and Homeschool Enrichment, children study acting techniques, voice, movement, and improvisation to learn to perform together as a group. Each term, they rehearse scenes chosen especially for the children enrolled and with the input of the children themselves. Small group sizes give each child quality instruction and guarantee that everyone has a featured part in the final performance.

Stage Performance, for ages 6 through 12, is ideal for younger actors, children who want their first experience onstage—or a little more experience—or even older children who aren’t able to audition and rehearse for full productions. The small-scale performance, with simple costumes and props, is held in the last half hour of the final class and is open to family and friends. The program meets on Saturday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for eight weeks beginning on January 21.

In Homeschool Enrichment, for ages 4 through 14, children are grouped by age for appropriate instruction and activities, but groups are flexible and subject to enrollment. Discussions about props, costumes and set pieces include making items for their own “Share Day” performance on Wednesday evening of the final week. The new term meets on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for ten weeks beginning on January 24.

For more details, pricing, and printable registration forms for both programs, visit the Programs page of the NBYT website or call 860-515-8115.

Audition Tips for Musical Theater

If you’re auditioning for a musical at NBYT—or just about anywhere else—you’ll probably be asked to sing, dance and act, and those might be in any order. You might be nervous thinking about having to do all of that, but so is just about everybody else! The important part is to be prepared, do your best, and have fun.

For acting, the director will ask you to read a few lines from the script. You’ll probably read with somebody else who is auditioning, and the director might give you some suggestions for different ways to try reading. If you have trouble reading a word or line, don’t be afraid to ask the director about it. Make character choices of your own, but also listen to the director’s suggestions! The director wants to know if you can take some direction and make some interesting choices. Remember that you’re performing, not just reading!

For dance, you and a small group may be taught a few short, simple steps by the choreographer. Then you’ll all be asked to repeat the steps. Just like the reading, the choreographer is looking for whether you can follow directions and how well you try. The choreographer also wants to see how you look when you’re dancing or moving. And remember: because you may be dancing, wear clothes and shoes that are comfortable.

For singing, you might be taught something short to sing or you might be asked to have something prepared to sing. At NBYT, we ask everyone auditioning to prepare at least four to six lines from a song, preferably something from musical theater. The song you pick should be right for your voice. (It should also be right for your age. It can be cute to sing something from Guys and Dolls, or trendy to sing something from Wicked, but you should be very well prepared and confident if you choose something like those. And it’s best to completely avoid things like the death scenes of Jean Valjean or Evita Peron.)

When you sing, there sometimes might be an accompanist to play music for you, and you sometimes might even be allowed to play pre-recorded music, but at NBYT we ask you to sing a cappella, which means without accompaniment. The music director will look for you to be loud, be on key, and be confident. If you can’t sing a song well, it may be best to pick something else. If you make a mistake, just keep going. And if the director tells you to stop, don’t worry that it’s because you’re bad—it’s just because they’ve heard enough to know your voice. Just like reading, remember that you’re performing and not just saying (or singing) words and lines!

Here are a few suggestions of songs you might sing. Each of them should be available to purchase online or to listen to on YouTube. These are just suggestions though. You’re welcome to pick one of your own.

• Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music
• So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music
• Consider Yourself  from Oliver!
• I’d Do Anything from Oliver!
• Happiness from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
• Maybe from Annie
• You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile from Annie
• Not While I’m Around from Sweeney Todd
• Home from Beauty and the Beast
• Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast
• I Just Can’t Wait to Be King from The Lion King
• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins
• Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins
• Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid
• Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid

After you sing the song you’ve prepared, you might also be asked to sing something from the show you’re auditioning for. The music director will give you the music and words and will likely play it once or twice for you first. If you’re asked to sing something you haven’t prepared or even heard before, nobody will expect you to do it perfectly. But we will expect you to try your best.

Overall, the most important thing to know for your audition are these:

• be prepared
• look and sound confident and enthusiastic
• be entertaining
• be loud
• be polite
• do your best
• HAVE FUN!

Auditions Announced for Cinderella

NBYT will hold auditions for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Getting to Know Cinderella on Sunday, January 15, and Tuesday, January 17, 2012, at Trinity-on-Main Performance Center Annex at 19 Chestnut Street in New Britain. Sunday hours are 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday hours are 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The production will be rehearsed at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, and will be performed there on May 4, 5 and 6, 2012. Jefferson is near the Farmington border in New Britain, just off I-84.

No prior experience is required, and auditions are open to children from any town. Both boys and girls between ages 7 and 14 are encouraged to audition. All levels of experience are needed. No prepared monologue is required, but those auditioning should prepare at least four to six lines of a song, preferably from musical theater, to be sung a cappella (without accompaniment). Children auditioning will also be asked to repeat lines or read from the play. To schedule an audition, call (860) 515-8115 or email auditions@nbyt.org. Pre-scheduled auditions are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Those cast will be asked to pay a participation fee of $65, but will receive two complimentary tickets for the production. No child or family, however, will be turned away for inability to pay, so please ask about financial assistance if necessary. Students age 13 and up may also call with interest in stage crew and technical positions.

This production of Cinderella is the world’s most magical fairy tale set to the music and lyrics of Broadway legends Rodgers and Hammerstein. It features songs such as In My Own Little Corner, Impossible/It’s Possible!, Stepsisters’ Lament, and Ten Minutes Ago. This “Getting to Know” title from the Rodgers and Hammerstein Library is adapted specifically for young performers. The production will be directed by NBYT Executive Artistic Director David Sousa, with musical direction by Anne Collin and choreography by Adrienne Marie.

I’m Getting Nothin’ for Christmas

Another NBYT production “wrapped up” earlier this month. I’m Getting Nothin’ for Christmas was staged with thirty-four elves, eight reindeer, four children, one Santa Claus and over one hundred fifty presents!