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Auditions

Auditions for musician/actors for August workshop of Sweethearts of Swing! 

 

DEADLINE EXTENDED -- EMAIL FOR DETAILS

SWEETHEARTS OF SWING is a ground-breaking new musical inspired by true stories of interracial all-female swing bands of the 1940s, and the women who risked their lives to play music together.  Featuring 11 female musician/actors who perform the original big band score onstage, SWEETHEARTS is the first show to bring to the world of Broadway this little known piece of history showcasing women jazz musicians. 

This August, an invited audience will get to meet the full SWEETHEARTS band for the first time, in a staged concert reading developed by The Lark, with additional support from NAMT (National Alliance for Musical Theatre)* and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund at the Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, NY. 

If you are a strong jazz musician with acting inclinations, please submit a video audition to be considered for this opportunity! SWEETHEARTS  features a highly diverse cast (10 of the 11 band members are women of color)**; please see full instrument and character breakdown below. Compensation (including transportation to Tarrytown) will be provided. Equity and non-Equity members welcome to apply.

Pertinent Dates:

Rehearsals at The Lark (411 W. 43rd St, NYC, NY):

(exact call times will vary by character, but please be available for all)

Sun Aug 6: 10am-8pm

Mon Aug 7: 10am-8pm

Tue Aug 8: 10am-8pm

Presentation at Pocantico Estate in Tarrytown, NY

Wed Aug 9:  6pm performance, call times TBD, please be open all day

Thurs Aug 10:  rain date same as above (only needed if we are rained out on Wed Aug 9)

Video submissions must be received by 11:59pm EDT on June 9th. Callbacks will be held in person in midtown Manhattan on June 24th and 25th. Submission instructions below.

*This summer's residency and workshop is supported in part by the national Fund for New Musicals, a program of National Alliance for Musical Theatre, with funding from The Alhadeff Charitable Foundation - www.namt.org 

Instrument and Character Breakdown

The Story: It's 1943 in the American South. Rosie can scarcely believe her luck when the hottest all-female swing band in the country hires her to fill a sudden opening for a trumpet player, though the Sweethearts’ star trumpeter Velma is none-too-impressed by the newcomer’s chops. What begins as a rivalry over musical styles takes on life-and-death stakes when Velma and the rest of the band discover that Rosie is white and has been “passing” to play in their “colored” band — while touring the Jim Crow South. 

 

Click here to learn more about the true stories that inspired the show. 

Instrument and Character Breakdown

Roles sought:

8 musicians who deliver a small number of lines, playing the following instruments: click on your instrument to download sheet music audition side

These 8 band member characters are all women of color, including but not limited to the following ethnicities**:

  • Black

  • Latina/Hispanic

  • Asian

  • Native American

  • Multi-Ethnic

To show a sense of your acting ability, please select one of the following sides which you feel best suits you and video yourself reading that character's lines (have a friend read the other characters' lines off-screen).  You will not necessarily be auditioning for that specific character. Click on the character name to download PDF of the script side:

3 musician/actors for large acting roles:

 

Velma*: black, trumpet player, feisty and witty. As a trumpet player, she is a strong improviser/soloist, rooted in the blues.

*this role has been cast for this summer

 

Rosie: white, trumpet player, naive, big dreamer. As a trumpet player, she is a strong classical player with high range. Jazz improvisation skills strongly preferred but not required. Download script side; musical side 1 and musical side 2

 

Cora: Latina, any of the above instruments, big hearted and warm, with a bit of New York sass. Bilingual Spanish/English. Download script side here; for the musical side, select your instrument from the list above.

 

**While it's imperative that the band (other than Rosie) be composed entirely and exclusively of women of color, specific instruments need not be played by women of a particular ethnic background, with the exception of Rosie and Velma. During the workshop, we will tailor the characters to the musicians cast. That said, it is important both to the historical accuracy of the piece and to the commitments of the authors that we cast with a high degree of authenticity and integrity.

Instrument list
Characters
Diversity in casting

Step 1: 

Record 3 separate videos (4 for Rosie); phone or computer camera is fine:

  1. Music side specific to your instrument (download PDF from instrument list above)

  2. Improvised solo on blues or rhythm changes (2-3 choruses accompanied by a pianist, guitarist, band, backing track, or just a metronome OK; pre-existing video also welcome)

  3. Acting side of your choice​ (download PDF from acting sides above and have a friend read the other characters' lines off camera)

Step 2: 

Upload videos to a private youtube channel, labeled with your name and title of selection

Step 3: 

Email video links, along with PDF of resume, to info@sweetheartsofswing.com by 11:59pm EDT on June 9th. 

 

Questions? Email info@sweetheartsofswing.com or call 212-504-3046

Submission Instructions

Submission Instructions
© 2017 BY Nat & Kat
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