Auditions for MARY POPPINS

Director
RICHARD MCKENNA
Music Director
JIM LUURTSEMA
Choreographer
SHARON A. WILCOX

PERFORMANCE DATES
Saturday, July 29, 2017 | 8PM
Sunday, July 30, 2017 | 2PM
Friday, August 4, 2017 | 8PM
Saturday, August 5, 2017 | 8PM
Sunday, August 6, 2017 | 8PM

The Warner Stage Company
is a regional community
theatre company and does
not offer compensation
or housing for performers.

Children’s Audition
(Jane Banks, Michael Banks, Ensemble Boys & Girls)
Sunday, May 7, 2017 from 5:30pm-7:00pm
(by appointment)
 
Auditions for All Other Roles
Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 7:00pm (by appointment)
Monday, May 8, 2017 at 7:00pm (by appointment)

All roles are open to audition. We are seeking a large ensemble cast for this production.  There are 2 principal child roles and 4 principal adult roles with 15 supporting roles plus ensemble.
 
All children auditioning for the roles of Jane Banks, Michael Banks or the Boys & Girls Ensemble will be asked to sing “The Perfect Nanny” from MARY POPPINS.  Sheet music will be provided.  No additional music selection will be needed for the children’s audition.
 
All other auditioners must bring sheet music with them and be prepared to sing 32 bars, but no more than one minute, of a fully memorized Broadway-style musical selection that showcases their vocal range. Musical selections do not need to be from MARY POPPINS.
 
Auditioners should mark their selection with a highlighter. An accompanist will be provided. A cappella singing, instrumentals on CD, Tape, iPod, MP3 Player or digital recorder will not be allowed. Auditioners will be asked to learn a short dance/movement combination taught at the audition and may also be asked to read from the script (a British dialect is strongly encouraged).

CALLBACKS: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 7:00pm
(if needed)

Rehearsals will be held three times per week on Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday evenings (7:00-10:00pm) with three Wednesday evening rehearsals on May 17th, May 31st and July 5th.  Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
 
Tech week rehearsals will be Sunday through Thursday, July 23-27, 2017.  We do ask that Friday, July 28, 2017 be held in case an additional tech week rehearsal is needed.  The pickup rehearsal will be held on Thursday, August 3, 2017.

If you are unable to make the mandatory tech week rehearsals and/or pickup rehearsal, we will be unable to cast you in this production.

AUDITIONS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

ABOUT THE SHOW
She’s practically perfect in every way! Get ready for MARY POPPINS to fly over the rooftops of London and onto the Warner Theatre Main Stage! This family musical is the winner of 44 major theatre awards from around the globe! Mary Poppins has captivated audiences for generations, and now the enchanting story, unforgettable songs and breathtaking production numbers will dazzle and delight theatergoers of all ages. Believe in the magic and discover a world where anything can happen if you let it!
 
SONGS INCLUDE: A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR • CHIM CHIM CHER-EE • ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN • FEED THE BIRDS • SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS • STEP IN TIME • PRACTICALLY PERFECT
 
One of the most popular Disney movies of all time is capturing hearts in a whole new way: as a practically perfect musical! Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's MARY POPPINS delighted Broadway audiences for over 2,500 performances and received nominations for nine Olivier and seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
 
The jack-of-all trades, Bert, introduces us to England in 1910 and the troubled Banks family. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren't the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that "Anything can happen if you let it."
 
AVAILABLE ROLES
All ages will be adjusted to fit the needs of our casting and some cast members may be required to use aging makeup.
 
JANE BANKS (Lead) – Female, age 9-11; range: A3-F#5; high-spirited daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Banks; bright and precocious but can be willful and inclined to snobbishness.
 
MICHAEL BANKS (Lead) – Male, age 8-9; range: A3-E5; cute and cheeky son of Mr. and Mrs. Banks; excitable and naughty, he adores his father and tries to be like him; both he and Jane misbehave in order to get the attention of their parents.
 
MARY POPPINS (Lead) – Female, age 28-40; range: Gb3-C6; Jane and Michael Banks's new nanny. She is extraordinary and strange, neat and tidy, delightfully vain yet very particular, and sometimes a little frightening but always exciting. She is practically perfect in every way and always means what she says. She should be able to move well and comfortable with heights.
 
BERT (Lead) – Male, age 29-40; range: B2-F#4. Narrator of the story and a good friend to Mary Poppins. An everyman, Bert has many occupations, including hurdy-gurdy player, sidewalk artist, and chimney sweep. Bert watches over the children as well as the goings on in Cherry Tree Lane. He has charm, speaks with a Cockney accent, and is a song-and-dance-man. Must be comfortable with heights.
 
WINNIFRED BANKS (Lead) – Female, age 30-40; range: A3-D5. George's wife and Jane and Michael's mother. A former actress, she is a loving and distracted homemaker who is busy trying to live up to her husband's desire to only associate with "the best people" as well as be a model wife and mother. She suffers from the conflicting feelings that she's not up to the job of "being Mrs. Banks," yet, she is, and more. She has a great warmth and simplicity to her tone.
 
GEORGE BANKS (Lead) – Male, age 30-45; range: Bb2-Eb4. Father to Jane and Michael Banks. He is a banker to the very fiber of his being. Demanding "precision and order" in his household, he is a pipe-and-slippers man who doesn't have much to do with his children and believes that he had the perfect upbringing by his nanny, the cruel Miss Andrew. His emotional armor, however, conceals a sensitive soul.
 
MRS. BRILL (Supporting) – Female. Age 50-60; range: F#3-D#5. Housekeeper and cook for the Banks family. Overworked and harassed, she's always complaining that the house is understaffed. Her intimidating exterior is a cover for the warmth underneath. Mrs. Brill doesn't have a high opinion of nannies in general and Mary Poppins in particular.
 
ROBERTSON AY (Supporting) – Male, age 20-30; range: F3-G#4. Houseboy to the Banks family. Lazy, sleepy, and grumbling, he never gets things right and believes himself to be useless.
 
BIRD WOMAN (Supporting) – Female, age 50-60; range: Gb3-C5. Covered in a patchwork of old shawls, her pockets are stuffed with bags of crumbs for the birds. She tries to sell her crumbs for the birds to passersby, who ignore her as if she doesn't exist. She has a gruff, folksy quality to her voice that reflects the hardness of her life.
 
MISS ANDREW (Supporting) – Female, age 40-60; range: Gb3-F5. George's overbearing and scary nanny. With her bottle of nasty-tasting brimstone and treacle to keep naughty children in line, she is a bully who only knows one way of doing things - her way.
 
MRS. CORRY (Supporting) – Female, age 40-50; owns a magical gingerbread shop. She is a mysterious woman of great age who speaks with a Caribbean accent (or any accent that would make her seem exotic).
 
ADMIRAL BOOM (Supporting) – Male, age 50-60; a retired Royal Navy man and neighbor of the Banks family. A physically large man with a loud and booming voice, he speaks in Navy jargon and has a soft spot for his neighbor, Miss Lark.
 
MISS LARK (Suppporting) – Female,. Age 30-40; the haughty next-door neighbor of the Banks family who treats her dog, Willoughby, as if he were her child.
 
PARK KEEPER (Supporting) – Male, age 40-60; uniformed and officious, he makes sure no one breaks park regulations. His life is defined by rules, but he secretly hankers after his childhood.
 
NELEUS (Supporting) – Male, age 16-25; statue of a young boy posed with a dolphin in the park. Neleus was separated from his father, Poseidon, and misses him very much.
 
JOHN NORTHBROOK (Supporting) – Male, age 30-50; an honest businessman seeking a loan to build a factory for his community. He speaks with an accent from Northern England.
 
VON HUSSLER (Supporting) – Male. Age 30-60; a businessman seeking a loan from the bank for a shady business deal. He speaks with a German accent.
 
BANK CHAIRMAN (Supporting) – Male, age 50-60; range: C3-D4; head of the bank where Mr. Banks is employed. He is an Edwardian stuffed-shirt.
 
KATIE NANNA (Supporting) – Female, age 20-30; range: Gb3-C6; Jane and Michael's nanny at the beginning of the show. Overwhelmed and upset, she has absolutely had her fill of the Banks children.
 
MISS SMYTHE (Supporting) – Female, age 40-50; the Bank Chairman's humorless secretary.
 
QUEEN VICTORIA (Supporting) – Female, age 40-60;
 
ENSEMBLE (Supporting) – Male/Female, ages 16-60; singing-dancing ensemble consisting of Annie, Fannie, Valentine, Teddy Bear, Mr. Punch, Doll, Chimney Sweeps, Toys, and Park-goers. Tap experience is a plus.
 
BOYS & GIRLS (Featured) – Male/Female, ages 8-15; to play the children of London