Bard on the Bandstand 2010: The Tempest

Auditions:
Date:  Sunday March 7, 2010

Time:
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Pitt Meadows Family Rec Centre - Art Workshop

Performance Dates:
Bard on the Bandstand 2010: The Tempest
July 16, 17 at Spirit Square, Pitt Meadows
July 22 – 24 at Memorial Peace Park, Maple Ridge
Preshow Entertainment: 6:30
Showtime: 7:30

July 25 (Matinee only)
Preshow Entertainment: 12:30
Showtime: 1:30

Characters (scroll to the bottom for pdf versions of audition sides):
Prospero - Male over 40 preferrably
The
play’s protagonist and Miranda’s father. Twelve years before the events
of the play, Prospero was the duke of Milan. His brother, Antonio, in
concert with Alonso, king of Naples, usurped him, forcing him to flee
in a boat with his daughter. The honest lord Gonzalo aided Prospero in
his escape. Prospero has spent his twelve years on an island refining
the magic that gives him the power he needs to punish and reconcile
with his enemies.

Miranda - female in late teens to mid-twenties
Prospero’s
daughter, whom he brought with him to the island when she was still a
small child. Miranda has never seen any men other than her father and
Caliban, although she dimly remembers being cared for by female
servants as an infant. Because she has been sealed off from the world
for so long, Miranda’s perceptions of other people tend to be naïve and
non-judgmental. She is compassionate, generous, and loyal to her father.

Ariel - male or female dancer/singer - age unimportant
Prospero’s
spirit helper, a powerful supernatural being whom Prospero controls
completely. Rescued by Prospero from a long imprisonment (within a
tree) at the hands of the witch Sycorax, Ariel is Prospero’s servant
until Prospero decides to release him. He is mischievous and
ubiquitous, able to traverse the length of the island in an instant and
change shapes at will. Ariel carries out virtually every task Prospero
needs accomplished in the play.

Caliban - male - age unimportant
Another
of Prospero’s servants. Caliban, the son of the now-deceased witch
Sycorax, acquainted Prospero with the island when Prospero arrived.
Caliban believes that the island rightfully belongs to him and that
Prospero stole it. Caliban’s speech and behavior is sometimes coarse
and brutal, sometimes eloquent and sensitive, as in his rebukes of
Prospero in Act 1, scene 2, and in his description of the eerie beauty
of the island.

Ferdinand - male - twenties
Son and heir of
Alonso. Ferdinand seems in some ways to be as pure and naïve as
Miranda. He falls in love with her upon first sight (BOING!) and
happily submits to servitude in order to win Prospero’s approval.

Alonso - male - over 40
King
of Naples and father of Ferdinand. Alonso aided Antonio in unseating
Prospero as duke of Milan twelve years before. Over the course of the
play, Alonso comes to regret his past actions and desire a
reconciliation with Prospero.

Antonio - male - over 40
Prospero’s
thoroughly wicked brother who betrayed Prospero’s trust and stole his
dukedom years before the play begins. Once on the island, Antonio
wastes no time demonstrating that he is still power-hungry and
murderous, persuading Sebastian to help him kill Alonso. Though
Prospero forgives him at the end of the play, Antonio never repents for
his misdeeds.

Sebastian - male - over 40
Alonso’s brother.
Like Antonio, Sebastian is wicked and underhanded. Antonio easily
persuades him to agree to kill Alonso. Also like Antonio, Sebastian is
unrepentant at the end of the play.

Gonzalo - Male or female - over 40
An
old, honest lord – could be female – Miranda’s old nurse, perhaps, now
a servant to the king. The goodhearted Gonzalo helped Prospero and
Miranda to escape and survive after Antonio usurped Prospero’s title.
During the play, Gonzalo does his best to cheer up the despondent
Alonso, maintains an optimistic outlook on the island where they’re
standed, and remains unfazed by the insulting taunts of Antonio and
Sebastian.

Trinculo and Stefano - male or female -
Two minor
members of the shipwrecked party. Trinculo, a jester, and Stefano, a
drunken butler, provide a comic foil to the other, more powerful pairs
of Prospero and Alonso and Antonio and
Sebastian. Their drunken
boasting and petty greed reflect and deflate the quarrels and power
struggles of Prospero and the other noblemen.

Boatswain
Appearing
only in the first and last scenes, the Boatswain angers the noble
characters with his foul-mouthed and rude remarks, but remains
competent and resourceful in the shipwreck scene, demanding practical
help rather than weeping and prayer.

Faeries/Nymphs/Mariners - various extra dancers needed