AUDITIONS: Floyd Collins @ Blank Canvas Theatre

Blank Canvas Theatre
Auditions for

FLOYD COLLINS

Book & Additional Lyrics by Tina Landau
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Directed by Patrick Ciamacco
Music Direction by Matt Dolan
If Interested: Email Patrick@blankcanvastheatre.com to sign up for the below date and include your ideal time for auditioning. Otherwise we will just assign you the best available slot. We will do our best to accommodate you.

*If you can not make auditions please email us your headshot and resume for consideration. If possible submit a video audition for consideration. We do our best to see and consider additional people, but attending auditions is always ideal.

Audition Date: Tuesday January 31st and Wednesday February 1st

Time: 7:00pm-10:00pm (Time slots will be assigned every 5 minutes)

What to prepare: Please prepare two contrasting 32 bars or short songs in a contemporary musical theatre or country/folk style. Please bring sheet music in the correct key. An accompanist will be provided. Please bring a headshot and resume to auditions. Headshots and resumes are appreciated, but not required.

Performance Dates: March 10th - 25th. Shows will be Thursday-Sunday. Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm. Sunday performances will be at 7pm. (Show will open on a Friday night and close on a Saturday night)

Rehearsals: Begin February 6th. Rehearsals will be Sundays-Thursdays. Typically 7pm-10pm, though Sundays may be a longer day based on conflicts.

Pay: Blank Canvas Theatre dedicates 20% of the net profit to the cast of each show. The cast splits this evenly.
*At this time there are no AEA Contracts for this show. However we may explore the option if needed.

Location:
Blank Canvas Theatre
1305 78th Street, Suite 211 (at 78th Street Studios)
Cleveland, OH 44102
(Click here for directions or visit our website at www.blankcanvastheatre.com)

The Story

A hauntingly beautiful musical, based on a true story. In 1925, while chasing a dream of fame and fortune by turning a Kentucky cave into a tourist attraction, Floyd Collins himself became the attraction when he got trapped 200 feet underground. Alone but for sporadic contact with the outside world, Floyd fought for his sanity and ultimately his life as the rescue effort above exploded into the first genuine media circus. Reporters and gawkers from across the country descended on the property, fueling the hysteria and manipulating the nation into holding its collective breath. This haunting musical - one of the most acclaimed in recent years - tells the transcendent tale of a true American dreamer.

Character Breakdown

* The age range for each character is flexible and all ethnicities and body types will be considered.

Floyd Collins: (Male 25-35, Baritone, low F# - high A, falsetto (yodel) to C ) A caver who dreams of something bigger than his life in the Kentucky hill country. Stubborn and resolute, he is eternally hopeful that things are going to work out. A strong & versatile soloist.

Homer Collins: (Male 20-30, Tenor low B or lower to high C) Floyd’s younger brother. Passionate, emotional and hot-headed, he is single-minded in his goal to free Floyd in spite of the odds. A strong & versatile soloist.

Nellie Collins: (Female 20-30, Soprano or Mezzo low F to high A) Floyd’s sister. Delicate and almost ghostly. She has a childlike quality which others interpret as emotional immaturity, but she actually knows more than she lets on. Wide-range Soprano or Mezzo (low F to high A - strong & versatile soloist.

Lee Collins: (Male 50-70, Baritone low A - high G) Floyd’s father. Stoic and taciturn, he is a God-fearing man who was raised on the rough soil of Kentucky, unequipped to handle the disintegration of his family.

Miss Jane: (Female 45-55, Alto/Mezzo low F# - high D, prefer up to F#) Floyd’s stepmother. The anchor of the Collins family, she has a quiet strength and stolidity.

Skeets Miller: (Male 20-30, Baritone or Tenor (low B - high G) A reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal. Eager, energetic, anxious to get his first big scoop, he is the only man small enough to reach Floyd. Torn apart by guilt over the media circus he has created.

H.T. Carmichael: (Male 45-55, Vocal range flexible) The engineer assigned to get Floyd out of the cave. Arrogant, overbearing and disdainful of the uneducated locals he is forced to deal with, he is an outsider in a very tight-knit community.

Jewell Estes: (Male 18-25, Baritone low A - high F) A local teenager. Simple and good-natured, he is a big talker and the butt of the jokes around Sand Cave. GUITAR PLAYING IS A PLUS.

Bee Doyle: (Male 30-60, Baritone (low A - high F) The owner of the farm above Sand Cave. Tough, weathered and severe, he is a local farmer who is forced to watch as his farm is transformed into a media circus.

Ed Bishop: (Male 30-45, Baritone (low A - high F) African American or Caucasian. a local caver who is in over his head.

Dr. Hazlett/Reporter: (Male 35-45, Tenor with ability to sing tight harmonies) a doctor from Chicago. Also plays a Sand Cave local and a slick newspaper reporter from the city. Tenor - strong soloist & ensemble singer excellent musicianship & ability to sing tight harmonies.

Cliff Roney/Reporter: (Male 25-40, Tenor with ability to sing tight harmonies) a slick newspaper reporter from the city. Also plays a Sand Cave local.

Frederick Jordan/Reporter: (Male 25-40, Tenor with ability to sing tight harmonies) A slick newspaper reporter from the city. Also plays a Sand Cave local.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us at patrick@blankcanvastheatre.com. We look forward to seeing you at auditions!