Daytona State to conduct open auditions for Smokey Joe’s Café

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 4, 2015) – The Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art at Daytona State College will conduct open auditions for Smokey Joe’s Café from 3 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14, on the college’s Daytona Beach Campus, Goddard Performance Hall (bldg. 230), Choir Room.

The musical celebrates the golden age of rock n’ roll, boasting the longest running musical revue in Broadway history. With some of the biggest hits from the ’50s and ’60s, including Fools Fall in Love, Poison Ivy, On Broadway, Yakety Yak, I’m a Woman, Stand by Me and Love Potion #9, this electrifying music by Leiber and Stoller lit up Manhattan’s Great White Way for five years.

Auditions will be held for the following roles:

• Victor - part of the quartet, this preening bad-boy has comic overtones.
• Adrian - part of the quartet, he is slow but witty.
• Ken - part of the quartet, he’s the smoothie.
• Fred - part of the quartet, he’s the implacable bass who’s seen it all and refuses to get upset about it. 
• Michael - should be able to evoke a memory of Elvis without doing an impression or camping his way through a GREASE-inspired parody. 
• B.J. - a female character inspired by the titanic rhythm-and-blues shouter Big Mama Thornton, who recorded the original version of Hound Dog. Big Mama was a woman of size, arrogance and great good humor.
• Delee - should evoke both the innocence of the teenage girls who fell in love with Elvis, Dion, Fabian and Frankie Avalon on the Dick Clark Show, and the wild streak that all of us dreamed about such girls having. She is Brenda Lee, but sometimes she wants to be Jayne Mansfield. 
• Pattie - the throaty voice of experience; a little older-but-wiser, she anchors the more serious moments, and may even seem to come from a slightly later period (Janis Joplin, Tracy Nelson, Bonnie Raitt) than the rest of the company.
• Brenda - the combination of savvy, wit, brains and beauty born of the line of stunning rock-n’-roll divas including Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, Tina Turner and Patti LaBelle. 

Participants should prepare a one-minute pop/rock song from the ’50s/60s, preferably music from the show, Smokey Joe’s Café. Bring comfortable clothing and be prepared to move.

Production dates for Smokey Joe’s Café: Feb. 26-28 and March 4-5. Rehearsals begin Jan. 11.

For more information about the auditions, call (386) 226-1903 or email SternS@DaytonaState.edu.

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Daytona State to conduct open auditions for Murder at Café Noir, Sept. 1

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 25, 2015) – The Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art at Daytona State College will conduct open auditions for Murder at Café Noir from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at the college’s News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach Street, Daytona Beach.

An interactive dinner theatre production, Murder at Café Noir features characters performing in a “café” setting, with audience members eating dinner and interacting with actors throughout the show. Experience with improvisation is a plus. The style is 1940s black and white “film noir” – those interested in auditioning should research the period and look at films such as “Casablanca.” Singing and non-singing roles available.

Auditions will be held for the following roles:

•         Rick Archer - a private eye who’s always wanted to be Bogart or Mitchum in one of those 1940s film noir movies and has not gotten his chance.
•         Madame Toreau - a lady who’s seen it all while managing the Café Noir - where everything is for sale.
•         Sheila Wonderly - her real name is Sheilda Schickelmeier. Once a spoiled rich girl, she took a job at Café Noir and learned about life the hardest way of all, becoming hardened in the process.
•         Anthony Cairo - a dealer in the black market working Café Noir to avoid the St. Vincent police. He has two scars, one on either side of his face.
•         Marie LaRue - the Creole illegitimate daughter of a voodoo priestess and a St. Vincent’s political figure. She sells spells and fortunes at Café Noir.
•         Simon Gutterman - a British barrister who lost his standing when he became implicated in a scandal of having affairs with wealthy female clients. He now caters to the clientele of Café Noir. Simon is always looking for a quick way to make it to the top.
•         Thursby - a two-bit gun runner.
•         Vangilder - a Dutch blackmailer.
•         Rigfield - a British cop from St. Vincent.
Participants should prepare a one-minute comic monologue and bring a headshot and résumé if available, as well as a list of conflicts within the rehearsal/performance dates. Singers should prepare a 1-minute jazz style piece and bring CD or MP3 accompaniment.

Production dates for Murder at Café Noir: Oct. 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.- held in the Grand Lobby, News-Journal Center.

For more information about the auditions, call (386) 226-1903 or email SternS@DaytonaState.edu.

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Daytona State announces auditions for resident modern dance company, Jan. 28

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 15, 2015) - Daytona State College’s resident modern dance company, Dance Theatre, under the artistic direction of Kevin Veiga, will hold auditions for the

coming season on Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 4 to 6 p.m. Auditions will take place in the Dance Studio at the News-Journal Center located at 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach.

The audition will consist of ballet barre and center, modern movement across the floor and learning excerpts from recent repertory. Interested students should come prepared in proper dance attire or comfortable movement-oriented clothing, dance shoes (ballet and jazz) and/or bare feet.

The Dance Theatre is primarily a modern dance company, but members should be able to perform ballet, jazz and other dance forms as called for by the choreography. An informal performance in the fall and a main stage performance in the spring will highlight the year, along with other campus and community performances scheduled as requested or needed.

Auditions are open to the community and members need not be students. Dance Theater members receive college credit if enrolled in DAA2640. Tuition assistance may be available. Rehearsals are scheduled Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. starting Monday, Feb. 2. Additional rehearsals also may be scheduled as needed. In addition, each member is encouraged to register for a technique class through the dance course offerings.

Degree-seeking students (both non-dance and dance majors) taking a full course load, who are interested in taking at least one dance technique class during the spring semester, are eligible to apply for a needs-based tuition scholarship. To apply, stop by the Daytona Beach Campus and speak with Kevin Veiga in room 116, Goddard Performance Hall,  Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2 to 4 p.m., or Wednesday, Jan. 21, 12:30 to 2 p.m. Scholarships range from three or more credit hours toward the cost of tuition per academic year. Additional scholarship awards available for participants in the DSC Dance Theatre.

For additional information, email veigak@DaytonaState.edu or call (386) 506-3183.

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Daytona State to conduct open auditions for fall plays, One Man, Two Guvnors and Proof

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 29, 2014) – The Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art at Daytona State College will conduct open auditions for One Man, Two Guvnors and Proof from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Wednesday, Sept. 3, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the college’s News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach Street, Daytona Beach.

One Man, Two Guvnors is Richard Bean’s English adaptation of “The Servant of Two Masters,” a 1743 Commedia dell’arte style comedy play by the Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni, features mistaken identities, overactive appetites of every kind, sharp satire, intricate plot twists and cascading laughter that creates the perfect setting for merry mayhem in this Tony Award-winning British farce. Francis Henshall’s oversized appetites lead him to juggle a pair of bosses who share a propensity for criminal activity and, it turns out, so much more. His efforts to keep the two apart bring about an escalating series of comedic contortions that have won raves from fans and critics alike around the world.

Auditions will be held for the following roles:

• Francis: (20s/30) A quick-witted servant, always getting himself into and out of trouble.  Improv and physical comedy skills required.  (Based on Harlequin)
• Stanley Stubbers: (mid 20s)  A rich gangster, attended the best schools and universities, very dashing and debonair.  Think James Bond meets Jay Gatsby.
• Harry Dangle: (plays 40s) The used-car-salesman type of lawyer who’s very quick to let you know how much he knows about the law.  (Based on Il Dottore)
• Charlie “the duck” Clench: (plays 40s) A gangster who has risen from nothing to being the head honcho.  Intimidating but likable.  (Based on Il Pantalone)
• Lloyd Boateng: (20s/30s) Everybody’s pal.  Used to work for Charlie but now owns the local tavern.  (Based on Brighella)
• Alan: (young 20s) Harry’s son, an aspiring actor (though not a very good one) and a hopeless romantic.
• Alfie the Porter: (87 years old), Physical Comedy skills required (May double as a musician) (*note-can be played by younger actors with makeup and wig)
• Gareth the Head Waiter: (20s/30s) Very well trained in proper etiquette and fancy gourmet dining. (May double as musician) (*note-can be played by a woman)
• Rachel Crabbe: (20s) A tomboy who is not afraid to take matters into her own hands, or even disguise herself as her dead brother, in order to marry her lover.
• Pauline Clench: (late teens/early 20s) Charlie’s spoiled princess of a daughter.  Not very bright.  Think Karen from Mean Girls meets Princess Fiona from Shrek.
• Dolly: (20s/30s) Charlie’s chief domestic (assistant).  Smart, sexy, single, with some strongly feminist views. (Based on Smeraldina)
• MUSICIANS: 2 – 4 singer/instrumentalists (guitar, tambourine, ukulele, etc.) who stroll about the town commenting on the action of the play through their Beatles-esque songs.

Participants should prepare a one-minute comic monologue and bring a headshot and résumé if available, as well as a list of conflicts within the rehearsal/performance dates.

Production dates for One Man, Two Guvnors: Oct. 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m.- held in the Gillespy Theater, News-Journal Center.

Proof is the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play by David Auburn. On the eve of her 25th birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, reflects on the many years spent caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father, who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness or genius will she inherit?
Auditions will be held for the following roles:

• Catherine: (20’s) A young woman who inherited at least some of her father's mathematical genius, and, she fears, his "instability" as well; she gave up her life and schooling to take care of her father until his recent death.
• Claire: (20’s) Catherine's older sister, no nonsense, takes charge kind of gal.
• Harold Dobbs: (20’s) One of Robert's last Ph.D. students during the one year his mentor's illness went into remission
• Robert: (50’s-60’s) A recently deceased mathematician who did brilliant, breakthrough work in his youth, but whose later years were plagued by delusional mental illness; he is seen in Catherine's imagination and in flashbacks.

Participants should prepare a one-minute comic monologue and bring a headshot and résumé if available, as well as a list of conflicts within the rehearsal/performance dates.

Production dates for Proof: Nov. 14-15 & 22 at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 & 23 at 2:30 p.m. - held in the Gillespy Theater, News-Journal Center.

For more information about the auditions, call (386) 226-1903 or email SternS@DaytonaState.edu.

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Daytona State to conduct open auditions for summer musical, Once on This Island

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 24, 2014) – The Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art at Daytona State College will conduct open auditions for Once on This Island at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 11, at the News-Journal Center at 221 N. Beach Street, Daytona Beach. 

In addition, the open audition is an opportunity for both theatre and non-theatre majors to apply for Theatre Scholarships; these are awarded to DSC students who participate in theatre classes or productions – tuition scholarships range from $600 to $2,400 per academic year.

Once on This Island, the highly original and theatrical adaptation of popular fairy tale The Little Mermaid, is an almost non-stop song and dance show. It tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of her island. After Daniel is returned to his people, the fantastical gods who rule the island guide Ti Moune on a quest to test the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice and hatred. Appropriate and entertaining for the whole family.

Auditions will be held for the following roles:

• TI MOUNE: Female Lead. A naive peasant girl in Haiti whose life is being led/helped by the gods. The heroine. Young, full of restless energy and fervor, she is immature and even a little selfish in her single-minded quest for freedom. Requires a strong dancer. Soprano with belt.
• YOUNG TI MOUNE: (5-12) Also plays the child for whom the story is told. Energetic, confident and sweet with a strong speaking and singing voice.
• DANIEL BEAUXHOMME: Male Lead. A wealthy Haitian, who is cared for by Ti Moune after a car crash. Sensitive and poetic, he must be quite convincing as a romantic interest for the spirited Ti Moune. Tenor.
• ERZULIE: Goddess of Love. A mentor for Ti Moune. Ethereal. Loving. The most approachable of the gods, but ultimately no less egocentric; by love, she means romance. Requires a strong Soprano.
• AGWE: God of Water. A mentor for Ti Moune. Larger than life. Mysterious. Requires a very strong singer with a dramatic voice and big range; Baritone/Bass.
• ASAKA: Mother of the Earth. A mentor for Ti Moune. Spunky. Happy. Requires a strong singer – soprano with belt.
• PAPA GE: God of Death. Antagonist embodying the fears of all the peasants, and easy to dislike. Dark Tenor.
• MAMA EURALIE: Ti Moune’s adoptive mother, protective, superstitious, fiercely loving and strong willed. Alto.
• TONTON JULIAN: He is Ti Moune’s adoptive father, and from him she has learned the sacrificial love she demonstrates later. Caring, loving – a typical father. Baritone/Tenor.
• STORYTELLERS: (All ages) Narrators of the story of Ti Moune. Predominantly speaking roles.
• ANDREA DEVEREAUX: Daniel’s betrothed – she seems cold at first, but turns out to be both humane and determined. Mezzo.
• MONSIEUR BEAUXHOMME: Daniel’s father. Baritone.

Participants should prepare one-minute song (if auditioning for the musical) and monologue; bring sheet music in the correct key and a headshot and résumé if available, as well as a list of conflicts within the rehearsal/performance dates.

Production dates for Once on This Island: June 6-7, 12-14, at 7:30 p.m., and  June 6, 8, 13 and 15 at 2:30 p.m. - held in the Gillespy Theater, News-Journal Center.

For more information about the audition and Theatre Scholarship application, call (386) 226-1903 or email SternS@DaytonaState.edu.

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