Audition Call: The N-Town Mary Play (UPDATED: new audition dates)

Mary and the cherry tree, from a previous N-Town production

The Project

Toronto’s renowned medieval and renaissance players continue to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a production of the N-Town Mary Play. PLS is a non-profit, non-Equity theatre company affiliated with the University of Toronto, dedicated to the production of early plays for research and entertainment.

The N-Town Mary Play is a Medieval English drama chronicling the biography of the Virgin Mary, from her own (less-publicized) immaculate conception to her eventual (more famous) virgin birth. The Mary Play is a liturgical drama, full of choral music, which will be overseen in this production by Musical Director Andrea Budgey of the medieval music group SINE NOMINE, and chaplain of Trinity College.

The production is a re-mount/adaptation of a piece originally staged in Oxford in 2009, as a collaboration between scholar Elisabeth Dutton and director Clare Smout. For our production, Elisabeth Dutton will be advising and overseeing, joined by Kimberley Radmacher as director.

Performances will take place at the Church of The Redeemer, November 6-8 2015: evening shows on Friday and Saturday, matinee on Sunday.

What we’re looking for

• 1 child actor (to play 3-year-old Mary)
• Women and men actors who are comfortable speaking verse and are able to sing
• Men and women singers who are comfortable acting in small roles

Rehearsals

Will take place during daytimes, evenings and weekends.

Audition Dates

• September 15: 4pm-9pm
• September 18: 3:30pm–8pm
• September 19: 2pm–6pm

To Apply

Please email your resume and photo as soon as possible to dawnnearing@gmail.com (with subject line: Auditions) to book your audition time. Come prepared with a short classical monologue. You will be asked to read from the plays, which have been modernised, and will be asked to sing. Please prepare a short song of your own choice which demonstrates your vocal range and timbre; you may also wish to sing one of the pieces appended: Ave verum (plainchant) or Ther is no rose (melody line).

• Ave verum
• Ther is no rose

Find out more about PLS: www.plspls.ca

Roles Available

• Young Mary – 3 years old (played by up to 6-year-old)
• Adult Mary – female, young, mother of Christ, sweet, patient
• Joseph – male, older man, caring, but understandably confused!
• Joachim – male, Mary’s Father
• Anna – female, Mary’s Mother
• Angel Gabriel – male, tenor. Messenger of God
• Ysaker/Bishop/Zachary – male/singer (baritone)
• Elizabeth – female, older cousin to Mary
• Male Choir – male members of the Choir also double as:
  Senior Tribe Member, Vox, Father, Minister, Son, First Pastor, First Generation of David, Holy Spirit, Second Pastor, Second Generation of David, Third Pastor, Third Generation of David
• Female Choir – female members of the Choir also double as:
  Meditation, Messenger, Contrition, Susanne, Truth, Compassion, Rebecca, Mercy, Cleanness, Sephore, Righteousness, Fruition, Peace