Auditions: Little Women
This timeless, captivating story is brought to life in this glorious musical filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope and everlasting love. Based on Louisa May Alcott's life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March. The powerful score soars with the sounds of personal discovery, heartache and hope – the sounds of a young America finding its voice.
IMPORTANT CASTING INFORMATION
This is a story of the importance of family and the impact of a young woman setting and achieving her goals at an historical time when it was unusual and generally unacceptable for women to do so. It is the conviction of the Morgan-Wixson Theater to cast all of our shows in a way that genuinely reflects our community. We are committed to casting at least half of the roles of this show with actors of color. This will not be limited to the ensemble but will exemplified throughout all of the characters and, most specifically, the March Family. The family will be cast multi-racially as will all other roles. Please note that although the show takes place during the Civil War, there are no references within the script to the nature of the conflict except to refer to it as “the war”. The characters originate in Maine and are therefore on the Union side of the conflict but this is not discussed in the show.
All actors must be fully vaccinated.
Understudies will be cast for all principal roles with a guaranteed performance.
AUDITIONS
Auditions will be held on:
Saturday, August 28, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m (Stage)
Sunday, August 29, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (Stage)
No Appointment Needed. Actors only need to attend one day of auditions.
CALLBACKS on Tuesday, August 31, from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. (Stage)
You will be notified by email if you will be needed for Callbacks.
All auditions and any necessary callbacks will be held at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre.
2627 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Street parking available.
Venice Family Clinic’s parking lot is available on weekends and on weekdays after 6:00pm. Do not park at our neighbors AAMCO/Viking Motors or SGI or you will be towed.
PREPARE
Please prepare two contrasting songs (16-32 bars each) from standard musical theater repertoire. Do not sing a pop/rock song. You may only be asked to sing one song, so do the “best one” first. An accompanist will be provided; bring sheet music in the key you will be singing. You may bring pre-recorded accompaniment on CD or Iphone/Android equivalent although we would prefer that you sing with the accompanist. Be prepared to dance at the initial audition.
PERFORMANCE DATES
November 13 to November 28
with a possible extension to December 5:
November 13 & 14 at 2:00 pm, November 19 at 7:30 pm, November 21 at 2:00 pm, November 26 at 7:30 pm, November 27 & 28 at 2:00 pm.
Possible extended performances would be December 4 & 5 at 2:00 pm.
Please note that actors MUST be available for all performances. This is non-negotiable!
REHEARSALS
Rehearsals begin Saturday, September 11 and are held Monday through Thursday evenings from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm for the week of September 12th.
From September 20th through October 7th, weekday rehearsals will be from 4:00 to 7:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
There will be no rehearsals from October 8 through October 15.
Weekday rehearsals from October 17 thru opening day will be from 6:30 to 9:30 pm Monday through Thursday.
Weekend rehearsals are Saturdays from 1:00 to 5:00 pm and Sundays from 5:30 to 9:00 pm.
Rehearsals will go until 10:00 pm during tech week.
Actors are not called for all rehearsals, only rehearsals where they are being used for a scene.
BRING
A copy of your Vaccination Card, Picture, Resume and list of all conflicts for the rehearsal period. All conflicts MUST be submitted prior to callbacks. If additional conflicts arise after casting, it may result in an actor being replaced.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
In reference to the character descriptions that follow—most characters we encounter currently are on the binary and are written with he/him or she/her pronouns and you will see that in the following descriptions. But however limiting the descriptions are, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible and we invite gender non-conforming, genderfluid, transgender and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with.
We will also list race/ethnicity when specific to the character but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities.
In addition, we will list disability when specific to a character, but are otherwise seeking actors with disabilities as well as non-disabled actors for all roles.
Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or if there are any accommodations we can provide.
We are actively committed to casting an inclusive show that reflects the community.
Jo March: Mezzo with strong belt, high belt & soprano range, E3 to A5, the story's protagonist, passionate, adventurous, and brave, ability to play comedic and dramatic scenes.
Amy March: Mezzo, A3 to Gb5, the youngest, most energetic sister with a rather pompous and precocious air about her. She later marries Laurie therefore must “grow up” during the course of the show.
Meg March: Soprano with strong low range, A#3 to Bb5, the world-weary, yet hopeful, oldest sister who yearns for a great life.
Beth March: Mezzo, A3-G5, the second youngest sister (who tragically dies of scarlet fever) peace-maker, sweet, a homebody, and an optimist who is always encouraging her sisters to dream.
Marmee March: Mezzo, Eb3 to Eb5, the girls' mother, she is the strong backbone of the family, courageous in spite of the difficult odds she faces, she only breaks down when she is alone.
Aunt March: Contralto with soprano range, E3 to F5, a formidable, over-bearing matron and great-aunt to the March sisters, the wealthy socialite in town.
Professor Bhaer: Bari-tenor, G2 to F#4, a German Professor who exemplifies proper manners, he is a boarder in Mrs. Kirk's boarding house and eventually falls in love with Jo.
Laurie Laurence: Tenor, Bb2 to Bb4, the bright-eyed boy-next-door with considerable charm, he is Jo’s best friend and falls in love with her but later marries Amy.
Mr. John Brooke: Baritone, C#3 to F#4, Laurie's tutor and a rather stiff man who initially shows very little emotion, he later marries Meg and warms up considerably.
Mr. Laurence: Baritone, C3 to E4, Laurie’s grandfather, gruff and sour, but with a heart of gold.
Ensemble: All voice types. Featured in the Operatic Tragedies singing solo roles and also in other musical numbers. The majority of these rehearsals will be held on the weekends until the final two weeks.
OTHER
Questions or requests for additional information should be directed to Anne Gesling at anne.gesling@morgan-wixson.org.
Non-Equity, no pay