Upcoming Auditions
for Mainstage & Readers Theatre Showcase
NOTE: All audition dates subject to change due to schedule shifts caused by COVID-19.
All roles at ACT are open to anyone in the community! No experience is necessary to audition. Here are a few tips to help you understand our audition process:
Check out ACT’s updated COVID policies: https://ashevilletheatre.org/about/covid-policies-and-info/
Auditions are held over two nights, and you may choose either night to audition. Auditions for are held on either on our Mainstage or in 35below. For Mainstage shows, please fill out the Audition Form per show (see below). Walk-ups will be asked to fill out the audition form on site and will need to wait until the next available time slot. Readers Theatre Showcase show, there’s no need to make an appointment – we’ll get you signed in when you arrive! Some 35below shows do offer audition sign-ups (and we’ll list that by show).
We list approximate age ranges of the characters – but it’s always a good idea to come by and check out the script so you can get a feel for the characters. Note: scripts for musicals are not available to check out.
For musical auditions, see specifics below for each show. In general, please prepare 16 bars of music and bring your sheet music to the audition in the key in which you will be singing. We will provide an accompanist. No one may sing along to a CD or other recording.
For non-musical auditions, please see guidelines below the specific show you’re auditioning for. Generally, you will be asked to memorize and prepare a monologue or to read pages from the script in front of the director, the stage manager, and another reader.
But what happens when you walk in the front door? What to Expect at ACT Auditions
Note: Asheville Community Theatre policy prohibits participation by anyone on any sex offender or sexual abuse registry to any activity sponsored by Asheville Community Theatre. The only exception is being a member of an audience of an event sponsored by ACT.
MAINSTAGE
Bat Boy: The Musical
Musical
Book by: Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming; Music and Lyrics by: Laurence O’Keefe
Directed by: Stephanie Hickling Beckman
AUDITION DATES: The evenings of Monday April 24 & Tuesday April 25, 2023. Sign up here for your audition slot.
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE:
Read-Thru MAY 19 6:30-9:30 pm
Rehearsals 2-4 nights per week beginning May 23 6:30-9:30.
Performance Dates: Friday-Sun July 21-August 6 Fri-Sat 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm
DIRECTOR SEEKS: All actors over 17 will be considered for all roles with no limitation on gender or race.
CHARACTERS (17)
NON DOUBLING
Bat Boy
Meredith Parker
Dr. Thomas Parker
Shelley Parker
Sheriff Taylor
DOUBLING ENSEMBLE
Rick, Lorraine, Mr. Dillon
Ron Taylor, Maggie, Clem
Ruthie Taylor, Ned
Mrs, Taylor, Roy
Rev. Billie Hightower, Institute Man, Bud
Daisy, Pan, Doctor
Crowd/ Chorus 4M 2F
AUDITION MATERIAL: Audition sides from the play will be provided, and available on the ACT website prior to auditions. Memorization is not expected. This is a rock musical. Please prepare one song selection, in the style of the show, of no more than 45 seconds. Please do not prepare songs from the play itself.
An audition accompanist will not be provided. A speaker will be provided in lieu of live accompaniment. We will have a laptop and aux cord to accommodate your digital backing track (mp3 file, youtube karaoke track, etc.).
AUDITION SIDES:
Bat Boy: Pg 80-81 – Hightower
Bat Boy: Pg 83 – Batboy
Bat Boy: Pg 86-87 – Parker
Bat Boy: Pg 92 – Sheriff
Bat Boy: Pg 15 – Sheriff
Bat Boy: Pg 27 – Rick
Bat Boy: Pg 20 – Meredith and Shelley
THE STORY: Based on a story in The Weekly World News, BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL is a rock musical comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia. For lack of a better solution, the local sheriff brings Bat Boy to the home of the town veterinarian, Dr. Parker, where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act like a “normal” boy by the veterinarian’s wife, Meredith, and teenage daughter, Shelley. Bat Boy is happy with his new life, but when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, they turn on him, prodded by the machinations of Dr. Parker, who secretly despises Bat Boy. Shelley and Bat Boy, who have fallen in love, run away together from the ignorant townfolk and have a blissful coupling in the woods, but their happiness is shattered when Meredith arrives and reveals a secret. Soon the entire town arrives and hears the shocking story of Bat Boy’s origin.
READERS THEATRE SHOWCASE
Office Hours
By Norm Foster; Directed by Ellen Pappas
AUDITION DATES: Tuesday, May 2, 2023; 10:30 am-2:30 pm on the Mainstage
PRODUCTION DATES: May 26-28, 2023; All performances at 2:30 pm; Friday and Saturday performances at Asheville Community Theatre, Sunday performance at the Reuter Center on the campus of UNCA
REHEARSALS: Tuesdays & Thursdays May 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, and 25, 2023; 10:30 am-2:30 pm
DIRECTOR SEEKS: 3M, 2W playing 16 characters