Auditions for BYE, BYE BIRDIE coming up at Renaissance Center

[JefinNashville]

The Renaissance Players have scheduled auditions for their Community Theatre production of Bye Bye Birdie for Monday, April 9 and Tuesday, April 10 at 7pm.

Auditionees should arrive early to sign in as auditions will be held on a first-come,first serve basis. All area residents are invited and encouraged to audition, even if you’ve never
performed onstage before! Roles are available for ages 7-years-old and up, singing and non-singing roles.

Bye Bye Birdie is a high energy, light-hearted, comedic stage musical with fun singing & dancing and memorable characters. The satire on American society is set in 1958 and was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The rock star character's name, "Conrad Birdie," is word play on the name of Conway Twitty who was a rock n' roll idol at the time.

Bryan J. Wlas will be the Director and Choreographer for Bye Bye Birdie and Nathan W. Brown will be the Musical Director. Both also offer dance, theatre and music classes as well as individual instruction at The Renaissance Center.

The Renaissance Players is the center's community theatre troupe. With more than 400 members, the Players present productions each year that include popular musicals and plays. Shows are cast through open auditions and performances are presented in the center's 450-seat Anne Deason Performance Hall. The Renaissance Players provides Middle Tennesseans with an opportunity to work with the professional directors, actors, technicians and craftsmen from The Renaissance Center to present productions comparable to most professional theatre companies.

For singing roles, please prepare a short 16-bar song to sing (no longer than 30 seconds). Appropriate music would include any up-tempo classic musical theatre song or 1950’s/1960’s

For a singing audition, please prepare to sing with accompaniment (piano music, karoake CD or other) - do not plan to sing a cappella (vocal without accompaniment). An accompanist will
be provided - please bring sheet music in the correct key. There are many websites that offer free sheet music downloads for your convenience. There will also be a CD player available if you
have pre-recorded accompaniment (without vocals). There are many websites (including iTunes and others) that offer karaoke songs for a reasonable price available for download. You may also
bring your own accompanist (piano/guitar/etc...)

For non-singing roles, please be ready to read a short monologue (which will be provided).

Also, be prepared to learn a short dance routine. Participants need to wear closed-toe shoes(no flip-flops/sandals/etc).

Call-backs (if needed), will be held on Wednesday, April 11th @ 7:00pm. Rehearsals for Bye, Bye Birdie will be held Monday - Friday, 6:00pm-9:00pm, beginning Friday, April 13th.

Performance dates for Bye Bye Birdie are June 1 - June 17, 2012, with shows on Fridays & Saturdays @ 7:00pm, Sundays @ 2:00pm. There will be a Special Lunch & Show on Saturday, June 9 @ Noon, and a Special Father’s Day Lunch & Show on Sunday, June 17 @ 1pm. Tickets for all performances are on sale now.

For questions, or if you cannot attend the audition as scheduled, please contact Pacer Harp at 615-740-5550, [e-mail].