United Players of Vancouver, in association with Touchstone Theatre, is holding auditions for

WHEN WE WERE SINGING
by Dorothy Dittrich

directed by Roy Surette with musical director Christopher King

DOWNLOAD AUDITION NOTICE:
When Were Were Singing_Audition Notice

When We Were Singing is an investigation of the friendship between four urban dwelling lost
souls each at a crossroads in their lives. Set around a series of conversations between these
friends, we eavesdrop on the ups and downs of their lives over the course of a weekend.
Contemporary themes of work, love, hopes, dreams, fears and failures weave through this story
pulled from our everyday lives. As funny as it is serious, the almost entirely sung-through
musical switches gears in an instant to get to the heart of what makes these people tick. On this
particular weekend we find the friends joking and drinking heavily, as always, but the
culmination of a series of events has them each facing the realization that the party might be
coming to an end. The question is, will they leave or have one more round and risk staying too
long?

NOTE:

The play is set in a big city in the early 1990s.

AUDITION DATES:

Sat, Jan 20 (daytime)
Mon, Jan 22 (evening)
Tues, Jan 23 (evening)

CALLBACKS:

Saturday, January 27 (daytime)

AUDITION VENUE:

Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery Street, Vancouver

PERFORMANCE DATES:

May 30 to June 23, 2024 (Thursday through Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2pm)

NOTE: This is a non-union production with the option to cast one union member on an amateur contract.

Non-union members will be paid an honorarium of $1,000. Please indicate if you have any union affiliations.

We welcome applications from artists of all backgrounds, identities and ethnicities. 

THE ROLES:

• All aged thirty-something
• Please prepare the song indicated for your chosen role. The libretto is available as set out in
  TO AUDITION below. We will send an MP3 of the song to you with confirmation of an
  audition appointment.

ABBY: high ideals and artistic aspirations, vivacious, pampered, entitled, charmer, magnetic.
The leader. Vocal range: F below middle C to D above middle C. Prepare Middle of the Night
(be familiar with whole tune, though we may request only part of it), and The Best of Friends,
starting with Abby, Belinda, Jenny and Les together.

BELINDA: small town girl making it in the big city. Loyal, sincere, low self-esteem yet can brawl
when crossed. Vocal range: A below middle C to F above middle C. Prepare I’ve Never Known
from 50 seconds to the end, and The Best of Friends, starting with Abby, Belinda, Jenny and Les
together.

JENNY: work obsessed, neurotic, analytical, yet playful. Stinging from a bad breakup. Lesbian.
Vocal range: F below middle C to C above middle C. Prepare Middle of the Night (be familiar
with whole tune, though we may request only part of it), and The Best of Friends, starting with
Abby, Belinda, Jenny and Les together.

LES: former party boy – witty, loyal, can be lively and can be sullen-grieving his gay lover. Vocal
range: Tenor scraping down to Baritone. Prepare We Waited, first 60 seconds, and The Best of
Friends, starting with Abby, Belinda, Jenny and Les together.

TO AUDITION:

Please prepare a contemporary musical theatre song of your choice (no more than 2.5 minutes) with back-up track, and the musical selections for the character you are
auditioning for.

You will find the libretto posted on the United Players website at: https://unitedplayers.com/opportunities/

To secure an audition time slot, submit a resumé and headshot to Nancy Caldwell at nancy.w.caldwell@gmail.com letting us know which character(s) you wish to audition for. Please also bring a hard copy of your resumé and headshot to your audition.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Rehearsals will be at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale, 2490 West 37th Avenue (37th & Larch)
Tuesday and Thursday evenings and all day Saturday, beginning Saturday, April 13, 2024.