Mary Poppins
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Type: Theater
The Herriman Arts Council (HAC) is thrilled to announce our 2016 summer Broadway musical production of “Mary Poppins”. Auditions will be held on Friday, March 18 from 7-9pm and Saturday, March 19th from 8am to 1:00pm at the Herriman City Hall, 13011 S. Pioneer St. Herriman, UT. All roles are open but you must be at least 14 years old at the time of audition to audition for these roles. To register for an audition time, please visit: https://events.regtix.com/herrimanarts.htm
Auditions will be held for children on Friday, March 18th from 5pm-7pm for the roles of Jane and Michael Banks. You must be 8 to 13 years old at the time of audition. Please note that some children will also be cast in the ensemble at the Herriman City Hall, 13011 S. Pioneer St. Herriman, UT. To register for an audition time, please visit:
https://events.regtix.com/herrimanarts.htm
Call backs will take place by invitation the following Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday March 22-24.
Production dates: July 7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,18,19.
Mary Poppins is the delightful story of a family in trouble and a stern, yet magical nanny that “blows” in one day bringing adventure, order, and just the right “medicine” to bring them together. The stage characters have been beautifully written, we learn more about Mr. and Mrs. Banks and are introduced to characters that readers will recognize but were not in the film. This is a magical musical the whole family will enjoy!
The show will be directed by Kristin Housley. Kristin has been an active member of the Herriman Arts Council since the summer of 2013 and was production manager for the HAC production of Peter Pan and Shrek. Kristin has an extensive background in acting with her Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from the Asolo Conservatory/Florida State University. She was most recently seen last spring in The Grand Theatre’s production of “The Skin of Our Teeth”.
Mary Poppins Audition Material:
IMPORTANT: Prepare an audition song in the style of the show with 16 measures or approximately 30-45 seconds. An accompanist will be provided. No recordings or minus tracks please.
Call back auditions will be by invitation only on Tuesday, April 22nd, and Wednesday, April 23rd, and Thursday, April 24th.
Character Descriptions (in order of appearance):
The intent of the Herriman Arts Council is to cast between 45-50 men, women and children to play the following roles in our 2016 production of Mary Poppins.
*A note about stage ages: Your stage age is not your actual age, but the age you appear to be on stage. For example, you may be 30 years old but may appear to be 20 to 25 on stage, or you may be 14 years old but appear to be over 18 on stage.
*A note on accents. As this story takes place in London, all the characters (with exceptions noted) will have a British accent of some kind. In general the lower class servants and Bert will employ a Cockney accent and the family and Mary Poppins will use a higher British accent.
- Bert (30’s:) the narrator of the story and good friend to Mary Poppins. An everyman, Bert has many occupations, including hurdy-gurdy player, sidewalk artist, and chimney sweep. Bert watches over the children as well as the goings on in Cherry Tree Lane. He as charm, speaks with a Cockney accent, and is a song-and-dance-man. Baritone
- George Banks (early 40’s): father to Jane and Michael Banks, is a banker to the very fiber of his being. Demanding “precision and order” in his household, he is a pipe-and-slippers man, who doesn’t have much to do with his children and believes that he had the perfect upbringing by his nanny, the cruel Miss Andrew. His emotional armor, however, conceals a sensitive soul. A baritone, George may speak-sing as necessary.
- Winifred Banks (30’s): George’s wife and Jane and Michael’s mother. A former actress, she is a loving and distracted homemaker who is busy trying to live up to her husband’s desire to only associate with the “best people” as well as be a model wife and mother. She suffers from the conflicting feelings that she’s not up to the job of “being Mrs. Banks,” yet she is, and more. She has a great warmth and simplicity to her tone. Mezzo Soprano
- Jane Banks (11): the high-spirited daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Banks, is bright and precocious but can be willful and inclined to snobbishness. Child soprano
- Michael Banks (9): is the cute and cheeky son of Mr. and Mrs. Banks. Excitable and naughty, he adores his father and tries to be like him. Both he and Jane misbehave in order to get the attention of their parents. Male child voice, unbroken.
- Katie Nanna (30’s): is Jane and Michael’s nanny at the beginning of the show. Overwhelmed and upset, she has absolutely had her fill of the Bank’s children.
- Policeman (30’s-40’s): is a neighborhood fixture who is respected by and observant of the households on his beat.
- Miss Lark (30’s): is the haughty next-door neighbor of the Banks family who treats her dog, Willoughby, as if he were her child. Mezzo Soprano.
- Admiral Boom (50’s) : is a retired Royal Navy man and neighbor of the Banks family. A physically large man with a loud and booming voice, he speaks in Navy jargon and has a soft spot for his neighbor, Miss Lark. Can be any vocal range needed.
- Mrs. Brill (50’s): is the housekeeper and cook for the Banks family. Overworked and harassed, she’s always complaining that the house is understaffed. Her intimidating exterior is a cover for the warmth underneath. Mrs. Brill doesn’t have a high opinion of nannies in general and Mary Poppins in particular. She doesn’t have to be a strong singer. Alto
- Robertson Ay (20-30): is the houseboy to the Banks family. Lazy, sleepy, and grumbling, he never gets things right and believes himself to be useless. He doesn’t do a lot of singing but has a fun solo in “Spoonful of Sugar”. Tenor.
- Mary Poppins (20’s): is Jane and Michael Bank’s new nanny. She is extraordinary and strange, neat and tidy, delightfully vain yet very particular, and sometimes a little frightening, but always exciting. She is practically perfect in every way and always means what she says. A mezzo soprano with strong top notes, she should be able to move well. She can have a more traditional soprano sound, but precision and diction is key.
- Park Keeper (40’s-50”s): Uniformed and officious, he makes sure no one breaks park regulations. His life is defined by rules, but he secretly hankers after his childhood.
- Tenor Neleus (16-20): is the statue of a young boy posed with a dolphin in the park. Neleus was separated from his father, Poseidon, and misses him very much. A small and lovely being, he is very happy to befriend Jane and Michael. This role requires strong dance ability.
- Bank Chairman (50’s): the head of the bank where Mr. Banks is employed, is an Edwardian stuffed-shirt. He can speak/sing his lyrics if necessary. Baritone.
- Miss Smythe (40’s): is the Bank Chairman’s humorless secretary.
- Von Hussler (30’s-40’s): is a businessman seeking a loan from the bank for a shady business deal. He speaks with a German accent.
- John Northbrook (30’s-40’s): is an honest businessman seeking a loan to build a factory for his community. He speaks with an accent from Northern England.
- Bird Woman (50’s): is covered in a patchwork of old shawls, and her pockets are stuffed with bags of crumbs for the birds. She tries to sell her crumbs to passersby, who ignore her as if she doesn’t exist. Sings “Feed the Birds”. There can be a gruff, folksy quality to her voice that reflects the hardness of her life. Alto
- Mrs. Corry (40’s): owns a magical gingerbread shop. She is a mysterious woman of great age who speaks with an exotic accent (Caribbean, Russian, etc.) Soprano
- Annie and Fannie (20’s): are Mrs. Corry’s daughters.
- Valentine is a stuffed boy doll belonging to Jane. Teddy Bear, Mr. Punch, and Doll are toys belonging to Jane and Michael.
- Miss Andrew (40’s-50’s): is George’s overbearing and scary nanny. With her bottle of nasty-tasting brimstone and treacle to keep naughty children in line, she is a bully who only knows one way of doing things-her way. A soprano with an alto belt, there can be some heaviness to her voice along with the range.
- Ensemble of Men, Woman and Children: We will be working with an ensemble of approximately 30 people who will be doing a variety of singing and or dancing. 20 of those in the ensemble will also have one of the smaller speaking roles. We will need some very strong dancers for some of the numbers such as Step in Time which is a tap piece. Not all ensemble members will need to be strong dancers, but everyone will sing. Ensemble pieces will include: Jolly Holiday(park visitors), Precision and Order (bank clerks and secretaries),Feed the Birds (bird dancers-ballet), Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious(customers of Mrs. Corry’s shop), Playing the Game(Jane and Michael’s toys), Let’s Go Fly a Kite (park visitors), Step in Time(chimney sweeps-tap dancers), Anything Can Happen (starlighters)
All audition information and /or dates are subject to change without notice.
Rehearsals:
-Rehearsals begin Saturday, April 23, 2016
-Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: rehearsals will be from approximately 7pm to 10pm
-Saturday: rehearsals will be from approximately 9am to 1pm.
-“Tech Week” rehearsals will begin June 27th and run through July 6th beginning as early as 6pm and ending as late as 11pm
-There will be no rehearsal on Saturday, May 28th, Saturday, July 2nd or Monday, July 4th.
Production dates: July 7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,18,19 Location: W & M Butterfield Park Rosecrest Pavillion, 6212 Butterfield Park Way, Herriman, UT 84096
Producer: James Crane
Director: Kristin Housley
Choreographer: Julie Balazs
“The Herriman Arts Council thanks the voters of the Salt Lake County for their support of the Zoo, Arts & Parks program. One tenth of one percent of the Salt Lake County sales tax goes to support local cultural, botanical, and zoological organizations. This funding has not only stabilized many of Salt Lake’s cultural organizations, but has also funded the construction of new recreational facilities, and improved walking trails. ZAP funding helps to provide “free” days, free concerts, reduce ticket prices for students, and provide in-school programs for children in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade.”
Payment: Non Paid
City or Location of call: Salt Lake City, Utah
Please submit to: herrimanarts@gmail.com
This casting notice was posted by: Herriman Arts Council