General Audition Notice – Edmonton, AB
Theatre Prospero welcomes a wide variety of Edmonton area-based artists to audition on May 12 and 13, 2023 for upcoming projects. Email us by May 8, 2023 to reserve your spot.
Overview
Theatre Prospero is holding general auditions on May 12 and 13, 2023 for Edmonton-area artists who are interested in working on our upcoming projects, at the Alberta Avenue Community Centre in Edmonton. Auditions will be 20 minutes long, conducted by our Artistic Director Mark Henderson and Jennifer Spencer. Audition slots are available during the following times:
- Friday, May 12 from 3:30 PM – 9:00 PM MST
- Saturday, May 13 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM MST
For nearly 20 years, Theatre Prospero has produced classical and original local Canadian Theatre. In the past 5 years, we have brought those two together, with plays exploring myths and stories at the roots of diverse cultures represented in our home town that are at once original and classical. Our artists and audiences come together to share these stories that reflect our diverse society. The venues where they meet have included our home venue on Alberta Avenue, other more traditional theatres, found spaces, classrooms, seniors’ centres, and school gyms across Alberta as well as virtually across Canada for an audience of over 10,000 people.
We are committed to ensuring that our staff, crew, and artistic teams also reflect the diversity of Treaty 6 and Canada. We therefore strongly encourage submissions from people of all backgrounds. To encourage a diversity of applications, we ask that this audition notice be shared as widely as possible with potential applicants. Please send it to anyone you think may be interested!
Upcoming Projects:
1) Kids’ Mythic Quest Adventures
Director/Artistic Leader: Jennifer Spencer
Project Dates: June 5, 2023 – July 30, 2023. Normal working hours will be Monday-Friday during the day (8 AM to 5 PM), with additional weekend availability required beginning June 30 through July 30. Weekend requirements will be communicated with at least 2 weeks notice to ensemble members.
Theatre Prospero is assembling an ensemble of four (4) non-Equity emerging artists to devise, facilitate, and perform in a series of Mythic Quests Adventures for the young and young at heart around the Edmonton area in June and July, 2023. The ensemble will devise the quests under the guidance of Jennifer Spencer and other established Edmonton artists. The quests will take place across Edmonton at local schools, parks, night markets, and festivals.
Positions are to be funded in part by Canada Summer Jobs. Eligible candidates therefore must be 15-30 years old at the beginning of the contract, and either Canadian Citizens, permanent residents, or refugees.
2) Anthem of Life Part 1
The first part of Tololwa Mollel’s new Epic Trilogy. New Canadian Classical Theatre.
Directed by Mark Henderson
Project Dates:
Workshop: June 10-21, 2023
Production: September 4 – October 19, 2023
Anthem of Life Part 1 is an Equity ITA production of the first installment of Tololwa Mollel’s trilogy adapting South African Poet Laureate Mazisi Kunene’s Zulu Epic: Anthem of the Decades. The production will feature an ensemble cast of seven (7) individuals, each in a variety of roles. As of April 21, 2023, five (5) of these individuals have already been cast and we are seeking out the last two remaining individuals. As Anthem of Life is a cosmic myth, any role may be played by an individual of any background.
Anthem of Life Part 1 features the beginning of the cosmos and the earth with its non-human beings. We see the creation of animals, landforms, cosmic phenomena, etc., by the gods. Then comes the controversial decision to create mankind. Some of the gods love the idea. Others – led by the bloodthirsty goddess Nokufa and her husband Somazwi, are intensely opposed to the idea. The pro-mankind gods prevail. In revenge the anti-mankind gods, led by Nokufa and Somazwi, impose suffering on the human race. The human race bravely endure tribulations visited on them, to the admiration of the pro-mankind gods. These gods decide, in the face of intense opposition from Nokufa and other gods, to give the human race the gift of immortality. The gods are conflicted, among and within themselves.
-Tololwa Mollel
3) School Artist in Residency and Workshops
Project dates: Ongoing between September 2023 and June 2024
Theatre Prospero offers a wide range of performing arts and theatre-based residencies and workshops to schools across Alberta each year. From time to time we require education-minded artists to participate in and/or lead these. Workshops consist of half or full day opportunities to work with and mentor students in Shakespeare & Acting, Design, Puppetry, Voice & Movement, and Playwriting. If you have abilities in one of these areas, we are keen to see what you do!
Artist Residencies are longer engagements where a group of artists work with students ranging from Grade 1-12 for an average of two weeks to create their own stories and performances, or perform an existing work with scope to put a whole community on stage, such as a Shakespeare play. Residencies for 2023-2024 school year are currently being planned out with schools, and will be confirmed in September of 2023.
Your Preparation:
We want to get to know you as a performer and/or creator. You may be farther along on your journey in one of these roles than the other. No matter. Please prepare a 4-8 minute presentation that demonstrates your current artistic practice, and where you want it to go. Any combination of monologue, poem, song, dance, or other kind of storytelling is very welcome. If you want to interact with us in the performance, that is cool here, even though many of us were told never to do that.
The main thing we ask is that you bring in something that responds in some way to the world(s) of what we call mythology. What do we mean by that? To quote Joseph Campbell: “Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.” To us mythology is, as Joseph Campbell said, “the song of the Universe”. However, if you think mythology is a false construct, but believe in ancient stories or dreams for their deeper truths about the human condition and their possibilities for awakenings, please bring something that has to do with that! It can be as ancient, as modern, as reverent, or as lampooning as you want.
Submission Process:
Please submit your headshot and resume to info@theatreprospero.ca with the subject line “Theatre Prospero Audition” by May 8, 2023. If you are interested in working on a specific project, please feel free to indicate this in your email (though it is not required), as well as whether you are a member of the Canadian Actors Equity Association. We will contact you after May 8 to arrange an audition slot time. Equity members will be seen first and prioritized for scheduling of auditions slots.
Theatre Prospero projects are funded with support from the Canadian Government, Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, City of Edmonton, Edmonton Arts Council, and Edmonton Community Foundation
