CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: HIGHLAND ARTS THEATRE AUDITIONS - EIGHT TENTACLES OF APOLLO: THE MUSICAL RADIO PLAY
AUDITION CALL FOR MALE, FEMALE & NON-BINARY SINGER/ACTORS Ages 14 & Up (Non-Equity Only)
We are auditioning for Audio Performers from Cape Breton and local region to take part in a very special project that will begin recording this August: EIGHT TENTACLES OF APOLLO: THE MUSICAL RADIO PLAY, A Musical Theatre Podcast Premiere.
This 8-Part Musical Comedy is an original musical by Ellen Máirín Johnston and Emily Chiu.
Apollo is a musical comedy, set in an aquarium, about the rise and fall of an octopus oracle named Apollo, and the relationship he has with his best friend and fitness buddy, Keiko, an 88-year old Yam-Van lady who slips him yams on the sly. Their relationship is torn apart when his prophecies are commodified and sold for the highest profit. Apollo’s score reflects its unusual cast of characters, ranging from ocean soundscapes to bombastic Ukrainian opera, Eurotrash electropop to Japanese folk-inspired songs. It’s a show about the dangers of the cult of personality, the inevitability of mortality, and a community of outsiders who come together despite, or perhaps, because of that fact.
Originally chosen as part of the 2020 HAT Playwrights Unit, this project was adapted by the playwrights for Audio format and will be recorded for podcast release in 2023 thanks to funding from the Canada Council for the Arts: Digital Now stream.
Equally designed for precocious children and childish adults, this genre-bending musical comedy bounces between the silly and Sisyphean with equal measure.
RECORDING DATES:
Recording will span between March and June, 2023 with some flexibility for principals.
Priority will be given to Cape Breton-based artists, however performers with an ability to travel or with access to home-recording equipment are welcome to audition.
All activities will be pending provincial health protocols and will be strictly regulated by our own COVID-19 procedures plan, based on national and provincial recommendations.
At this time we will be receiving only video auditions for this project. Please see below for full submission details.
NOTE: All interested parties must submit in advance of this date in order to receive audition materials. You will be asked to learn and record a sample of at least one song from the show plus a scene sample with dialogue (sides).
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION: 11:59 PM on January 21, 2023 E-MAIL APPLICATIONS TO: admin@highlandartstheatre.com
PERFORMERS OF ALL CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS, ETHNICITIES, GENDERS, & SEXUAL PREFERENCES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT.
IN YOUR SUBMISSION PLEASE INCLUDE:
1) Recent photo (professional quality not necessary)
2) Theatrical Resumé (if applicable - no experience required)
3) What role or roles you would like to be considered for.
(Please see the below list of all Principal Characters. Additional Roles will be cast from the auditions for these principal characters.)
Upon submission, you will be sent the song and scene excerpt chosen for your character of choice. Songs do not need to be memorized, but the more prepared you are the better.
VIDEO AUDITION DUE: January 28, 2023 at 11:59PM
Please e-mail your information and notice of interest to: admin@highlandartstheatre.com
Thank you very much and break legs!
At this time, we will be auditioning for the following roles:
AQUARIUM VOICEOVER is the David Attenborough-esque narrator of the Aquarium’s exhibits. He is also somewhat omniscient, and as the show progresses, starts commenting on action as well. Usually double-cast with the actor playing Apollo, a prophetic octopus.
APOLLO, the character around whom the play revolves, is an octopus who goes from being of no importance at all to a much-celebrated oracle. He does not speak, but many speak for him. Mischievous, highly intelligent, hates sharing a tank with his tankmate, Eugene the Sea Slug. He is sensitive but also contains the capacity for selfishness, as well as being an attention-whore. He enjoys fame, until he doesn’t. He wonders what life is like out there.
NOTE: The double casting does not necessarily mean that they are one-and-the-same, but we want the audience to flirt with the idea and consider its philosophical ramifications.
We want Apollo and the Aquarium Voiceover to sound like they come from the same person, but Apollo should sound like your best interpretation of how an octopus would speak, not David Attenborough.
DANNY (mid 20s-30s) Surfer dude with THICK Southern Californian surfer accent. Works at the Aquarium as one of Apollo's keepers, but should not be there. He lacks all qualifications, having sailed through life on a combination of good luck and charm. He has remarkable intuition, despite a lack of qualifications. He is in love with Lila, his fellow (much more qualified) aquarist. Danny believes strongly in the powers of Apollo. Very loyal.
FOX (16) Army-brat delinquent. Hangs around the aquarium, because she doesn’t like going home. She is a natural-born anarchist who has yet to find a channel for her anarchy. Mostly, she just likes to set things on fire. She is highly distrustful of adults and humanity in general, but is also scared, alone, and vulnerable. Not as cool as she would like to think she is, but she’ll get there. Over the course of the show, she forms a bond with Keiko (88), the first adult she has ever trusted.
NOTE: Fox’s singing style is punk / Rage Against the Machine / outside of musical theater. When she screams, it should be like a (mostly hardcore) teenage girl doing a punk rock roar, less high-pitched scream. But she is not at her full power yet.
ILYA (60s), the Aquarium’s janitor, hates Apollo. Grumpy bastard. He dislikes almost everybody. Former Professor of Philosophy at Kiev University. He misses the prestige of his former position, but also thinks that everything is meaningless. Except for the sea otters, and Keiko. He is unsatisfied, but also a romantic. He likes his sadness a little too much. He spends lunch in his closet, listening to Donizetti, while eating beet sandwiches and weeping. His heart is pure.
KEIKO (88), a Yam-Van proprietor, is Apollo’s main defender and confidant. She is kind and gentle, but surprisingly badass, known around the aquarium as that weird old lady who sells yams and talks to the octopus. She immigrated from Japan many years ago. Though she inhabits both her new world and her old one, she fits into neither. She is a proud citizen of the world, and refuses to believe that her age, gender or nationality should prevent her from doing anything. She is both young-at-heart and an old soul. Actors of Japanese heritage/descent.
LILA (late 20s-30s) is an ambitious aquarist, hell-bent on moving up in the world. She will not be at this aquarium for long. But she does care about the aquarium and wants it to be a better place. Meticulous, and a no-shit-Shirley. She has terrible taste in men, despite her brains. She ignores Danny, because she’s repelled by him…but also attracted at the same time. This makes her slightly ashamed.
MR. SPANAKOPITA (30s - 40s) Sexy but creepy food vendor. Part of Zaztro’s Harem. Walks around shirtless with olive oil on his chiseled bodice-ripper paperback-cover hairy chest. Think Greek Fabio. Except, actually, knock-off Greek. Slightly bearish premature Zaddy. All food connotations are sexual. He is terrible in bed.
ZAZTRO (ageless unicorn) is the aquarium’s absentee owner. Part-Chairman Kaga, Part Joe Exotic and part-Pineapple Pen Man, he is very rich, an attention whore, and his accent is impossible to place. He buys exotic pets and dumps the leftovers at the aquarium. He’s sort of a villain, but too narcissistic and party-hardy to really act maliciously. Marketing / social media genius. Hires a Harem and camera crew to follow him around. Known to hang out in places with dubious tax and human rights laws.
