Audition for Cabaret

BE PART OF THE STORY 

Auditioning for Cabaret presents the opportunity to be part of a historically significant yet relevant piece of theatre. The show will be staged in the round at the Helgeson Learning Lab, bringing the audience just feet away from performers and into the world of 1930s Berlin and the rise of fascism. This production calls for vulnerability and emotional honesty as it grapples with heavy themes and provocative storytelling. We are approaching this project from a trauma-informed lens with intimacy protocols and consent-forward practices embedded in the rehearsal process. 

KEY DATES

Information Session: October 19th from 7-8p  via Zoom

Auditions are nerve-wracking whether it’s your first or seventy-sixth, so join us for an optional Zoom meeting to ask questions and learn about this specific production and audition process from the creative team. Meet the director, choreographer, and music director and hear about the vision of this show and how to best prepare. Our hope is the info session with ease some of the unknowns so you walk into auditions feeling comfortable and confident!

AUDITION SIGN UP

Auditions: October 29 from 6-9pm & October 30 from 6-9pm

Callbacks: November 5th from 5:30-9:30pm

Audition Location: Downtown Studio (919 W St. Germain St., St. Cloud)

Cast Meeting: December 10th from 6-9pm

Rehearsals: Every Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday (6-9pm), some Wednesdays (6-9pm), and most Saturdays (10am-4pm or 12-4pm) starting on December 15th Please note that not everyone is called for every rehearsal.

Rehearsal Location: Helgeson Learning Lab

Tech/Dress Rehearsals: February 15th-18th from 5:00p-10:00p

Performances: 

• Thursday, February 19th from 5:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Friday, February 20th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Saturday, February 21st from 12:30p-4:30p (2:00p Performance)
• Saturday, February 21st from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Sunday, February 22nd from 12:30p-4:30p (2:00p Performance)
• Wednesday, February 25th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Thursday, February 26th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Friday, February 27th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p ASL Interpreted Performance)
• Saturday, February 28th from 12:30p-4:30p  (2:00p Performance)
• Saturday, February 28th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Sunday, March 1st from 12:30p-4:30p (2:00p Performance)
• Thursday, March 5th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Friday, March 6th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Saturday, March 7th from 12:30p-4:30p (2:00p Performance)
• Saturday, March 7th from 6:00p-10:00p (7:30p Performance)
• Sunday, March 8th from 12:30p-4:30p (2:00p Performance)

Performance Location: Helgeson Learning Lab

INTIMACY & CONTENT NOTE

The definition of theatrical intimacy is any action on stage where the given circumstances of the scene or the overall production calls for physical touch for theatrical purposes, including kissing, embracing, levels of undress, and simulated sexual acts. 

Because consent, safety, and clear communication are integral to GREAT’s production processes, information about intimacy expectations for any character who engages in physical contact, stylized movement, or heightened sexual circumstances will be shared in audition materials prior to auditions, and all moments of staged intimacy will  follow specific protocols. 

Specific to CABARET, we are asking actors to complete a body map to more clearly articulate your physical boundaries. You will be asked to fill this out after your audition. It will remain private and will only be shared with the creative team. Actor boundaries may still shift after casting but the body map will help the creative team begin planning. 

Please note that multiple characters in CABARET engage in smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, and engaging in drug use (cocaine). Additionally, problematic speech and historically contextualized images of hate are a part of this story. 

Most CABARET characters will engage in some level of staged intimacy whether close proximity, partner dance, and/or embracing. If characters are part of the Kit Kat Club, sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography is a part of the role. While costumes will be revealing, there is no full nudity in this production. 

Additional Casting Notes: 

Please note that people of all gender identities, sexualities, racial and ethnic groups, abilities, and body types are encouraged and invited to audition for this production. 

Dialects will be used (the majority are German, Sally is British, Cliff is from Pennsylvania). Resources will be provided once casting is complete. 

Understudies for speaking roles may be cast from the ensemble (please note that understudying a role will not restrict/limit opportunities for your principal track). 

Please refer to the Character Descriptions below to learn more about specific intimacy and content notes related to individual characters.

Character List

Emcee – Host at the Kit Kat Club. Gender presentation and sexuality are fluid. Requires a magnetic presence and comfort interacting with the audience. Playful and mysterious, charming and sinister, risqué and refined. German dialect.  Strong physicality, dance, and singing. Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography. Presenting age: 20s-50.  Vocal range top: C#5 // Vocal range bottom: C3

Sally Bowles – British cabaret singer and headliner at the Kit Kat Club. Eccentric, compelling, vivacious, and outrageous – a true bohemian with an artist’s soul. Much more complex than she initially appears. 

British dialect. Strong physicality and singing. Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography, including close proximity, embracing, and lip to lip kissing multiple male characters. Character engages in drug use and drinks alcohol on stage and is on the receiving end of physical violence (stage slap). Presenting Gender: Female. Presenting age range: 20s. Vocal range top: C5 // Vocal range bottom: A3

Clifford (Cliff) Bradshaw – American novelist and English teacher visiting Berlin in search of inspiration and exploration. A character with depth and charisma interested in the complexities of sexuality, politics, and art. American dialect. Some singing and light dance. Staged intimacy: some suggestive staging including close proximity, embracing, and lip to lip kissing multiple characters (male & female). Initiates physical violence (punch and slap) and is “beat up” .Presenting Gender: Male. Presenting age range: mid-20s-early 30s.  Vocal range top: E4  //  Vocal range bottom: A2

Fräulein Schneider – German landlady who rents rooms in her flat. Alone and resigned to her place in life, but secretly longs for more. Survivor and cynic, with personality and humor. German dialect. Strong singing, light dance. Staged intimacy: moments of tenderness and light dance with Schultz, possible cheek kiss. Presenting Gender: Female. Presenting age range: late 40s-early 70s. Vocal range top: A-flat4  //  Vocal range low: D3

Herr Schultz – German Jewish fruit shop owner who falls in love with Schneider. Warm, kind, endearing, and heartbreakingly “naïve”. German dialect. Strong singing, light dance. Staged intimacy: moments of tenderness and light dance with Schneider, possible cheek kiss. Presenting Gender: Male. Presenting age range: late 40s-early 70s. Vocal range top: high F  //  Vocal range low: low G

Fräulein Kost/Fritzie – Sex worker, dancer at the Kit Kat Club, and renter in Fraulein Schneider’s boarding house. Quick witted and sharp tongued, with a strong personality and confident sexuality. Espouses Nazi sentiments. German dialect. Strong singing (in German), physicality, and dance. Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography, including close proximity, embracing, and lip to lip kissing multiple male characters. Presenting Gender: Female. Presenting age range: mid 20s-early 40s. Vocal range top: high F  //  Vocal range low: A flat

Ernst Ludwig – Friendly and likable German who is Cliff’s first friend in Berlin. Everyone knows him; everyone loves him. Witty, charming, warm, and ultimately, a Nazi. German dialect. Light dance and some singing in German. Staged intimacy: light partner dance. On the receiving end of staged violence: punch. Presenting Gender: Male. Presenting age range: 20-45. Vocal range top: high F  //  Vocal range low: A flat

Kit Kat “Girls”/Ensemble – Performers at the Kit Kat Club. Collectively a dynamic ensemble but each with their own character and personality, these characters will be a part of various scenes in and out of the Club. Some roles double, including the role of Gorilla in “If You Could See Her”. German dialect. Strong dancing and singing as well as audience interaction. Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography, including close proximity & embraces with Emcee, Club Boys, and each other. Costumes are revealing/form-fitting, no nudity. Presenting age range: 18-40s. Rosie / Lulu / Frenchie / Texas / Helga

Kit Kat “Boys”/Ensemble – Performers/waiters at the Kit Kat Club. Collectively a dynamic ensemble but each with their own character and personality, these characters will be a part of various scenes in and out of the Club. Some roles double. German dialect. Strong dancing and singing as well as audience interaction. Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography, including close proximity & embraces with Emcee, Club Girls, each other, possible lip to lip kiss with Kost. Costumes are revealing/form-fitting, no nudity. May engage in some staged physical violence (punching/kicking Cliff). Presenting age range: 18-40s. Club Boys: Victor, Hans, Herman; Sailors (doubled): Rudy, Otto, Karl 

Bobby – Kit Kat Boy, dancer. Former lover of Cliff’s. German dialect. Strong dancing and singing as well as audience interaction. Performs in drag for “Two Ladies.” Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography, including close proximity, embracing, and lip to lip kiss with Cliff. Costumes are revealing/form-fitting, no nudity. Presenting Gender: Male. Presenting age range: 18-40s

Max – Kit Kat Club owner. Staged intimacy: sexually suggestive/bawdy staging/choreography, lip to lip kiss with Sally, embraces/intimacy potential with Fritzie and other Club members. Doubles with other male ensemble roles, which may include revealing/form-fitting costumes, no nudity. Presenting Gender: Male. Presenting age range: 30s-40s

Understudy – An understudy covers a specific role in addition to their role. Understudies do not have scheduled performances as U/S, but will have rehearsal so they are ready to go on if needed. Accepting an U/S role will not affect your primary track. Presenting Gender: Any. Age: 18+.

WHAT TO PREPARE

1. All: Please prepare one of the provided sides for the initial audition. See tips and options in the linked Audition Sides document. 

• Cabaret Audition Sides

Music:

1. All: Please prepare a song from our provided list that best showcases your voice and demonstrates a connection to the character that you are auditioning for. Please click on the link below for the sheet music and tracks. 

Ensemble
Sally
Cliff
Emcee
Ernst
Kost
Schneider
Schultz

Dance:

1. All: Please learn the audition choreography. 

Cabaret will come to life with lively choreography and staging. Most of the characters in this show dance at the Kit Kat Club (except for Schultz, Schneider, Ernst, and Cliff) so dance is integral to the production. All characters partner dance at some in the show, per popular dance styles of the time. 

We are providing a choreography video for you to learn the audition piece in advance. At the audition, we will review the dance and perform it. Please note that the choreo portion of the audition will be videotaped for our choreographer to review. We will then delete the files. Additionally, we are anticipating an in-person dance callback. 

Please dress for movement. 

• Video will be uploaded soon.

Special Skills (Tap/Tumbling/Dialects/etc):

• We would love to know if anyone plays an instrument. 

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Kendra Norton Dando
Choreographer: Kyle Weiler
Music Director: Hillary Vermillion
Scenic Designer: Mark Hennigs
Costume Designer: Dana Svensson
Lighting Designer: Alice Endo
Sound Designer: Steven Sanders
Prop Designer: Bonnie Bologna
Stage Manager: Grace Wright