The Heathwood Intermediate/Middle School Play Audition Packet Performance Dates: April 26th, 27th, and 28th, 2017 Director: EG Engle Dear Intermediate/Middle School Students and Parents, I am so excited to announce Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Richard George, as the 2017 Intermediate/Middle School Spring Play! Auditions for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be: Tuesday, February 28th from 3:15-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1 from 3:15-4:30 p.m. **Please plan to attend ONLY ONE of these days. Please see the Audition Information page in this packet for more details. Information will also be posted on Haiku. The Heathwood I/MS Players will present this show April 26th, 27th, and 28th, 2017. Please take a minute to read over the information enclosed in this packet to find out more about this very exciting production. In this packet you will find: 1) Audition Information and Casting Policy 2) Cast of Characters and Descriptions 3) Audition and Permission Forms Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding auditions, rehearsals, and performances or whenever the need arises. Please use the following email address, heardeg@heathwood.org, if ever you need to reach me. Break a leg!
About the Show Charlie Bucket lives with his parents and both sets of grandparents in a ramshackle house on the edge of town. Despite their poverty, the Buckets are an optimistic and good-natured family. One day they learn that Willy Wonka, the eccentric owner of the local candy factory, is having a contest. He has hidden five golden tickets in his candy bars and promised that the ones who find those will have a tour of his factory and candy for life. Miraculously, Charlie finds the last golden ticket in a candy bar he buys with money he finds in the street. The lucky winners and their chosen family members are taken on a fantastic tour of the factory where they see amazing inventions, the incredible Oompa Loompas and other fantastical sights. One by one, each of the children are eliminated by their own foolishness and greed, leaving Charlie and his Grandpa Joe as the only remaining guests. Not only do they win the candy that was originally promised to all golden ticket winners, but in a surprising twist, Willy Wonka gives Charlie his entire factory and invites his whole family to move in right away. *Scripts are available to check out from Mrs. Engle in the Drama Room if you are interested in reading the play prior to auditions. I encourage you to check out a play from me get to know these fun characters! Reading the play will help prepare you for your audition! You must return the play to Mrs. Engle.* Audition Information Auditions for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be Tuesday, February 28th from 3:15-4:30 and Wednesday, March 1st from 3:15-4:30pm. Please plan to attend ONLY ONE of these days. What to Expect on Audition Day: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a non-musical play. Therefore, auditions will only consist of readings from the script. On Audition day (whichever you choose), you will report to the Drama Room at 3:15pm. After a short meeting with Mrs. Engle, will be asked to read a short scene from the play. The Auditions will be over by 4:30pm. Please make arrangements to be picked up by 4:30pm, and please bring work you can do if you are finished early. *You are expected to bring the following forms with you to Auditions: -Audition Form -Permission slip
What to Expect After Audition Day: *The cast list will be posted on the door of the Drama Room by Friday, March 3rd at 3:05pm. *The First Rehearsal date will posted with the Cast List. *A Rehearsal Schedule for March will be posted with the Cast List. Rehearsals will be Monday- Friday from 3:15-5pm. Not every character is needed at every rehearsal, but it is very important to attend your rehearsals when you are called. Casting Policy The process of auditioning and casting a show can be great fun, but it can also be an emotional experience. Please understand that the Casting Team wants to match you up with the best part for you! We want you to have the best experience possible in rehearsals and during the show, and sometimes that means placing you in a role that you may not have considered. We often see potential in you that you may not see, and we hope that you will trust us to match your strengths, personality and availability to attend rehearsal with the perfect part for you. For IMS Productions, every student that auditions will be cast in the show. Therefore, the main purpose for auditioning is so the Casting Team can see the strengths of each student and how their abilities fit into the larger picture of the play. The Casting Team may also decide to split parts or double cast. Splitting parts means dividing a role between several people. Double casting means assigning two actors to play the same part in different performances. Please understand that these choices are to made to give more students the opportunity to showcase their talents. ALL Students are critical to the success of each show. Do your best, bring your positive attitude, and please trust us to make the best choices for the benefit of the whole! Break a leg, one and all!
Cast List Lead Characters are marked with a (*). Lead Characters typically have more lines will be needed at rehearsal more frequently. Please consider your other time commitments when choosing which role you would like to audition for. Being in the play is a time commitment. If you are are cast, you are expected to attend your rehearsals. *Narrators (2-4, Males or Females): This play calls for one narrator, but I will be splitting the lines and having 2-4 people narrate the play. These characters will be newscasters, and the actors playing these roles will be asked to create funny, commanding caricatures of newscaster types. *Charlie Bucket (Male or Female): Charlie is the protagonist of the story. He is a poor, starving child, but that has done nothing to break his positive character. He is noble, pure of heart and without a single definable character flaw. Charlie represents all that is good and pure in the world. Mr. Bucket (Male) : Mr. Bucket is Charlie s father. Although he is the only member of the large family who is able to work, he recently lost his job. He loves his family very much and wishes he could support them. He has a pure heart. He is especially guilty about not being able to provide for his son, who is wasting away before his very eyes. Mrs. Bucket (Female): Mrs. Bucket is the caregiver in her family. Because she both her parents and her husband s parents confined to a bed, she must work especially hard doing things for all of them. She is loving, caring and pure of heart. Grandma Josephine (Female): She is Mr. Bucket s mother. She, like all the other grandparents, is in her 90 s. She has a frail body and is no longer able to get out of bed. She is weak for lack of food and old age. Her spirit, however, is strong. She is an outspoken character. *Grandpa Joe (Male): Grandpa Joe is Mr.Bucket s father and Charlie s closest ally in the family. He is clearly devoted to Charlie and would do anything for him. He is also in his 90 s, and the lack of food and his advanced age have caused him to be bed-ridden. However, Grandpa Joe s spirit is youthful, hopeful and full of energy. When he learns that Charlie has found the final golden ticket, he leaps out of bed and suddenly finds all the energy he needs to go on the adventure with Charlie. Grandma Georgina (Female): She is Mrs. Bucket s mother. She, like all the other grandparents, is in her 90 s. She has a frail body and is no longer able to get out of bed. She is weak for lack of food and advanced age. Her spirit, however, is strong. She is an outspoken character. Grandpa George (Male): He is Mrs. Bucket s father. He, like all the other grandparents, is in his 90 s. He has a frail body and is no longer able to get out of bed. He is weak for lack of food and advanced age. His spirit, however, is strong. He is an outspoken character.
*Willy Wonka (Male or Female): Wonka is a tremendously eccentric,energetic, and playful character. Although he is an adult, he has never really grown up emotionally. He is impulsive and really a little bit crazy. The actor playing this role needs to be very comfortable playing an outgoing character, as I will be asking him/her to make some bold character choices both physically and vocally. *Augustus Gloop (Male): Augustus is a boy who spends most of his time eating. He has absolutely no self control and is a terribly spoiled boy. He doesn t have any social graces. *Mrs. Gloop (Female): Mrs. Gloop is a very self-important, hysterical woman. Her entire life revolves around Augustus, whom she spoils continuously. Mrs. Gloop does not know how to control her son, so when he tries to drink chocolate out of the chocolate river, she does not know how to stop him. *Veruca Salt (Female): Veruca is a stereotype of an obnoxious, bossy and completely spoiled child. She has her parents wrapped around her little finger. When Veruca wants something, she will scream and whine and complain until she gets it. *Mr. Salt (Male): Mr. Salt is a wealthy man who owns his own factory. He is completely as the mercy of his spoiled daughter: when she demands something, he gets it for her. He thinks that all his problems can be solved with money. He is extremely entitled and conceited. *Mrs. Salt (Female): Mrs. Salt is quiet and mousy. She spoils her daughter, but not nearly as much as Mr. Salt. She is too timid to assert any sort of control over Veruca or to truly speak her mind. *Violet Beauregarde (Female): Violet is a compulsive gum chewer and is a very intense, competitive kid. Violet is a pushy, loud and self-centered girl. *Mrs. Beauregarde (Female): She is an intense, pushy and loud mother. She is a self-centered, obnoxious character. *Mike Teavee (Male): Mike is a television addict. If he could spend every waking hour in front of the television, he would do it. Lucky for Mike, his parents are incredibly over-indulgent and let their son watch way to much TV. Mike likes cowboy movies the best and is so taken with this world that he goes about in cowboy attire all the time. He is a self-centered brat who does not do what adults tell him to do. *Mrs. Teavee (Female): Mrs. Teavee loves her son and lets him watch way too much TV. She is over-indulgent and believes her son is the center of the universe. She is an ineffective parent. *Mr. Teavee (Male): Mr. Teavee loves his son and lets him watch way too much TV. He is overindulgent and believes his son is the center of the universe. He is a very pushy guy and an ineffective parent.
Squirrels (Males or Females): I will be casting an ensemble of students as squirrels. These miniature squirrels work in the nut room, tapping nuts to find the bad ones. They end up throwing Veruca and her parents down the garbage shoot. It is possible that the Squirrells may dance or do gymnastics and I will be interested to see what special talents these actors have that I can incorporate into the play. Oompa Loompas (Males or Females): These characters have one of the most important roles in the play. They appear each time a child gets into trouble in the factory to comment on it, in rhyme. The actors playing the Oompa Loompas will have much to do physically and vocally. They need to very limber and willing to take physical risks. It is possible that some of the Oompa Loomps may dance, rap, do gymnastics and/or sing. I will be interested to see what special talents these actors have that I can incorporate into the play.
Audition Form Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Spring 2017 Name Parent s Name(s) Best Email Address to send Show Information: Home Phone Number Cell Phone Numbers (parent s) (student s) Grade Advisor List all parts for which you would like to be considered *You will be considered for ALL parts. You are not guaranteed one of these roles. This is just for the casting team to know your preference. 1. 2. 3. Are you willing to be double cast? Yes No List any performance and training experience you have (singing, dancing, acting): Conflicts: Your commitment to attend rehearsals and performances for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory begin on Wednesday, March 1st and run through the end of the production on April 28th. Most rehearsals will take place from 3:15-5:00pm Monday-Friday in the Drama Room, Chorus Room, or Auditorium. Some rehearsals may not last as late as 5:00pm. Please check your rehearsal schedule for exact times. Please understand that not everyone will be called for rehearsal everyday, and it is helpful to know your availability in advance when scheduling rehearsals. Please list ALL dates on the back that conflict with rehearsal time. Please include sports, lessons, tutoring, doctor s appointments, vacations, etc.
Permission Form Parent/Guardian: I have read through the Audition Packet with my child and have completed the Conflict Form. I give my permission for my son/daughter (name of student) to audition for the Heathwood Hall I/MS Production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I understand if selected as part of the cast, my child will be required to attend after school rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and ALL performances. We will have a Dress Rehearsal on Saturday, April 22nd OR Sunday, April 23rd from 1-5pm. This date will be confirmed on the Rehearsal Schedule. Parent Signature (Please print parent name)