Upcoming Audition
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THE COLOR PURPLE
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and the Warner Brothers/Amblin Entertainment Motion Picture.
Book by
Marsha Norman
Music & Lyrics by
Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray
THE COLOR PURPLE was produced on Broadway at the Broadway Theater by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones.
The world premiere of THE COLOR PURPLE was produced by the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia.
THE COLOR PURPLE is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights
Worldwide 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.theatricalrights.com
Directed by Ashleigh Gilliam
Audition Dates:
Monday, January 20, 2025, 6-8pm
Tuesday, January 21, 2025 6-8pm
Please do not sign up for more than one date.
We do not accept video auditions.
Production Dates:
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays: March 14-23, 2025
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS
This show requires 15+ BIPOC actors of all genders, identity, capability, and/or experience. Some ensemble roles may be available for children and actors of any race.
Age Range: All actors should read between the ages of 18-60. Most roles will be cast 18+, but there are limited children roles within the production, to be read ages 8-12.
WHAT TO BRING:
Headshot: Required. Headshot must be at least a 4x6 printed photograph. The headshot does not need to be professionally done, but should include the full face and current hairstyle of the performer with no filters.
Resume: Preferred, if available.
Monologue: Please prepare a 30-60 second memorized monologue.
Dance: Please be prepared for a dance call for this audition.
Music: Please be prepared to sing 16-32 bars of a song from THE COLOR PURPLE. Music is not provided, please bring your own device or be prepared to sing a capella.
AVAILABLE ROLES & CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS:
CELIE- Age Range: 20s to 40s, female presenting Voice Type: Mezzo-soprano Traits: Vulnerable, resilient, spiritual, and introspective. Arc: The protagonist of the story, Celie begins as a voiceless, abused girl but grows into a strong, self-empowered woman who learns to value herself and her worth. Her journey is one of endurance, love, and self-discovery. Key Songs: “Somebody Gonna Love You,” “What About Love?” “I’m Here” NETTIE - Age Range: 20s to 40s, female presenting Voice Type: Soprano Traits: Intelligent, nurturing, kind, and ambitious. Arc: Celie’s beloved younger sister, Nettie is a source of light and inspiration. Although separated from Celie for years, her letters provide hope and a sense of connection, symbolizing faith and perseverance. Key Songs: “Our Prayer,” “African Homeland” MISTER (Albert) - Age Range: 30s to 50s, male presenting Voice Type: Baritone Traits: Controlling, emotionally broken, prideful, and deeply flawed. Arc: Mister begins as a cruel and abusive husband to Celie. Over time, he confronts his own failings and experiences a transformation, seeking redemption and reconciliation. Key Songs: “Big Dog,” “Celie’s Curse,” “The Mister Song” SHUG AVERY - Age Range: 30s to 50s, female presenting Voice Type: Mezzo-soprano Traits: Charismatic, sensual, independent, and compassionate. Arc: A glamorous jazz singer and Mister’s lover, Shug becomes Celie’s confidante and a catalyst for her self-discovery. She is both a force of liberation and a figure of unconditional love. Key Songs: “Push Da Button,” “Too Beautiful for Words,” “The Color Purple (Reprise)” SOFIA - Age Range: 20s to 40s, female presenting Voice Type: Alto Traits: Bold, outspoken, fiercely loyal, and unapologetic. Arc: Sofia is a symbol of strength and defiance against oppression. She faces her own struggles but maintains her integrity and teaches Celie the value of standing up for oneself. Key Songs: “Hell No!” “Any Little Thing” HARPO - Age Range: 20s to 40s, male presenting Voice Type: Tenor Traits: Gentle, well-meaning, conflicted, and sensitive. Arc: Mister’s son and Sofia’s husband, Harpo struggles between his father’s expectations of masculinity and his love for Sofia. He learns to embrace equality in relationships. Key Songs: “Brown Betty,” “Any Little Thing” SQUEAK (Mary Agnes) - Age Range: 20s to 30s, female presenting Voice Type: Mezzo-soprano Traits: Naive, ambitious, sweet, and determined. Arc: Initially seen as Harpo’s shy and submissive girlfriend, Squeak grows into a confident woman who asserts her independence and follows her dreams of becoming a singer. Key Songs: “Uh Oh!” “Brown Betty” PA (Alphonso) - Age Range: 40s to 60s, male presenting Voice Type: Baritone Traits: Manipulative, cruel, and abusive. Arc: Pa is the man who abuses and exploits Celie at the beginning of the story. His actions set the tone for Celie’s initial suffering. He serves as a symbol of systemic patriarchy and violence. Key Songs: None significant (non-singing role in some productions). CHURCH LADIES (Doris, Darlene, Jarene) - Age Range: 30s to 60s, female presenting Voice Type: Various (Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Alto) Traits: Nosy, humorous, judgmental, and observant. Arc: These three women serve as a Greek chorus, commenting on the events of the story with wit and humor while reflecting the attitudes of the community. Key Songs: “Mysterious Ways,” “Miss Celie’s Pants” Ensemble/Supporting Characters: All ages & genders Portray townsfolk, additional family members, and Africans in Nettie’s missionary scenes. They provide depth to the world of the story and support the themes of community and connection. Some featured ensemble roles include: YOUNG NETTIE (Soprano), YOUNG CELIE (Soprano), YOUNG HARPO, YOUNG ADAM (Treble), OLDER ADAM (Tenor/Baritone), YOUNG OLIVIA (Soprano), OLDER OLIVIA (Mezzo-Soprano/Soprano), BUSTER (Tenor/Baritone), GRADY (Tenor), BOBBY, HENRIETTA, OL' MISTER, PREACHER (Tenor/Baritone), MISTER'S DAUGHTERS, CHURCH SOLOIST, PRISON GUARD, CHIEF (Tenor/Baritone)
Please sign up before coming to the audition. The sign up form may have additional information not outlined above.
Please arrive at the theater 10-15 minutes prior to your audition time in order to fill out your audition paperwork. Children under the age of 18 require a parent or legal guardian to sign their audition form before they are allowed to audition.
Audition Questions? Check out our FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section!
SPECIAL EVENT AUDITIONS
TURTLE KNOWS YOUR NAME
based on the book by Ashley Bryan
This show is a collaborative project between the Little Theater of Gastonia and the African American Museum of History & Culture.
This production requires multiple actors, ages 9+ of all ages, genders, and experience!
The production includes three shows for the general public and one show for Gaston County Schools.
Auditions will take place at the historic Loray Mill on Dec. 14 or 15th, 2-4pm.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
As part of Little Theater of Gastonia's mission of offering highly quality, pre-professional productions that showcases and spotlights all parts of our diverse community within Greater Gaston County and surrounding areas, we strive to be transparent with all of our audition calls for upcoming productions.
Our volunteer production staff always outlines requirements and expectations of each individual audition in advance. All of our auditions are open call and never pre-cast, unless explicitly stated beforehand. We encourage all community members regardless of age, race, gender, orientation, capability, and/or experience to audition in any and all appropriate productions.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO AUDITION?
Little Theater of Gastonia does not charge any type of audition fee, casting fee, or any other type of participation fee for any mainstage productions. The only costs that associate with our mainstage productions would be voluntary with very few exceptions such as: 1. SCRIPT FEES: any production that has rented materials does require a $50 script fee. This fee is held until the rented material is returned and then that fee is released back to the performer (or parent of the performer if that performer is under the age of 18). 2. SHOES: performers will be expected to provide their own shoes - including dance and/or character shoes - as need per performance. The exception would be if the shoes are show specific (example: Dorothy's ruby slippers, Lola's boots, etc.). 3. UNDERGARMENTS: All performers will be expected to provide their own undergarments, including but not excluding: underwear, bras, undershirts, compression garments, nudies, hosiery, and/or socks. 4. MAKE UP & HAIR PRODUCTS: all performers will be expected to provide their own make up and hair products for their personal hair. The exception would be if it was show specific, such as stage make up (ie: Shrek & Fiona's green face paint) or wigs. NOTE: Some productions may ask performers to bring certain costume pieces from their personal closet, especially modern shows. However, if the performer does not own those pieces organically, we will never require the performer to provide their own costume pieces unless that performer wishes to purchase those items and keep them after the show closes for their own personal closet.
WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING TO AUDITIONS?
Requirements for auditions change according to the production staff of each individual production. However, those requirements will always be outlined far in advance, both on our website and within the sign up link. Every audition, expect to bring a headshot and a theatre resume (if you have one). Please always wear comfortable clothing and shoes to auditions, in case the director asks you to dance or move in a certain fashion. Specifics regarding monologues, song choices, and dance requirements will be outlined for every individual production and may differ. Please be sure to read the entire audition notice.
WHO CAN AUDITION FOR LTG PRODUCTIONS?
We encourage all community members interested in performing to audition for our productions! Our productions are never pre-cast and are open call to all person regardless of age, race, identity, and/or capability. When we put on productions that DO have role and/or show requirements and/or limitations, we are always transparent about those and outline them in the audition call. We strive to put together well-rounded seasons with productions that has at least one show to spotlight and celebrate all within the diverse community we are part of, for patrons and performers alike.
HOW MUCH ARE PERFORMERS PAID?
Little Theater of Gastonia is pre-professional, amateur, almost 100% volunteer-run organization. At this time, everyone involved within our productions are volunteer, including production staff, crew, and our casts.
CAN I SEND IN A VIDEO AUDITION SUBMISSION?
In an effort to promote fair auditions, at this time, we are no longer accepting video auditions. If this changes at a later date, we will update the protocols regarding submitting videos!
WHAT IS THE REHEARSAL PROCESS LIKE IF I AM CAST?
In maintaining a community-led and diverse production team, we employ several different production crews and creative teams within our seasons, each with their own rehearsal processes. Tentative calendars for rehearsals will be available at auditions. In most cases, production staff is able to be flexible with schedules of performers, with exceptions of mandatory dates - such as show dates, tech week, and certain special events - but the amount of rehearsal time a potential performer may miss can impact casting decisions.
WHAT IS A "CALL BACK"?
A "Call Back" is sometimes, but not always, used within the auditioning process to ask certain performers to come back for an additional audition, often to read, sing, and/or dance with other performers. Call Backs are not in any way indicative of whether or not a performer will be cast in a particular role or within the production altogether, but a tool utilized by some directors to help make certain decisions.
ARE AUDITIONS OPEN OR CLOSED?
The audition process will vary slightly depending on the production staff and needs for each production. At this time, almost all of our productions are open, which means anyone who is auditioning that evening will be performing in front of other auditionees and production staff. However, some productions do have closed auditions with time slots and an extremely limited number of auditionees who will perform at the same time. If the audition is closed, it will be outlined within the audition notice. We do not accept individual, private auditions for performers who cannot make in-person audition dates. If you are unable to come to auditions, you may submit a video if submissions are being accepted. Due to the high volume of auditionees we frequently have, we do not allow anyone who is NOT auditioning to sit inside the house during audition times. The only exception is if the performer is under the age of 18, and they may bring one parent/guardian into the audition with them, if desired. All other persons must remain in the lobby or their personal vehicles during audition times.
WHEN WILL I FIND OUT IF I HAVE BEEN CAST?
All auditions will have an audition form to fill out before the audition begins. We ask that you legibily put both your email address and phone number on that form, so production staff can reach you during the audition process. Those forms of communications will be the only way we will contact you to possibly schedule a call back, offer you a role, or receive clarification on things regarding the production, such as availability. If we cannot reach you because the information is illegible or incorrect, we cannot move forward with casting you in that particular production. In all productions, the creative team will reach out to every single auditionee before the final casting decision is publicly revealed to let them know if they have been cast or not. Production staff will give a timeline to all auditionees to let them know when to expect a call or email. Please do not reach out to the theater or the individuals within the production team during that timeframe, as casting can take up to a week, depending on the number of auditionees. If an individual constantly reaches out to staff, it may disqualify them from being cast in that production. However, if the alotted timeframe has passed without hearing from the production staff, then we do encourage you to reach out, as that means we were unable to reach you with the information provided (or not provided) on your audition form.
HOW ARE CASTING DECISIONS MADE?
Casting is one of the most difficult and challenging part of every production! We are always so astounded by the immense talent that we have within our community every production and more often than not, each production could be cast several different ways and still be amazing. Casting is decided by a panel of production team members, including the Production Director, Executive Director, Board Representative, Music Director (if applicable), and Choreographer (if applicable). However, in almost every case, the Production Director will have final say in casting. There are many factors that go into whether an individual is cast or not, and no performer should feel discouraged if they are not cast in a particular production. Not being cast in a role is almost never indicative of someone's abilities or talents and we implore performers to continue to audition for productions, both within our theater and in surrounding theaters, as we are enriched with many exceptional theatre companies in our area!
I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION THAT HASN'T BEEN ANSWERED!
We understand that this process can be confusing and overwhelming to some and you may have additional questions regarding this process. Please send any questions you may have that have not been answered above to ltgastonia@gmail.com. We highly discourage any persons, even if they are familiar with staff and creative team members, to message individuals directly looking for confirmation and/or clarification regarding auditions, casting, and/or rehearsals. We highly discourage production team members to answer individuals who reach out to them personally, as well. Please respect the private lives of all of our staff, creative team members, crews, and/or past cast members who volunteer their time to the theater and have jobs, families, and lives outside of productions.