Audition Information for Little Women

Please read ALL of the below information about auditions for our 2024 fall play, Little Women by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

HERE IS A LINK TO AUDITION MATERIALS AND INFORMATION

HERE IS A LINK TO A FULL SCRIPT TO READ

Audition date: Monday, September 11

Audition date: Monday, September 9

Time: 3:10 p.m.

Location: South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center (PAC)

Casting information:

We are seeking students to cover 9 to 10 roles/ensemble tracks for this production.

  • MARMEE MARCH: The matriarch of the March family. A social revolutionary, ahead of her time. Good sense of humor. A warrior; keeps the family together. Tough, strong, and intelligent. [Possible doubling with AUNT MARCH]
  • AUNT MARCH: The most unpleasant old woman imaginable. Has lots of money; privileged. Strong political and personal opinions, which people endure. Judgmental. Has an intermittent, hacking, disgusting cough. [Possible doubling with MARMEE]
  • MEG MARCH: The oldest March sister. Acts as Marmee’s second-in-command. A romantic at heart; likes to dress up and have little luxuries in life.
  • JO MARCH: The second-oldest March sister and the main protagonist of the story. Does not fit comfortably within the parameters of her given gender role. A deep fire within her. Extremely ambitious and frustrated by the distance between where she is and where she wants to be. Impatient. Wants to change the world. Sometimes antagonistic. Not the most tolerant of different viewpoints. Boyish and rough-and-tumble. Ahead of her time.
  • BETH MARCH: The third March sister. An extremely special person. Very sweet and paralytically shy; had to be removed from school because of her paralyzing social anxieties. Loves deeply and has deep empathy for everyone. Loves the simple things in life–so much that it hurts. Brave and sensitive, quick to forgive and heal wounds.
  • AMY MARCH: The youngest March sister. Opinionated and spunky; popular and quite focused on style. Socially intelligent. Sometimes puts on airs. Perhaps a bit spoiled. A perfect little lady–except for her temper, and her not-so-great command of “vocabiblary.” Madly in love with Laurie, around whom she is never cool.
  • ENSEMBLE FEMALE: Plays Hannah (Irish housekeeper, cook, and babysitter for the Marches), Mrs. Mingott (a very rich, stylish woman), and Messenger (a female messenger).
  • THEODORE “LAURIE” LAURENCE: A sweet and handsome young man. Sensitive, funny, charming, and caring. In his fantasies he’s a white knight riding in to rescue damsels in distress. A natural musician. Wealthy thanks to his inheritance, but generous. Does not always fit comfortably within the parameters of his given ender role; he doesn’t want to grow up to be a soldier or a tedious man of business.
  • JOHN BROOKS: Laurie’s sometimes stiff and awkward tutor. A rule follower. A poor man, well educated. Has a very noticeable limp–probably served in the war and was sent home. Feels deeply. Quite madly in love with Meg.
  • Brooks will double as Aunt March’s purely evil parrot, and possibly as the Doctor.
  • MALE ENSEMBLE: Plays several roles:
  • Mr. Laurence: Laurie’s grandfather, responsible for his upbringing. A gentleman in the strictest sense. Not comfortable with emotions and bad at expressing himself.
  • Robert March: Father to the March girls. Never speaks, but his presence looms large. 
  • Mr. Dashwood: A publisher of cheap newspapers and novels. A businessman working in a man’s world. Not a nice guy, but thinks he is.

Audition process:

Each student auditioning must pick one of the provided audition sides. While memorization is not required, it will likely strengthen your performance and increase your odds of being cast. Audition sides focus on the following characters: JO, MEG, AMY/LAURIE, and MR. LAURENCE. The audition panel will read the other part(s) in the scene.

Upon completion of auditions, some auditionees in consideration for March sister roles may be asked to stay for an on-the-spot callback with the provided callback material. Just because you are/are not called back doesn’t mean you will/will not be cast.

Students will be seen one by one individually to perform their auditions. The cast list will be posted on the Thespians board by the end of the school day on Tuesday, September 10.

PICK UP AUDITION MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS IN MR. BACKES’S CLASSROOM, 2225!

If you have any questions please email Mr. Backes at tbackes@sdsm.k12.wi.us.