Hey Everybody!

For the past couple of months, the Young Company members have been anticipating this time of year aka ‘Audition Season.’ We all knew it was coming, but for some reason we are all loosing sleep and ripping our hair out over the preparation of audition material.

Many of us are auditioning for theatre schools nationwide, and we just wrapped up auditions for our upcoming year-end productions. In just a few months you can catch the Young Acting Company in Cloud 9 and the Young Musical Company in Spring Awakening.

Now instead of losing sleep and ripping out our hair over the audition process, we are losing sleep, ripping out our hair AND refreshing our email every 10 seconds waiting for our instructors to release the cast lists!

Being a Young Musical Company member, I am really excited about our year-end production.

Spring Awakening is a beautiful musical and I don’t think they could have chosen a more appropriate show for the Young Musical Company this year. I believe the greatest challenge and the greatest strength of this play is that it is extremely honest and genuine to people our age. It has a wide variety of characters who we can all relate to. Spring Awakening reveals the stories of teenagers as they work through the dreaded transition of puberty, from childhood to adulthood. The story follows numerous characters as they discover their sexuality and the reality of relationships.

As an actor, I think one of the most exciting aspects of Spring Awakening is that we get to perform a variety of styles all within one show. In the text we are playing characters from Germany in the nineteen hundreds, while in contrast, we are singing contemporary pop songs.

I think the Young Musical Company is up for the challenge and ready to tackle this show!

In the midst of auditions we have also spent most of our class time preparing for our upcoming March showcase. The showcase is simply to show our friends and family what we have learned every Monday and Wednesday night for the past six months.

The Young Acting Company members will each perform a monologue, the Young Musical Company is singing duets, and both companies will present several group numbers.

Break legs on auditions everyone!

Tom Wood interviews Linda Turnbull on day 20 of the program. Helping to connect the mind, body and soul, Linda teaches the participants movement, yoga and pilates. She hopes through her instruction, the participants will gain a greater sense of self and what they are truly capable of doing.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

For a complete list of the 2011/2012 Professional Program Participants click here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Tom Wood interviews Dayna Tekatch on day 19 of the program. This life-long theatre lover is teaching the participants all the right moves…and how to do them in her Movement session. Dayna is not only a choreographer, also a dancer and a music lover. She strives to challenge her students every day in many ways—by taking risks with dance; Dayna hopes the actors will be more willing to take risks on stage.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

For a complete list of the 2011/2012 Professional Program Participants click here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Tom Wood interviews Brenda Bazinet on day 18 of the program. This Ontario native leads the participants in their Chekhov Scene Study session. After experiencing extreme stage freight early in her career, Brenda had the realization that she needed further instruction to deepen her understanding. Because of this experience, Brenda was inspired to teach her students beyond technique and arm them with a solid understanding of a character’s inner life.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

For a complete list of the 2011/2012 Professional Program Participants click here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Tom Wood interviews James MacDonald on day 17 of the program. Back for his fourth year, James is not only the program director, but also the participants’ Text Session instructor. Reflecting back on his days as a young actor, James discusses how he approaches teaching, as well as the benefits the Professional Program offers to future generations of actors.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

For a complete list of the 2011/2012 Professional Program Participants click here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Tom Wood interviews Eric Morin on day 15 of the program. This returning participant discusses both the pros and the cons of being a part of the program for a second year in a row. This year Eric is thoroughly enjoying being a part of and witnessing the new participants having their “a-ha” moments.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Tom Wood interviews Jon Lachlan Stewart on day 14 of the program. After attending a performance at the Citadel, this Edmonton born actor fell in love with theatre at a very young age. Jon is not only fine tuning his acting skills, but he’s also keeping a close eye on the directors in hopes of picking up a few tips and tricks from them.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Tom Wood interviews Jonathan Purvis on day 13 of the program. This returning participant has the pleasure of not only being a participant, but also an instructor in the Stage Combat workshop (check out some of Jon’s action clips on his YouTube Channel Action Playground). Jonathan is finding his second year in the program to be very different than his first. This time around he is taking the time to fully engage himself in each task, and ultimately be the best he can be every day.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.

Hi gang,

It’s mid-February, so the word on everybody’s lips is auditions.

Members of both companies are desperately preparing monologues, songs and even the odd movement composition in preparation for tryouts and auditions at universities, colleges and conservatories across the country.

Even those not gathering audition pieces for schools are focused on finding the best monologue for auditions within the company.

That’s right, we’ve been given our shows and now all that remains is to assign the roles and begin rehearsal. The Acting Company will be performing Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill, while the Musical Company will sing and dance their way through Spring Awakening, music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater.

Auditions take place this Monday, February 13^th. We were told to pick a monologue we thought would best reflect the character we want to play—and to be prepared to defend our choices based on our understanding of the character. This style of auditioning is a new thing for me—usually I go in with one monologue and hope for the best. I like the amount of choice this gives us, and I imagine it will result in better casting. Hopefully people will be cast in roles they really want to play.

That sounded fine and dandy…until I read the play.

Cloud Nine is different from any show I’ve ever been in. It is easy to say ‘pick the role that most interests you’, but how do you choose when the choices include: a confident lesbian teaching her five-year-old daughter (played by a man) how to shoot a toy gun, a recently liberated matriarch adapting to freedom, or a nine-year-old boy struggling with homosexuality? Churchill’s play is not the usual concoction of love-sick girls and crotchety old ladies that I’ve seen in so many plays. The power of the show lies in the fact that the issues these people struggle with, while appearing farcical and over-the-top when acted by members of the opposite gender and race, are actually relevant and relatable. The show is about people searching for a sense of order in their lives, as well as equality, love and companionship from their fellow-men.

A play of this caliber sets the bar high. I foresee challenges and roadblocks, but I also anticipate huge areas of growth, discovery and trust.

It’s time to get down to work!

Sarah

Tom Wood interviews Rose Napoli on day 12 of the program. This Windsor, Ontario native and former teacher discusses how her past experience as an educator has made her more susceptible to being taught by the programs instructors. Rose also gives advice to future actors by opening up and sharing her personal journey.

Find out more information about the Professional Program here.

The Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program participants take the stage in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream April 7 – 29. Click here for more information.