- Mendocino College
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Auditions coming for Mendocino College spring theater production ‘Once Upon A Mattress!’
“Once Upon a Mattress” is an exuberant family-friendly musical romp based on the classic story of "The Princess and The Pea." Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic provides for some side-splitting shenanigans.
Director Reid Edelman seeks a large cast of 25 to 35 singers, dancers and actors, ages 14 and up. All actors must be high school age or older. No prior experience is needed, just a desire to perform and a love of musical theater.
This is an exciting opportunity to participate in a professionally staged musical on a college stage. Performers will sing to the accompaniment of a live orchestra, and experience the magic of performing musical theater in a fully equipped state of the art space with the support and guidance of the college's faculty and artistic team.
The rehearsals will begin in mid-January and continue until the show opens on March 22, 2019. Performances will run through March 31. In addition to director and college theater professor Reid Edelman, the show’s directorial team includes musical director Phillip Lenberg, vocal directors Janice Timm and Marilyn Simpson, and choreographers Eryn Schon-Brunner and Maria Monti.
Auditions will be held on Saturday, Dec. 8, starting at 10 a.m. According to Edelman, “Don't worry if you are not a trained dancer. Not all roles require extensive dancing, and our choreographic duo of Eryn Schon-Brunner and Maria Monti love to teach all actors to dance.”
Everybody who auditions will need to sing, dance and act. However, no previous training or experience in these areas is needed. For the dancing auditions, performers are asked to wear comfortable clothes and to be prepared to learn a short dance routine that will be performed with a group during the audition.
Actors at auditions will also be asked to sing a song of their choosing. Selecting a song from a Broadway musical that has both dramatic / character content as well as showing off your singing voice is recommended. The song should be 60 seconds or less, so actors are encouraged to start at the best part of their piece. If possible, actors should bring sheet music, as an accompanist will be provided.
Edelman, however, emphasizes that nobody should be intimidated. “Don't worry if you can't find a song or if the idea of a prepared song terrifies you. You can always just sing ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Mary had a Little Lamb.’ We just want to hear your voice!”
The song will be the initial acting audition as well as the singing audition, so choosing a character song with dramatic content will be helpful.
Initial singing and dancing auditions will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8, starting at 10 a.m. in the dance studios (rooms 800 and 820 in the Athletic Building) on the Mendocino College Ukiah campus. Performers should also save Sunday, Dec. 9, for call-backs from 1 to 5 p.m.
All roles are being cast by open auditions; no roles are precast. Roles being cast include:
THE MINSTREL: the character is older, but can be played by an actor of any age & gender... sings & dances, the storyteller of our revisionist fairy tale
PRINCE DAUNTLESS: the lovable yet naive young prince. Dominated by his mother who wishes to keep him her baby forever. By the queen's decree, nobody can marry until he does, and if the queen has her way, he never will.
QUEEN AGGRAVAIN: the aforementioned villainous queen. Dominates her husband and her son, and does NOT play fair!
LADY LARKEN: romantic lead, in love with Sir Henry, and recently pregnant. She and Sir Harry would like to marry, but they can't, due to the queen's anti-marriage rule. If she starts to show, things are going to get dicey!
KING SEXTIMUS THE SILENT: he communicates only in charades. Under a spell that will not allow him to speak until "the mouse devours the hawk."
JESTER: any age, any gender...side-kick to the minstrel and the king...a delightful role.
THE WIZARD: a magician serving the queen...any age & gender
SIR HARRY: the romantic lead-type. Melodic voice and very in love with Lady Larken, though a bit too full of himself.
PRINCESS WINIFRED: her friends just call her FRED... She says she is terribly shy, but she has the energy and shine of a million-watt bulb! She can drink, lift weights and swim moats with the best knights, but under her brash exterior, she is a true romantic at heart.
Plus a large chorus of singing and dancing knights and ladies.
In addition to the performance opportunities, numerous backstage production positions are also available. Crews are needed to build scenery, props and costumes as well as to work as assistant stage managers, light and sound operators and run-crew.
For those with a particular interest in learning to build costumes, there will be a costume construction course taught by Kathy Dingman-Katz in association with this production. This fun class will meet Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9:50 p.m. during Mendocino College’s Spring semester.
People interested in joining the “Once Upon a Mattress” production team should contact Technical Director Steve Decker at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For information call Reid Edelman at 707-468-3172 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..