Audition - Perform Musicals

Echelon Productions is a multi award-winning theatrical producer and one of the largest touring theatre companies across Australia and New Zealand. Based in Melbourne, the company has been established since 2000 and in that time has produced a number of Helpmann Award and Green Room Award nominated plays and musicals. 

Also operating as Perform Educational Musicals, which specialises in touring educational musicals for schools across Australia and New Zealand, the company employs around 50 performers throughout the year.

Our educational theatre division is holding auditions across New Zealand during the first week of December 2009 for our 2010 production celebrating NZ Storylines Festival. This year we have been celebrating 10 years of Book Week musicals and in this time have performed to over one million students.

The performances, which take place within schools, are highly interactive and feature action packed narratives, appealing, identifiable characters, loads of comedy, singing and dancing that captivate and engage all audiences, including teachers! Question time at the conclusion of the performance reinforces the learning outcomes.

Casts of two perform up to three shows a day in schools within a one hour radius of the central city area. Each cast will have one performer nominated as the team driver who must have access to their own reliable car for the contracted period. Both cast members are required to bump in and out the basic set which takes around 20 minutes either side of performance.

All productions are one hour musicals and include PA and individual headset microphones for each performer.

Cast requirements:
Performers are the ambassadors of the company and significant role models for thousands of students and this means we have high standards for hiring performers.

Age: between 20 and early 30s
Skills: strong singing voices, excellent comedic inventive acting and ability to move well.
Personal qualities: Warm, friendly, energetic, personable, excellent communicators, fun loving, reliable, committed and most importantly enjoy working with children.

We are casting:

AUCKLAND – 2 males and 2 females

WELLINGTON – 1 male and 1 female

CHRISTCHURCH – 1 male and 1 female

Auditions will be held on the following dates:

AUCKLAND – Wednesday 2 December 2009 between 9AM – 1PM

WELLINGTON – Wednesday 2 December 2009 between 4:30PM – 7:30PM

CHRISTCHURCH – Thursday 3 December 9:30AM – 12:30PM

Auditions details:

The acting audition will involve a 30 minute group session involving 8 auditionees per group.

This will be followed by an individual singing audition.

The aim of the group sessions is to offer a relaxed and enjoyable experience that closely resembles that of our productions – creative, playful, interactive and fun.

1 scene - We will forward one short scene from the script to get a sense of style and character however there is no need to learn this off the page. This scene will be used as a basis for improvised play.

Song – Please bring legible sheet music in the correct key for one up-tempo, music theatre song.

* Please note auditionees may be asked to do some simple dance steps in the audition.

These auditions may be video recorded for casting reference only.

Storylines Festival 2010 production: JUNGLE BUNGLE! By Craig Christie

When Claire agreed to go with her new friend Oliver on a weekend expedition it was only meant to be camping in the back yard, but somehow they had ended up a lot further away from home than that! Here they were in a jungle, without supplies, a mobile or map, and only that crazy compass with a mind of its own.

Craig Christie has been writing educational musicals for nearly 20 years and has also written several full scale commercial musicals including Eurobeat – Almost Eurovsion which opened on the London West End in 2008. www.craigchristie.com