To schedule an appointment:
We will start scheduling appointments on Thursday, April 11 @ Noon. Auditions can be scheduled during regular office hours only: Tuesdays – Fridays 12-6pm. Phone: (517) 655-7469.

What to prepare:
Prepare 2 contrasting monologues, combined time 3 minutes.
Bring 1 copy of your headshot and resume.

SHOWS AND PERFORMANCE DATES
Titles & dates for performances subject to change. See casting breakdown of available roles below.

The Woman in Black
Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt
October 3 – November 3 , 2013

Over The River and Through The Woods
by Joe DiPietro
November 29 – December 29, 2013

The Lion in Winter
by James Goldman
January 23 – February 23, 2014

Old Love
by Norm Foster
May 15 -June 15, 2014
* This is a co-production with Tipping Point Theatre in Northville & will run there first (end of March – early May).  You must be available to do both runs.

TBA
July 10 – August 17, 2014

Please note: The early spring (March-April) show has already been cast. Rehearsals for all productions will begin approximately 3 weeks prior to the first performance for each show.

CAST BREAKDOWNS
Woman in Black
Actor (male): 30′s-40′s
Kipp (male): 20′s
The Woman (female): 30′s

Over The River and Through The Woods
Nick Cristano (male): 30′s
Frank Gianelli (male): 80, Nick’s maternal grandfather
Aida Gianelli (female): 70′s, Nick’s maternal grandmother
Nunzio Cristano (male): 70′s, Nick’s paternal grandfather
Emma Cristano (female): 70′s, Nick’s paternal grandmother
Caitlin O’Hare (female): Late 20′s

 The Lion in Winter
Alais Capet (female): 20-25, Philip’s half sister
John (male): Late teens–mid 20’s, Henry’s son, future King John of England
Geoffrey (male): 20’s, Henry’s son, Duke of Brittany
Richard (male): 20’s, Henry’s son, future King Richard the Lionheart
Eleanor of Aquitaine (female): 48-68, wife of Henry II
Philip Capet (male): 20’s, King of France
(Henry II, King of England already cast)

Old Love
2 actors playing multiple roles
Bud Mitchell, Arthur Graham & Arthur Junior (male): 50′s-60′s
Molly Graham, Kitty Mitchell, Kendra, Shirley, Sandra, Delores & Claire (female): 50′s – 60′s

I haven’t had the opportunity to write a blog post for several years, but it seems very appropriate to write one about this show. As well as being the Development Director for the Williamston Theatre, I am playing Sylvia in End Days. It’s been quite a joy to be a part of this production.

One of our first MSU collaborative shows was The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds, which I was also in. It seems I am often cast as the “mother with issues” on our stage. Both that production and this production have featured some of the most talented students from the MSU Department of Theatre. They have been a joy to work with. They are disciplined and thoughtful, and they bring a lot to the table – including a youthful energy that we all benefit from.

I am reunited onstage with John Manfredi in this show. In 2009 we appeared together at the Performance Network in A Picasso. We were arch enemies in that show – he playing Pablo Picasso, and me playing Miss Fischer, the Nazi art critic charged with getting him to positively identify several of his works of art so that I could burn them. Tony Caselli also directed us in that. This time around, we get to play a husband and wife who are working through issues that threaten to tear them apart for good. John is so much fun to be on stage with, and he keeps us laughing in rehearsals too.

I think this is the fifth show that Tony Caselli has directed me in over the past eight years. It seems appropriate that he is directing me in what is actually my thesis role. For the past three years, I have been working toward my MFA in Acting from MSU. This will cap off my work towards that goal, and I’ll receive my degree in May of this year.

Our crew, Stage Manager Stef Din, WT Apprentice Heather Brown, and PASM/Assistant Director Dennis Corsi are TOTALLY AWESOME. We wish we could take them with us when we move to the JET. Actually, the five cast members have threatened to tie them up and force them to come with us – that’s how much we love them, and how integral they are to the show.

So… this production has shaped up to be something very special for me. An awesome director, cast and crew – and a very interesting and challenging woman to portray. I hope our audience members take away the warm feeling that family can give you. We represent a broken, but together, family onstage. We are a wonderfully diverse family off stage too.

Emily Sutton-Smith
WT Development Director
Sylvia in End Days

We’ve had a terrific week of previews for the show, audiences were overwhelmingly positive in their responses, which was really wonderful to see and hear.   The show is quirky, and has characters like Jesus Christ and Stephen Hawking in it, along with a wonderful mix of humor and drama, and I’m thrilled that people are seeing it for what it is at the core:  A story about a family, about belief, about love and the strength of looking at one another and saying “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out.”

There’s something inherently life-affirming about the script, and the performances, and I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to convey that.

I say often, about shows that we choose to produce here at WT, that when curtain call is over we want the audience to leave with a desire to hang out with family, call someone they love, or visit with friends.  That’s what I think this show does: Makes us laugh, makes us think about some pretty heavy ideas, and makes us want to connect with the people in our lives.  I love that we get the chance to do that with an audience 5 times a week!

If you see the show, drop me an email at the theatre and let me know what you thought!

Best,
Tony

Tony Caselli, Artistic Director

Eric Eilersen and Lydia Hiller as Nelson and Rachel in “End Days”.    Photo by Chris Purchis

Because of the renovations to our theatre space, we’ve been rehearsing out of the building, here are some photos from rehearsals!

End Days begins performances on January 24th, don’t miss this hilarious, poignant story!

The center seating section will be a little more open and accessible as we eliminate the “drop ceiling” and header that have been a part of the space since we moved into the building.  We’re in the process of having that whole section of the ceiling re-worked and opened up.

This will allow our designers much more flexibility as they design and implement the lighting, sound and scenic designs for each production.  It’ll also give our audience a much nicer experience!

Here are a couple of pictures of the work in progress – click the pictures to see them larger.

Join us for End Days starting January 24th and see the changes for yourself!

First, boom has two more weeks of performances!

And check out the latest review here:  “Williamston Theatre’s 7th Season Opener is told with a passionate fire“

Also happening right now at WT:

Miracles in the Fall

Staged Reading of a new play by Chuck O’Connor
Sunday, October 14 at 6pm
$5 Suggested donation. Reservations not required.
Clare Connelly, a Dominican Sister in 1968 Detroit, is the caretaker of her alcoholic father and the keeper of her dead mother’s virtue. She embodies the contradictions of her hometown, where the self-hatred of race riots dusts the city’s baseball team championship hope. Clare’s desire for holiness is challenged by the indignity of her increasingly infirm father, the confidence of a maverick priest’s intimacy, and the self-crippling family secret revealed with the untimely return of her prodigal brother. Clare must face her personal history and accept that survival is a very human act of self-forgiveness.

And THEN – in November, we’re doing a very cool series of readings:

So, come join us!  Give us a call, stop by, hang out with us – the next month is going to be a very fun one!

PRAISE FROM THE CRITICS FOR

boom

“Provocative, well-written, ingenious, at times brilliant and vastly entertaining.” 

“Outstanding performances.”  “A funny – and, at times, raunchy – romp through the end of the world.” 

“Will keep you thinking for many hours after you’ve left the theater.”

“An exciting and highly visual production.”  “Stunning scenic design.”

“The three actors were perfect.”

The basement research lab that marine biologist Jules inhabits is one of our most incredible scenic designs yet.  Janine Woods-Thoma did a terrific job designing it, and audiences are loving it.  This next picture is taken from an angle that no audience member will normally see:  Barbara has a control platform at the back of the set, and here’s her view of most of the play:

Don’t miss this terrific production!

Here’s the crew from Preuss Pets setting up the tank, along with Janine Woods Thoma, the set designer.

Here’s Steve from Preuss Pets, and Aral Gribble, the actor who will do the most with the fish, being VERY excited that the fish have arrived!

And then here’s a shot from a moment of the play, what a mess!  Good thing that tank is sturdy, this place is a mess!