Patio Playhouse Plays in the Park: RENT
Written by Jonathan Larson
Produced by Cassiopeia Guthrie
Directed by David Guthrie
Musical Direction by Charlie Jirkovsky
Choreography by Danielle Muckle
AUDITIONS:
Thursday, April 21, 2022 from 6:00PM – 10:00PM
Saturday, April 23, 2022 from 10:00AM – 3:00PM
Callbacks by invitation only Tuesday, April 26
AUDITION LOCATION:
Patio Playhouse
116 S Kalmia St
Escondido, CA 92025
THE MUSICAL:
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
SHOW RUNS: July 15, 2022 to July 30, 2022
PERFORMANCES: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 8:00PM
REHEARSALS: May 1 – July 14 (please come to auditions with details about all potential conflict dates)
This is a non-equity, volunteer position.
In order to ensure the safety of the production, we are requiring that everyone involved be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Patio Playhouse encourages diversity and prioritizes safety in their productions. For more info, please read our Policies and Procedures on Diversity, Inclusion, and Consent and our Diversity Statement.
AUDITION INFORMATION:
Please prepare a 45 second song in the style of the show and the role you desire. An accompanist will be provided. No a capella, please. There may also be readings from the script based on the role desired. Sides will be made available to those who sign up for a time slot or by e-mailing drgtheater@gmail.com. Callbacks will be by invitation only on April 26th and will include sides from the scripts, songs from the show, and choreography.
RSVP and sign up for a time slot at: https://forms.gle/PfXopejXkxnQFP6C8
You can also visit http://www.patioplayhouse.com/get-involved/audition for details.
Please bring a resume and a headshot to your audition.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:
All roles are open for all genders and ethnicities.
MARK COHEN: A struggling Jewish-American documentary filmmaker and the narrator of the show. He is Roger’s roommate; at the start of the show, he has recently been dumped by Maureen.^
ROGER DAVIS: A once-successful-but-now-struggling musician and ex-lead singer and rock guitarist who is HIV-positive and an ex-junkie. He hopes to write one last meaningful song before he dies. He has difficulty coping with his own mortality as well as that of his friends. He is roommates with Mark. Complicated love interest with Mimi.*^
MIMI MARQUEZ: A stripper and drug addict. She lives downstairs from Mark and Roger, is Roger’s love interest, and, like him, is HIV-positive. She is also Benny’s ex-lover.*^
TOM COLLINS: An anarchist professor with AIDS. Collins dreams of opening a restaurant in Santa Fe, where the problems in New York will not affect him and his friends. He was formerly a roommate of Roger, Mark, Benny, and Maureen, now just Roger and Mark, until he moves out. Angel’s love interest.*^
ANGEL DUMOTT SCHUNARD: A young drag queen who is addressed as a female when in drag and as a male when out of drag. Angel, who has AIDS (and eventually dies from it), is a street percussionist with a generous disposition; Collins’ love interest.*^
MAUREEN JOHNSON: A performance artist who is Mark’s ex-girlfriend and Joanne’s current girlfriend. She is very flirtatious and cheated on Mark. Larson considered Maureen a lesbian, despite her previous relationships with men, and he specifically identified her as “lesbian” in the script itself.*^
JOANNE JEFFERSON: An Ivy League-educated public interest lawyer and a lesbian. Joanne is the woman for whom Maureen left Mark. Joanne has very politically powerful parents (one is undergoing confirmation to be a judge, the other is a government official).*^
BENJAMIN COFFIN III: The ‘villain’ and the Landlord of Mark, Roger, and Mimi’s apartment building and ex-roommate of Mark, Collins, Roger, and Maureen. Now married to Alison Grey of the Westport Greys, a very wealthy family involved in real estate, and he is considered yuppie scum and a sell-out by his ex-roommates. He at one time had a relationship with Mimi.^
ENSEMBLE OF 6-8 ACTORS TO MAKE UP THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS:
MRS COHEN: Mark’s mother. Her voicemail messages are the basis for the songs Voicemail #1, Voicemail #3, and Voicemail #5.^
ALEXI DARLING: The producer of Buzzline, a tabloid company that tries to employ Mark after his footage of the riots.^
MR AND MRS JEFFERSON: The wealthy parents of Joanne Jefferson. Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson usually sing the solos in Seasons of Love.^
MRS DAVIS: Roger’s mother.^
MRS MARQUEZ: Mimi’s mother who sings in Voicemail #5, wondering, in Spanish, where she is.^
MR GREY: Benny’s father-in-law who wants to buy out the lot.^
THE MAN: The local drug dealer whom Mimi buys from and Roger used to buy from. Based on the character Parpignol from La Bohème.[23]^
PAUL: The man in charge of the Life Support group.^
GORDON: One of the Life Support members.^
STEVE: One of the Life Support members.^
ALI: One of the Life Support members.^
PAM: One of the Life Support members.^
SUE: One of the Life Support members.^
SQUEEGEE MAN: A homeless person who chants “Honest living!” over and over during “Christmas Bells.”^
WAITER: A waiter at Life Cafe.^
HOMELESS WOMAN: A woman who calls Mark out for trying to use her to assuage his guilt during “On The Street.”&^
PASTOR: The Preacher kicks Collins out of the church because he can’t pay for Angel’s funeral.^
ENSEMBLE: This track may be comprised of one or multiple of the minor roles above. ^
*This character engages in physical intimacy during the production including kissing and close contact.
&This character engages in physical contact during the production including stage combat.
^This character may double in a role which includes physical intimacy and/or stage combat.
NOTE: UNDERSTUDIES will be cast for this production. There is no guaranteed understudy performance scheduled. In event of need, a put-in rehearsal will be scheduled if possible.
———————————-
For additional information or questions, contact David Guthrie at drgtheater@gmail.com
Rent is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com