I am welcoming audition submissions for a concert reading of a new vaudeville jukebox musical called “Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil” during Fertile Ground as part of PDX Playwrights “Festival within a Festival”.
REHEARSALS: Two rehearsals at a central location in Portland to be scheduled in the first half of April based on the cast’s availability.
PERFORMANCE: One concert reading at 2:30pm, Sunday, April 21, 2024 at the Chapel Theater in Milwaukie. This will be simply script-in-hand at music stands with a pianist; no microphones; no movement/choreography required.
STIPEND: $100 (non-union)
AUDITION SUBMISSIONS: For best consideration, please email the following by February 20th to timkra@hotmail.com:
> Headshot
> Resume or summary of your previous performance experience
> The role(s) you are interested in (see breakdown below)
> A video recording of yourself singing at least 32 bars, either one of the songs from the show (see materials link below) or a piece of your choice in a similar Tin Pan Alley style. This can be an informal recording with or without accompaniment. Either an attachment or a link is fine. If you are unable to submit a video recording, please contact me to meet in person.
Performers of any race, ethnicity, body type, gender expression, and ability are encouraged to audition. Age ranges listed below are flexible.
MATERIALS: In this Google Folder, there is a copy of the script, sheet music, and potential audition pieces (both scores and digital tracks that you are welcome to use in your audition recording). The script also includes links to period recordings of each song for reference.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18bxhzPw_J6rBe4DGxmTD_GCEHh5wCQd3?usp=sharing
ABOUT THE SHOW: With memorable tunes from vaudeville composers such as Irving Berlin and Harold Arlen comes “Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil”, a new jukebox musical devised by Timothy Krause (a Portland theatre maker whose historical drama “Bread and Roses” won Portland Civic Theatre Guild’s 2024 New Play Award). Inside the Paradise Music Hall, heavenly voices lead to hellish choices when Frank, a vaudeville producer, strikes a Faustian deal to save his theater by casting Helen, a fallen angel seeking a comeback, and three aspiring performers, Harry, Jack, and Will. However, Helen’s manipulative ways and selfish desires lead the whole gang straight to Hades to confront dark truths and moral dilemmas through increasingly surreal vaudeville acts that include song and dance, magic, drag, and even the River Styx embodied by circus acrobats. “Pack Up Your Sins” shines its spotlight on ambition, betrayal, and the consequences of choices in a harmony of comedy, drama, and fantasy.
ROLES (Note: Each principal has at least one solo except Will and Jack, who sing in duet or group; age ranges are flexible so long as they are relative to others in the cast):
HELEN MOSCOW – female – late 20s to early 40s – a fallen angel seeking a comeback as a vaudeville chanteuse; strong and determined but also manipulative
HARRY AMSTERDAM – male – early 20s to late 30s – the youngest of a comedy trio; adorable and amorous leading man; innocent and gullible, but sweet and sincere
WILL PARIS – male – early 20s to late 30s – the middle man of a comedy trio; fun, snarky, irreverent and a bit lazy; makes a career of riding Jack’s coattails
JACK BERLIN – male – early 30s to early 50s – the oldest of a comedy trio; smart and scheming; eye on the prize; he has some integrity, but is also willing to do what it takes to be famous
FRANK LONDON – male – any age – a schleb who dreams of being successful as a vaudeville producer; also a perpetual hustler, good and bad
MORTIMER COPENHAGEN – male – 40s-60s – Death personified as a vaudeville magician and, later, female impersonator who has been there, done that (this role also covers the bit part of Busy Boss, i.e., an overworked Devil)
GUTIERRE “GOODY” MADRID – male – any age – a guardian angel in the guise of vaudeville band leader; full of integrity but often powerless to effect real change
CHORUS (one male and one female; any age) – singers who also play parts of Thugs, Stagehands, etc.
STAGE DIRECTIONS reader (any gender, any age); does not have to be a singer, but may join the chorus numbers if desired
QUESTIONS: Please email me at timkra@hotmail.com.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Timothy Krause began his professional theater career in the production department of North Shore Music Theatre near Boston. While there, he also directed shows at Salem State University (“The Lesson” and “On the Verge”) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“Trial By Jury”), and his Civil War drama “Re-Union” was presented at the Playwrights’ Platform Festival of New Plays in Boston. He then shifted roles to theater administration and served as marketing and development director for Maine Shakespeare Festival and Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, where he also designed scenery for “Wait Until Dark”. Moving to Portland, Tim wrote about theater for Just Out newspaper; reviewed hundreds of shows for the Drammy committee and Followspot blog; and served for seven seasons as the marketing director for Miracle Theatre Group (Milagro). During this time, Tim received a Leslie O. Fulton Fellowship from the Portland Civic Theatre Guild to attend an international theatre festival in Santiago, Chile, as well as an “Unsung Hero” award from the Drammy Committee for his work in organizing the Portland Theatre Marketers Roundtable. Tim originally received a bachelor’s degree in theater from Southwest Minnesota State University, which included a summer internship in stage management at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. At Portland State University, Tim earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and later a master’s degree in Teaching English for Speakers for Other Languages, and he has been teaching at Portland Community College since 2015. Writing a novel for his students led Tim to return to playwriting in 2022, and some of his new work has been produced by the NW10 Festival in Eugene (“A Density of Thought”) and PDX Playwrights Epic Shorts Festival in Portland (“Salmon Pink”). Another short play (“Yes, Indeed!”) was published by Drama Notebook and presented by Nakusp Secondary School in British Columbia, while a one-minute radio script (“A Big Break”) aired on KeppelFM91.3 community radio by Yeppoon Little Theatre in Australia. His historical drama “Bread and Roses” won the 2024 New Play Award by the Portland Civic Theatre Guild and, along with his vaudeville jukebox musical “Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil”, will receive a reading as part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works in 2024.
