Category: News

Brighton Beach Memoirs Auditions

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS AUDITIONS

Announcing OPEN AUDITIONS for Tech Theatre’s production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, by America’s preeminent Broadway playwright, Neil Simon.  The play is a comedy chronicling the life of Eugene Jerome, a 15-year-old aspiring playwright and baseball pitcher.  While Brighton Beach Memoirs takes place in Brooklyn, NY, during the Great Depression, the play is timeless in its depiction of lovable characters struggling to maneuver through life’s challenges.  The cast calls for 3 men and 4 women with parts for a girl (12 or 13 years) and a young man (15-16 years).  Auditions will be held in the McArdle Theatre, Walker 208, on the Michigan Tech campus, Wednesday, September 4, and Thursday, September 5, at 7:00 p.m.  The audition will be comprised of informal theatre games and reading from the script.  Please arrive at 7:00 p.m. The production will be performed October 17-19, and October 24-26.  Rehearsals begin September 8.  Directed by Patricia Helsel.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR AUDITIONS:  Read the play and familiarize yourself with the scenes.  Scripts are available in the VPA office (Walker 209) and may be checked out for 24 hours.  All scripts must be returned to the VPA office by Thursday, September 5, 4:00 p.m.  Study the scenes provided here (“sides”).  Read for the part you feel most suited.  While not required, memorize and work with a partner.  Being familiar with the scene gives you an obvious advantage.

Show up before 7 pm on Wednesday, September 4 OR Thursday, September 5.  We will engage in some informal theatre games then move on to reading from the script!  You will be given copies of the audition scenes at the audition and will be expected to read from the sides.

CHARACTERS:

The character descriptions provided here are intended as a starting place for determining what role(s) you should consider.  Ages are relative to how the character should appear to the audience, NOT the expected age of the actorJ

Eugene Jerome:  15 years old.  Smart.  Sensible.  Sarcastic.  Adolescent, and fixated on girls.  Naïve.  Sees himself as a writer, hence the ongoing commentary of his family.  Is not above writing notes and letters for others to put himself in a positive light or in a position of power.  Looks up to his brother Stanley.  He has a love-hate relationship with Stanley, as brothers can sometimes be cruel.  Gets blamed for everything that goes wrong in the house.  Errand boy for mom.  Introvert.  Wants to be a pitcher for the Yankees.  A baseball fanatic.  (What boy wasn’t n 1937?)  Hates liver and cabbage.  Complains with regularity, pointing out the obvious double standard of behavior for himself and his female cousins.

Kate Jerome:  @ 40 years old.  Stoic.  Caregiver for all.  Superstitious to a fault.  Distrusts outsiders.  Set in the ways established by her Russian immigrant parents.  She is a fatalist in one moment but believes you can always find the good in something.  Controlling.  Doesn’t like confrontation.  Rarely gets out of the house.  She is a “work horse.”

Stan Jerome: 18 years old.  Eugene’s older brother.  Has been working in the garment district as a stock boy for the past 2 years, since he graduated from high school.  Torn by what he feels is right and what is essential for the good of his family.  Can never seem to win.  Gambles, lives dangerously.  Acts as a father figure to Eugene when his father is ill.  Athletic.  Believes his father is perfect.  Well intentioned.  Contributes his salary to the family.

Jack Jerome:  40-45 years old.  Eugene’s father.  Works as a cutter in the garment district, while working evenings as a salesman to make ends meet.  He is the provider for his immediate and extended family. Religious.  Takes working hard to the extreme.  Deals with high blood pressure and eventually suffers a heart attack.  Strong role model for his sons.  He is wise.

Blanche Morton:  38 years old.  She is Eugene’s aunt, Kate’s sister.  Widowed six years ago, she depends on her sister’s family to care for her and her two daughters.  Carries a great deal of guilt, the burden of living off others.  Naïve about the world as she has always been protected by her sister and husband.  She is described as “good looking,” “the pretty one.”   Sleeps with a picture of her dead husband.  Has poor eyesight which she attributes to strain while doing seamstress work to contribute to the family.  She suffers from asthma which acts up under stress.

Nora Morton:  16 years old.  Eugene’s cousin.  Blanche’s eldest daughter.  She studies dance and aspires to dance on Broadway.  Is desperate to escape the confines of the household to experience the adventures of the Great White Way.  Often frustrated that her mother is unable to make decisions.  She misses her father dearly. Resents the attention given to her sister Laurie.  Has a propensity toward being “snotty,” though no more than average teenage angst.

Laurie:  13 years old.  Eugene’s cousin.  Blanche’s youngest daughter.  Frail.  Has a supposed heart condition that requires her to rest and avoid exercise or stress.  Coddled by her mother and aunt Kate.  Has learned to manipulate her mother to get out of work.  Her interests are mostly academic though she likes movies.  She tries to act in Nora’s best interest.

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Auditions being held for “Brighton Beach Memoirs”

Auditions will include informal theatre games as well as reading from the script.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Lode, by Jane Kirby.

Get Involved with Music at Michigan Tech

Music at Michigan TechGet involved for the 2013-14 school year with music ensembles, private lessons, or a music minor.

Music at Michigan Tech 2013-14

No audition is required for Huskies Pep Band. To join, come to the Fall Band Camp during orientation week (Friday, August 30 from 4:30-8:30 pm).

Find out more about rehearsal times, ensembles, and music courses in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

• Jazz
• Band
• Orchestra
• Choir
• Chamber Ensembles
• Jazz Combos
• Private Lessons
• Need an Instrument?
• Instrument Lockers
• Practice Facilities
• Music Minors

Rozsa Center Season Tickets Now on Sale

Rozsa Center TicketingThe Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts has announced a 2013-2014 season that includes 25 performances, ranging from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the Tony-award-winning modern spinoff,Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; the Keweenaw Symphony and the Superior Wind Symphony;  a jazz cabaret, a Christmas concert, Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S Pinafore. The lineup includes films, music, lectures, plays comedy and dance.

Season tickets are on sale now through Aug. 31. Two season ticket packages are available. A full season ticket package offers 30 percent off the single-ticket price of all 25 shows. A “pick 6” package is also available.

Read more at Michigan Tech News.

Josh Loar Named 2013 Live Sound Engineer of the Year

Professor of Practice Josh Loar (VPA) has been named 2013 Live Sound Engineer of the Year by the SAE Institute New York. The award recognized his work in engineering and designing large-scale live entertainment systems.

The SAE Institute was established as The School of Audio Engineering (SAE). It offers specialist vocational and higher education courses in creative media technologies worldwide.

From Tech Today.

Arts at Michigan Tech Season Ticket Sales Begin August 1

What happens when you combine the arts with science, technology, engineering and mathematics? In film, lecture, plays, music, art, dance, and even opera, Michigan Tech’s Arts 2013/2014 Season explores the possibilities. Season Ticket Packages go on sale to the public the first week of August, for a limited time only, until August 31. Single ticket sales begin September 1. New “Youth Pricing” is an added benefit this season: Prices will be less than half of regular ticket prices for young people 17 and under, from $5 to $8. Also new this year, Michigan Tech students will never pay more than $5 for any show in the Rozsa Center, and the Experience Tech fee continues to make entrance to all shows produced by the Department of Visual and Performing Arts free to Michigan Tech students and one guest!

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Michigan Tech Ticketing Services at Central Ticketing (SDC), at 7-2073, or go online at rozsa.tickets.mtu.edu..

Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

From Tech Today.

Pep Band at Cherry Royale Parade 2013

Pep Band Cherry Royale Parade 2013
Pep Band Cherry Royale Parade 2013

Northwest Michigan Chapter in Cherry Royale Parade

On Saturday, July 6, alumni and friends from the Northwest Michigan Alumni Chapter were joined by students from Advance Motor Sports, Concrete Canoe, the Michigan Tech Pep Band and Blizzard T. Husky and shared their Michigan Tech spirit in the Cherry Royale Parade in Traverse City.

Read more at TechAlum Newsletter, Alumni Around the World.

Visit the Northwest Michigan Chapter – Michigan Tech Alumni Association on Facebook.

See photos of the 2013 Cherry Royale Parade on Facebook.

Rozsa Center 2013-14 Season

Rozsa CenterOver the years, the Rozsa Center has become known for the funny, dramatic or thoughtful performances, plays and musicals it puts on during its yearly season and the programming scheduled for its 2013-14 season will be no different.

“I’m always excited about all the seasons, but in particular I’m really excited about this coming season,” Rozsa Center Director Susanna Brent said. “We’re doing a lot of theater that’s close to my heart.”

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Scott Viau.

Huskies Pep Band at Bridgefest Parade 2013

Husky Pep Bridgfest 2013The Huskies Pep Band marched in the parade on Friday, June 21, for Bridgefest and FinnFest 2013.

Read more at Past-E-Mail.

Upper Peninsula Marketing Department, Inc., has shared images of the parade on Facebook.

The Huskies Pep Band is a Michigan Tech point of pride and one of the most lauded pep bands in the Midwest. Members enjoy an active schedule, performing at concerts, athletic events, parades, and special events. Open to all with band experience.

Contact Mike Christianson or visit the DAWGS page to learn more. Get involved with music in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

Susanne Kilpela Exhibits for FinnFest 2013

Susanne KilpelaDuring FinnFest 2013, artist Susanne Kilpela will have work displayed at the Gallerie Boheme, 423 Fifth Street in Calumet. The exhibit will include drawings and porcelain sculpture. The artist reception is on Thursday, June 20, 2013, from 7-9 pm.

Kilpela will be co-curating a group exhibition at the Rozsa Gallery. Five Contemporary Finnish-American Artists will exhibit paintings, bronze sculpture, paper and found object assemblages. The gallery reception is on Saturday, June 22, 2013, from 5-7 pm.

Learn more about FinnFest 2013 and the event schedule.