We are holding Open Call Auditions for Volunteer Actors to perform in the city's unique community theater opportunity: Theater on the Trail. This year's play is "Twain’s Tails," based on the Short Stories of Mark Twain, adapted by David Taylor London and directed by Jason Coats. Presented by Lenexa Arts Council and Parks & Recreation.
What is "Theater on the Trail"?
Families arrive at Black Hoof Park and enjoy all-ages immersive theatrical experience that includes a leisurely stroll through the park. The play is split into segments, with the cast guiding the audience to various locations in the park for each segment. Our youngest audience members will also have the opportunity to create a simple puppet craft that allows them to participate in the show!
Open Call Auditions:
OPTION 1: Submit Your Audition Online
Submission window available August 1st-12th
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Prepare a comedic monologue of no more than 90 seconds.
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Family-friendly source material is encouraged.
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Ensure you are fully visible from at least the waist up in the video frame and that your voice can be clearly heard, free from outside noises.
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Visit THIS GOOGLE FORM for additional recording guidance and to submit your video. If you have a resume you may also submit it, but that is not required.
OPTION 2: Audition In Person
Saturday, August 6th from 2:00-4:30
at Lenexa City Hall, 17101 W 87th St Pkwy, Lenexa, KS 66219
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Prepare a comedic monologue of no more than 90 seconds.
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Family-friendly source material is encouraged.
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If you have an acting resume, please bring it. This is not required.
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When you arrive, you will complete an audition form before performing your monologue.
Important Info:
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Rehearsals will begin Tuesday, September 6th with a schedule to be determined based on actor’s availability.
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Flexible casting allows for roles to be available for actors of all ages 14+ and all genders, and different levels of availability for rehearsals.
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Required run-thru and dress rehearsals will be Thursday, October 6th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday October 8th from 1pm to 5pm.
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The final performance at Black Hoof Park on Sunday October 9th at 2:00pm.
Synopsis: "Twain’s Tales" includes five short stories by the master American storyteller — “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” “Science vs. Luck,” “The Joke That Made Ed’s Fortune,” “The Belated Russian Passport” and “Is He Living or Is He Dead?” — as well as the fence-painting chapter from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The play takes place on the front porch of a general store in what could be Hannibal, Missouri in the late 1800s. The five locals — the storekeeper and his wife, a printer, a reporter, and a riverboat pilot — spend the morning entertaining each other by seeing who can spin the tallest tale. In his own lifetime, Samuel Clemens held all four of these occupations, and his ability as a storyteller may very well have been born while listening to such individuals spinning their yarns at the general store.
As the narratives unfold, the storytellers, written in the tradition of story theatre, become the characters in the tales. This allows for a cast of 5 to 50 to tell the story! Twain’s razor-sharp wit and ability to expose our human foibles make this play more than just entertainment.
For questions or more information, please contact Director Jason Coats at jasoncoats79@gmail.com.