Aug. 20 NMSU Theatre auditions are open to community members

You do not have to be a New Mexico State University Theatre Department student to try out for plays and musicals produced by the department.

In fact, NMSU Theatre Arts welcomes community members at auditions, and has often cast them in its shows.

"We are pleased to hold auditions for our two fall shows, which are quite different, from the new and innovative play ‘Big Frog’ to the classic tale ‘A Christmas Carol,’ said Theatre Department Head Wil Kilroy.

“A Christmas Carol” will be a unique production, Kilroy said, “with a story theatre approach directed by guest Norman Lewis. While casting preference for the shows is given to NMSU theatre majors, “we often need to round out our casts with community members, so all are encouraged to audition," he said.

Auditions will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m. or until all auditions are completed. They will be held at the ASNMSU Center for the Arts, 1000 E. University Ave.

Sign up for auditions online at https://theatre.nmsu.edu/Auditions.

Auditioners should prepare a two-minute audition, which can include two one-minute monologues or a one-minute monologue and a cappella singing of one verse from one of these songs: “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” “Deck the Halls,” “Silent Night” or “O Come All Ye Faithful,” as chosen by the auditioner, Kilroy said.

Auditioners will be trying out for:

• “Big Frog,” by Dylan Guerra, directed by NMSU Theatre Department Assistant Professor Nichole Hamilton and performed Sept. 30-Oct. 9. In the play, four high school friends who “used to meet on a Miami golf course to drink, smoke pot, and … lick a frog?” meet up 10 years later “to get their story straight because a well-known crime podcast host has come to town to investigate an unsolved mystery.” And the frog is still there, only bigger. The show contains adult themes and language.
• “Christmas Carol,” adapted from the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens, directed by community actor/director Norman Lewis and performed Nov. 18-Dec. 4. This classic holiday story has been an audience favorite at NMSU for many years.

To sign up for an audition spot, visit https://theatre.nmsu.edu/auditions/upcoming-auditions.html.

 For more information, call the NMSU Theatre Department at 575-646-5122.