News

Auditions and applications are open for Raleigh Little Theatre’s Teens on Stage (TOS) and Teens Backstage (TBS) program for summer 2021. The program is open to students aged 14-18. This year, Teens on Stage and Teens Backstage will create a site specific production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare, performed in the Stephenson Amphitheatre and Raleigh Rose Garden. The production is directed by RLT’s director of education, Meredyth Pederson Cooper.

About the Program

Together, TOS and TBS form RLT’s intensive six-week summer program that provides theatrical training and mentoring to teens. The program team’s approach prioritizes the agency of the youth participants and is grounded in the belief that young people are valuable creative collaborators. This approach supports the development of youth theatre artists as it engages them in critical thinking, creative problem solving and a community-centered environment that recognizes what each person brings to the collaboration.

RLT seeks 12-16 participants for the Teens on Stage program. All who are cast in the production divide their time between daily classes and rehearsals. Class content is designed to support students’ artistic skill development in areas that apply directly to the production, while helping them grow into well rounded theatre artists.

RLT seeks 4-6 participants in the Teens Backstage program. Though the program provides training and skill building in all areas of technical theatre, this year’s site specific and outdoor production will heavily rely on costume and prop construction as the leading technical elements. Participants will have weekly rotating master classes in areas of technical theatre, as well as mentorship from the design team in creating all technical elements of the production.

The 2021 program is currently planned to take place in person at Raleigh Little Theatre utilizing both indoor and outdoor spaces, with several safety measures in place in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Learn more about Raleigh Little Theatre’s safety measures.

Each year, RLT staff prioritizes choosing a script that is relevant to teens, and that participants can bring their own life experiences to in a meaningful way. This, combined with attention to safety precautions around Covid-19, informed RLT’s choice of staging As You Like It in the outdoor areas of the RLT campus.

Auditions for Teens on Stage

The cast of Teens on Stage in “Antigone” in 2019.

Auditions will be done via video submission this year. For the audition, please prepare a memorized 1-minute monologue from a play by William Shakespeare and video record your audition. Please introduce yourself at the beginning of your video with your first and last name, and what play your monologue is from.

Audition submissions are due by Friday, March 5.

Optional – if you sing, you may also add a brief cut of a song to your video, sung a cappella (no accompanying music needed). The song can be from a musical, or it can be something as simple as “Happy Birthday.”

The whole video should be no longer than 2 and a half minutes.

Use the Online TOS Audition Form to submit your audition video and conflict calendar (see Program Dates section below).

Callbacks will be held on Saturday March 20, 4-7pm at Raleigh Little Theatre at 301 Pogue Street. The callback list will be emailed to all auditionees by March 15 at 5pm. Masks are required at callbacks and participants will be scheduled in groups no larger than 10 students at a time.

A member of Teens Backstage creating props for “She Kills Monsters” in 2020.

Interviews for Teens Backstage

Apply for a position in Teens Backstage using the Online TBS Application Form. You’ll also use the form to submit your conflict calendar (see Program Dates section below). Teens Backstage applicants are also invited to submit an optional sample of artistic or technical work. This sample can be theatre related, but it need not be. Any medium can be submitted, and this sample is optional. If you have any trouble uploading your sample through the form, it can also be emailed to education@nullraleighlittletheatre.org.

Applications are due by Friday, March 26.

Interviews will be held on Saturday, March 27 between 4-6pm at Raleigh Little Theatre. Sign up for an interview time. Interviews are facilitated in small groups of no more than 10 students at a time. Masks are required for all interviewees while at RLT.

Program Dates for Teens on Stage and Teens Backstage:

The first day of the program is Saturday, June 19. Performances run July 22-31 with strike on Aug 1.

In order to make use of the outdoor performance space in the evenings, program dates this year have shifted to 2-8pm, Monday through Friday for TOS and TBS participants.

View the conflict calendar that contains the full program schedule.

Sample daily program schedule:

• 2:00-4:30pm – TOS classes (75 min each class); master class or build time for TBS
• 4:30-5:30pm – Dinner break (participants pack their own food and must stay on the RLT campus)
• 5:30-8:00pm – Rehearsal for TOS; master class or build time for TBS

Tuition

The tuition cost for the program is $450. Once you have been accepted into the program, RLT will provide information about registration and scholarships. Raleigh Little Theatre has never turned away a student due to inability to pay.

Virtual Info Sessions

Want to learn more about this year’s program and get your questions answered? Join RLT’s director of education, Meredyth Pederson Cooper for one of the following virtual info sessions. The sessions will include a program overview, Q&A and guidance on choosing a Shakespeare monologue as well as how to film your audition. Parents/Guardians are also welcome to attend with their student. Use the links below to register for the info session that works for you. The info session is not required in order to audition or interview for the program.

Saturday, February 6, 2021 4-5pm – Register for this Zoom meeting

Monday, February 8, 2021 7-8pm – Register for this Zoom meeting

About the Show

View a video synopsis of the plot by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

About the Roles

RLT is seeking a diverse cast of 12-16 actors aged 14-18 to play the following characters. Several actors will be cast in multiple roles, as needed. Though gender presentation is noted for some characters, all genders will be considered for the roles.

Rosalind: Independent, warm hearted, clever. Duke Senior’s daughter. Disguises herself as Ganymede when exiled to the Forest of Arden.

Celia: Rosalind’s cousin and Duke Frederick’s daughter. Disguises herself as a shepherdess, Aliena, while in the forest.

Orlando: Younger brother to Oliver. Falls in love with Rosalind.

Oliver: Orlando’s older brother and the oldest son of Sir Rowland de Boys. Oliver goes to great lengths to ensure his brother’s downfall. When Duke Frederick employs Oliver to find his missing brother, Oliver finds himself living in despair in the Forest of Ardenne, where Orlando saves his life.

Duke Senior: Rosalind’s father who has been exiled from the court by Duke Frederick, though he is the rightful ruler. Lives in the Forest of Arden with the loyal Jacques and Lord Amiens.

Jacques: Faithful lord who accompanies Duke Senior to the Forest of Arden. Hopelessly melancholy and often stays on the sidelines of the action, preferring to observe and comment on what’s going on around him.

Duke Frederick: Brother of Duke Senior and usurper of the throne with a sharp temper. Banishes Rosalind from the court with little reason.

Touchstone: A clown in Duke Frederick’s court who accompanies Rosalind and Celia in their flight to the forest.

Silvius: A young, suffering shepherd, who is desperately in love with the disdainful Phoebe.

Phoebe: A young shepherdess, who disdains the affections of Silvius. She falls in love with Ganymede, who is really Rosalind in disguise, but Rosalind tricks Phoebe into marrying Silvius.

Adam: Servant to Oliver and friend to Orlando.

Ensemble Roles: Lord Amiens, Le Beau, Charles, Corin, Audrey, William, Sir Oliver Martext and others as needed. These speaking roles may be doubled depending on the composition of the cast.

Any and all questions about the program or audition/interview process can be directed to director of education, Meredyth Pederson Cooper at meredyth@nullraleighlittletheatre.org or 919-821-4579 x245.