Due to the continued “Shelter-In-Place” order from the State of Illinois and the Social Distancing guidelines from the White House being extended until April 30, 2020 the auditions for Disney’s Moana Jr. that were scheduled for the weekend of April 17 & 18 are being POSTPONED until a later date. We currently do not have a new date scheduled, but as soon as that decision has been made we will let you know on our Facebook page and our website.
Our top priority right now is making sure our performers, production staff and patrons stay safe and healthy. Check back often for future updates about auditions, show dates and other Hard Road information. Stay safe and healthy!
The first production of our 20th Anniversary Season is our kids show, Disney’s Moana, Jr! We are excited to be one of the first community theaters in the area to stage this show!
This thrilling and heartwarming coming-of-age story follows the strong-willed Moana as she sets sail across the Pacific to save her village and discover the truth about her heritage.
We are grateful to have our long-time kid’s show director, Gentry Fifer, at the helm again this year! Her dynamic vision and experience promise to make Disney’s Moana, Jr. one of our best and most memorable productions ever! She has put together a wonderfully talented production team who are already preparing for this summer’s show!
Here are some important dates for the show:
Auditions @ Highland Elementary Auditorium : Friday, April 17 @ 6pm Saturday, April 18 @ Noon Sunday, April 19 – Callbacks as needed
Show Dates @ Highland Elementary Auditorium: Friday, June 19 @ 7pm Saturday, June 20 @ 7pm Thursday, June 25 @ 7pm Friday, June 26 @ 7pm Saturday, June 27 @ 7pm Sunday, June 28 @ 2pm
Age Range for the show – 1st grade going into 2nd through Freshman going into Sophomore
More details about auditions and audition materials/forms will be released soon, so check back often!
Auditions for DISNEY’S FROZEN JR. (sponsored by Bradford National Bank) are scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 13th and Sunday, April 14th at the Highland Elementary School Auditorium, 1800 Lindenthal Ave., Highland, IL.
First and foremost I would like to say that I am very excited about this summer production of Frozen Jr! That being said, it is going to be a very busy summer. This production is going to be more work than past shows. This is a two weekend – 8 performance – (Shows on June 20th – 23rd & June 27th – June 30th) production. The performances will be done in the Highland High School Kennel. The practices will be longer and the absence rules throughout practices will be stricter. Starting Sunday, June 9th through the final performance, any practices on the calendar are MANDATORY. However, I know it will all be worth it in the end for everyone. My team and I have been working on ideas since the beginning of the year (Olaf is already in the works)!
Due to the amount of kids we anticipate at auditions, we will be more careful and strict in casting. Please, if there is a role you are interested in, come out and audition. Some absences can be worked around. If you are only auditioning for a specific speaking role/roles and are not interested in anything else or are only interested in the ensemble, please make sure we know that on your audition form. I promise you, I NEVER hold that against someone when casting. I would hate to cast someone in a role they are not interested in and then have them quit. A role you are not interested in could be an opportunity for someone else.
Also, please keep in mind, with cast
numbers being limited, it is possible that even though your child has been in
past shows, they might not be cast in this one. There are so many factors that
come into play when my team and I are casting a show. It takes us many hours trying
to find the right fit for each and every character.
WHAT
TO EXPECT THE DAY OF AUDITIONS
Please arrive prior to the 11am audition
time (doors will open at 10:30am) to fill out the audition form, get your
number, and have your picture taken. The auditions start promptly
at 11:00am. First, those auditioning will learn the dance number and review the
songs. After children have reviewed the music numbers and done the dance
numbers with our choreographers, we will start the song and lines (reading)
portion of the auditions. We will start with #1 and go in order. Please have your
children be prepared with the following:
– SHORT joke – It
is just a way to get them comfortable on stage. Plus we get to laugh a little!
– Lines – please select
one of the Readings found in the link below. There are only 3 to choose from. Even if the
character you are auditioning for isn’t one of those characters, that is ok. Pick the one where you can best show off your
personality and character. And have fun with it!
– Song – Please
select one of the Songs found in the link below. – There are only 3 to choose
from. Even if the character you are auditioning for isn’t one of those
characters, that is ok. Pick the song that
best shows off your voice and personality. And, again, have fun with it!
It is possible that you will be asked to
come back for a callback later in the day on Sunday, April 14th. We
will post and give you a call prior to 3:30pm on Sunday if we would like to
hear you again. Please, don’t read too much into the callback list. Sometimes
we call someone back because we don’t feel we heard enough of their voice or
their range. Sometimes we want to hear a different song. Sometime we are in
between a few kids for a role or want to see what they look like with others.
There are so many reasons why someone might be called back. And don’t think you
aren’t cast in a role because you didn’t get a callback. That might not be the
case at all! It’s possible that you came in and gave us everything we needed
out of the audition for a specific role and don’t need to hear you again. At
the callbacks, we will bring you back in and review the song/songs we would
like you to sing and review the lines if we want you to read again. We might
even take a few more character pictures.
Age limit – 1st grade going into 2nd through Freshman going into Sophomore
UPDATE: A copy of the audition form can be found by following the link below. Feel free to print it off and have it filled out for the day of auditions. It will give you a chance to review your home calendar and update the absences on the form. Please be honest on the audition form about absences. A few absences can be worked around but any absences added could cause them to have to forfeit their role.
o
If there is a day they can NOT be at practice, please mark it with an
“X”.
o
If they need to miss a portion of practice, please list the time you would
NOT be there and an “X” EX: “530-6pm-X “ OR “7pm-730pm –
X“
o
If there is a practice that they have something
scheduled (swim team, soccer, dance, etc) but are willing to miss if
they are required at practice, please mark that down with an ”X-M”
.
– Auditions will be Saturday, April 13thOR Sunday, April 14th (you only have to attend one day of auditions unless you receive a call back). Auditions begin at 11:00 am and will go until they are done. The location is the Highland Elementary School Auditorium, 1800 Lindenthal Ave., Highland IL. (You only need to come to one audition day)
– There will
be call backs later in the day on Sunday, April 14th at 4:30pm at the
Elementary School.
– The cast
read-thru and MANDATORY PARENTS
MEETING will be on Monday, April 22nd from 5:30pm-7:30pm. The location is TBD.
Practices begin on Tuesday, April 23rd.
I am very excited to be working with some
of you guys again and look forward to adding new faces to our group. I can’t
wait for the summer to start. See you soon!!
-Hard
Road Theatre Productions Director – Gentry Fifer
Auditions for Hard Road Theatre’s production of ANNIE JR. (sponsored by Rinderer Law Firm and Lee’s Fine Jewelry and More) are scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 21st and Sunday, April 22nd at the Highland Elementary School Auditorium, 1800 Lindenthal Ave., Highland, IL. Although some younger students can be cast at the discretion of the director, in general, students auditioning for ANNIE JR. should be in 6th-12th grades (ages 12-18). Sign-ups for ANNIE JR. will begin at 2:30 p.m. and auditions will be held from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Those wanting to audition for ANNIE JR. should arrive before 3:00 p.m. All those auditioning should come dressed nicely. Pictures/headshots for publicity stills, program displays, etc. might be taken at auditions. ALL THOSE AUDITIONING MUST WEAR CLOSED-TOE SHOES: NO FLIP-FLOPS OR SANDALS. Also, PARENTS SHOULD COME PREPARED WITH STUDENTS’ AVAILABILITY SCHEDULE; ALL CONFLICTS NEED TO BE LISTED ON AUDITION FORM.
Audition materials (recordings, sides, sheet music) for the audition can be found here or at the link below.
Performance dates for ANNIE JR. are scheduled for July 12-15.
Lastly, here are some hints to prepare for auditions for our ANNIE JR.
Singing:
If you are a male, be prepared to sing “I Don’t Need Anything But You” or “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” If you are female, please be prepared to sing either “Maybe Reprise”, “It’s the Hard Knock Life”, or “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.”
The character that the song is originally for does not need to be the part you are auditioning for: pick the song that best suits your voice! Also, sing the song in the octave that is comfortable for you.
It is not required that the song be memorized.
You will sing the song with the accompaniment CD (i.e. No voices singing your part). It is important that we see you can sing your own part with an accompaniment.
You may be asked to do some simple singing exercises to show us your range. We want you to do great, so relax and don’t worry!
Reading:
Please be familiar with all of the readings as the director may choose any of them for you to perform.
The readings DO NOT need to be memorized (just be comfortable with the text)!
The director may have you read lines for a character that he/she doesn’t want to cast you in because she just wants to hear how your voice sounds.
Be flexible and show us your personality.
Joke:
Please be prepared to tell us a favorite joke. The directors may or may not ask for this. In doing so, they want to see your personality (and also just laugh!).
Personality:
This is the most important part: be yourself and have fun!
Auditions for DISNEY’S MARY POPPINS JR. (sponsored by Bradford National Bank) are scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 21st and Sunday, April 22nd at the Highland Elementary School Auditorium, 1800 Lindenthal Ave., Highland, IL. Although some older students could be cast at the discretion of the director, in general, students auditioning for MARY POPPINS JR. should be in 2nd-9th grades (ages 7-15). Sign-ups for MARY POPPINS JR. will begin at 11:30 a.m. and auditions will be held from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Those wanting to audition for MARY POPPINS JR. should arrive before 12:00 p.m. All those auditioning should come dressed nicely. Pictures/headshots for publicity stills, program displays, etc. might be taken at auditions. ALL THOSE AUDITIONING MUST WEAR CLOSED-TOE SHOES: NO FLIP-FLOPS OR SANDALS. Also, PARENTS SHOULD COME PREPARED WITH STUDENTS’ AVAILABILITY SCHEDULE; ALL CONFLICTS NEED TO BE LISTED ON AUDITION FORM.Rehearsal and instrumental tracks will be added once they are made available. Performances for DISNEY’S MARY POPPINS JR. are June 21st – June 24th.
Audition materials (recordings, sides, sheet music) for the audition can be found here or at the link below.
Here are some hints to prepare for auditions for MARY POPPINS JR.
Singing:
Students may sing either one of the three songs for auditions: “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” or “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
The character that the song is originally for does not need to be the part you are auditioning for: pick the song that best suits your voice! Also, sing the song in the octave that is comfortable for you.
It is not required that the song be memorized.
You will sing the song with the accompaniment CD (i.e. No voices singing your part). It is important that we see you can sing your own part with an accompaniment.
You may be asked to do some simple singing exercises to show us your range. We want you to do great, so relax and don’t worry!
Reading:
Please be familiar with all of the readings as the director may choose any of them for you to perform.
The readings DO NOT need to be memorized (just be comfortable with the text)!
The director may have you read lines for a character that he/she doesn’t want to cast you in because she just wants to hear how your voice sounds.
Be flexible and show us your personality.
Joke:
Please be prepared to tell us a favorite joke. The directors may or may not ask for this. In doing so, they want to see your personality (and also just laugh!).
Personality:
This is the most important part: be yourself and have fun!
Auditions for DISNEY’S THE LION KING JR. (sponsored by Bradford National Bank) are scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 23rd at the Highland Elementary School Auditorium, 1800 Lindenthal Ave., Highland, IL. Although some older students could be cast at the discretion of the director, in general, students auditioning for THE LION KING JR. should be in 2nd-8th grades (ages 7-14). Sign-ups for THE LION KING JR. will begin at 11:30 a.m. and auditions will be held from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Those wanting to audition for THE LION KING JR. should arrive before 12:00 p.m. All those auditioning should come dressed nicely. Pictures/headshots for publicity stills, program displays, etc. might be taken at auditions. ALL THOSE AUDITIONING MUST WEAR CLOSED-TOE SHOES: NO FLIP-FLOPS OR SANDALS. Also, PARENTS SHOULD COME PREPARED WITH STUDENTS’ AVAILABILITY SCHEDULE; ALL CONFLICTS NEED TO BE LISTED ON AUDITION FORM. Audition materials can be found through this link:
Students should be prepared to sing at least one of the songs and be prepared to read one of the parts. NEITHER THE SONG NOR THE LINES HAVE TO BE MEMORIZED. Be yourself and act natural!
Performance dates for THE LION KING JR. are scheduled for June 22-25.
Lastly, here are some hints to prepare for auditions for THE LION KING JR.
Singing:
The character that the song is originally for does not need to be the part you are auditioning for: pick the song that best suits your voice! Also, sing the song in the octave that is comfortable for you.
It is not required that the song be memorized.
You will sing the song with the accompaniment CD (i.e. No voices singing your part). It is important that we see you can sing your own part with an accompaniment.
You may be asked to do some simple singing exercises to show us your range. We want you to do great, so relax and don’t worry!
Reading:
Please be familiar with all of the readings as the director may choose any of them for you to perform.
The readings DO NOT need to be memorized (just be comfortable with the text)!
The director may have you read lines for a character that he/she doesn’t want to cast you in because she just wants to hear how your voice sounds.
Be flexible and show us your personality.
Joke:
Please be prepared to tell us a favorite joke. The directors may or may not ask for this. In doing so, they want to see your personality (and also just laugh!).
Personality:
This is the most important part: be yourself and have fun!
