Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
AUDITION INFORMATION
for “Pepper” and “Male Ensemble”
Mamma Mia!
The smash hit musical based on the songs of ABBA
Book by Catherine Johnson
Songs by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
Director - Fred Sternfeld
Choreographer - Bebe Weinberg Katz
Music Director - David Williams
Producer - Sue Cohen
Most roles in Mamma Mia are already cast. The roles of Pepper and additional Male Ensemble are still open. Here is the cast thus far.
AUDITION DATES
To set up an audition, please email Fred Sternfeld at fsternfeld@gmail.com with your resume (if available) and contact information and he will call you to set up an appointment.
Additionally, please download this audition form, fill it out and bring it with you. If you have a resume, you don’t need to repeat the same info on the form - just write in “see resume.”
If you don’t have a headshot and resume, you can just fill out the audition form and bring any picture of yourself.
Auditions will take place at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 40 River St., Chagrin Falls, Oh 44022.
AUDITION PREPARATION
Present a memorized one minute song that is character and objective driven. Songs from Mamma Mia are acceptable, or from other shows with a Pop or Broadway score. Please bring sheet music; an accompanist will be provided.
And, either present a memorized one minute contemporary monologue OR you may read a selection from the script. Sides will be available at CVLT the day of your audition so you may want to arrive a little early to look them over.
Come prepared to dance.
ABOUT THE PLAY
From the Libretto - “Mamma Mia is a romantic comedy, contrasting the dreams and aspirations of a 70’s girl and a 90’s girl. Through the storytelling magic of the songs of ABBA, we meet Donna, a feisty, independent single-parent, who doesn’t need a man to make her life complete; and her twenty-year old daughter Sophie, who wants romance, babies and a big, white wedding. If only her father could give her away… If only her mother could tell her who her father is… Sun, sea, sex and subterfuge are the backdrop to this tale of the women who wanted to have it all, and the girls who want happy ever after. And has anyone asked what the men want?”
MORE Info on Music Theatre International’s Website - be sure to look at “full cast info” under the spot that says “13 roles” as well as on Wikipedia.
CASTING AND COMPENSATION
Seeking a multi-racial, multi-ethnic cast, ages 16 and up for the roles of Pepper and Male Ensemble. Actors appear in CVLT productions on a volunteer basis. All vocal ranges are on the MTI website.
PEPPER (Featured, Male, 24-30, dances well, acrobatic skills a plus) Sky’s friend, a waiter - he helps run the hotel. Charming. Loves women. A flirt.
ENSEMBLE (Females, Males, 16-80) Hotel workers, Island inhabitants, Hotel Guests, Wedding guests. All Ensemble members should be able to move well. We are also looking for some who have advanced dance skills. Acrobatic skills a plus.
REHEARSALS
There will be 5-6 weeks of rehearsal starting mid-February, 2019. Rehearsals will be selected (based on availability of the cast) on weekday evenings as well as weekend mornings, afternoons or evenings 4-5 times per week. There will also be one early cast gathering in January for a meet and greet and read / sing through.
Rehearsals will take place at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 40 River St., Chagrin Falls, Oh 44022.
PRODUCTION DATES
March 22 - April 14, 2019. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm. Sundays (March 31 and April 14 only) at 2:00pm.
CREATIVE STAFF BIOGRAPHIES
FRED STERNFELD, DIRECTOR
Fred is pleased to be making his CVLT main stage directorial debut! Previously at the CVLT River Street Playhouse, he directed the acclaimed 1983 production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Lucia Colombi. As an actor at CVLT back in the 70s he appeared as Motel in Don Edelman’s production of Fiddler on the Roof and as a Muleteer in Frank Mularo’s production of Man of La Mancha. Over the past 40 years, he has concentrated his efforts on directing more than 130 productions in Cleveland, Seattle and Dallas. Recent local directorial credits include You Can’t Take It With You at Karamu House Theatre, Death of a Salesman and Next to Normal at French Creek Theatre, Of Mice and Men at Coach House Theatre and Good People at Aurora Theatre. Fred is widely represented on Northeast Ohio stages through diverse projects, garnering numerous honors and awards, some of which are listed here: Company, Les Miserables: School Edition and A Little Night Music at Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory, Next to Normal, West Side Story, The Miracle Worker and Baby at TrueNorth, Rent and Into the Woods at Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute, Yellowman and The Bluest Eye at Karamu Theatre, Saturday Night, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan at Beck Center, Ragtime, the musical, Conversations With My Father and Man of La Mancha at the JCC and Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music at Cain Park. Additionally, he and his wife Randi recently started producing shows on Broadway - the off broadway hit (transferring to Broadway in February) Be More Chill, the upcoming revival of The Secret Garden and a new musical written by Jerry Zucker (film: Airplane, Naked Gun, Ghost) currently titled Intermission! The Musical! Upcoming local directing projects: Other Desert Cities at Clague Playhouse and Tuck Everlasting at French Creek Theatre. www.fredsternfeld.com.
BEBE WEINBERG KATZ, CHOREOGRAPHER
One of the first shows Bebe choreographed when she arrived in Cleveland in the early 1970’s was Mame at CVLT. Since then she has worked on many, many productions throughout the area and served in many different capacities. Currently Bebe is the director of Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute (HBTI) and on the faculty at Cleveland State University. Serving as director / choreographer, Bebe had worked on The Music Man, Children of Eden, Fiddler on the Roof and Oklahoma! at HBTI. Additionally, she has done choreography for “13” and Urinetown at Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory (FPAC). In addition Bebe directs and choreographs for the Shaker Schools. Productions there include Seussical, Our Town, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Little Women, Honk, and The Apple Tree.
Bebe has collaborated with director Fred Sternfeld on many productions, both youth and adult. Fred and Bebe have teamed up on A Chorus Line, Into the Woods, Rent: School Edition and The King and I at HBTI, Company, A Little Night Music, Children of Eden and Les Miserables: School Edition at FPAC, and Baby, West Side Story, The Fantasticks and Next to Normal at TrueNorth. She was honored with broadwayworld.com awards as Best Choreographer, 2012 & 2014 for West Side Story at TrueNorth and A Chorus Line at HBTI.
Bebe is also the author of several fiction books for children: Princess Claudia and the Freckles, A Best Friend for Claudia, Sibling Wars, and Martha’s Story and a text book for including movement in the academic classroom titled The M.I.M.E Set: Minds in Motion Everyday.
DAVID A. WILLIAMS, MUSIC DIRECTOR
David was born in Cleveland, Ohio into a musical family. His older brother, Wayne, was minister of music at East Mount Zion Baptist Church where the family attended and W.C. Handy was a cousin to their maternal grandmother. David began his professional career as a pianist for “The Gene Carroll/Entertainment Five Show” (WEWS-TV, ABC). In junior high school at the time, he was hired as music director for the last five years of its run. During this time, he sang with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and studied piano and voice at Cleveland State University. David also attended Summer Music Academy in Hudson, Ohio. There, he studied choral conducting with William Appling and Robert Shaw. David then left Cleveland to attend The University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. While there, he worked on productions of Carousel; Flora, the Red Menace; Chess; Evita; Into the Woods; and Two Gentlemen of Verona. In 1988, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Jazz and Studio Music. Upon graduation, he began three years of sailing around the world with Princess Cruises. David would play the main lounge shows, with small combos, or solo piano bar. In 1991, David returned to Cincinnati and in 1993, earned his master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting. He then moved to Ft. Lauderdale where he musically directed shows with Jean Ann Ryan Productions for the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. These productions included George M; Chorus Line; Dreamgirls; Hello, Dolly; Pippin; Meet Me in St. Louis; and My Fair Lady. David left Ft. Lauderdale when he started conducting over six hundred performances of Smokey Joe’s Café in Reno, Nevada; Germany; Switzerland; and Brazil. He later returned to Germany for productions of Beauty and the Beast and Grease. In 2007, David joined a company of West Side Story as assistant conductor/principal pianist. The tour included performances in Italy, Holland, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and China. It was the fiftieth anniversary of the show and included the Chinese premiere. A U.S. tour of I Can’t Stop Loving You, a Ray Charles tribute, followed. After this, he decided to move back home to be closer to his family. Back in northeast Ohio, David performs with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall and has conducted productions of Ragtime; A Little Night Music; Les Miserables; 1940’s Radio Hour; 13, The Musical; She Loves Me; Jesus Christ Superstar; Sideshow; Man of La Mancha; Five Guys Named Moe; The Boys from Syracuse; and Children of Eden at various theaters.
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