Audition Notice

THE SNOW QUEEN

by

Hans Christian Andersen

Adapted by Michael Punter

Directed by Jane Richardson

SUNDAY 11 JULY 2.30pm

Playing dates:

Mon 13 – Fri 17 Dec evening show, Sat 18 Dec matinee and evening show, Sun 19 Dec matinee only, Mon 20 – Thurs 23rd Dec evening show.

Rehearsals begin September 2021

Welcome one and all to the story of The Snow Queen and young Gerda’s quest to rescue her dear friend Kai from the Queen’s icy clutches!

In this brand-new adaptation – written especially for The Stables Theatre by Michael Punter – Gerda undertakes an incredible journey to the frozen lands of the furthest north, meeting on the way a loopy witch who creates delicious but somewhat suspect ice cream, a Prince and Princess who never grew up, a bunch of wolves and their reluctant and somewhat exasperated leader, a pair of crazy crows, a brave reindeer – as well as some of his famous friends! – anda magical, mystical shaman….

…and of course, as should happen in all the best Christmas shows, evil is defeated, what was once bad becomes good, and everyone lives Happily Ever….oh, you get the picture!

It’s a tale of love, friendship, courage and determination, and I really hope you’ll join me in bringing it to the stage for the very first time. If you’ve never been part of an original theatre production before, I promise you you’ll love it. It’s an amazing experience.

This is absolutely an ensemble piece, and everyone other than Hans, Kai, Gerda and The Snow Queen will be asked to play more than one part. Come and audition for the part(s) you like the sound of, but do bear in mind that’s not all you’ll be doing.  I’ll list the main characters first, then the doubles for info.

Excited yet? Great! Here we go!

MAIN CHARACTERS

These are the characters you’ll audition for:

HANS – a story-teller. He carries us through the entire story, and speaks directly to the audience. Warm and kind. Hans of course represents the original author of the tale, but in our version he’s also the voice and hope of every parent. Playing age anywhere mid-30s to early 60s; just come along and show me you can be Hans.

GERDA – 11 years old in the story, but could be played by someone mid-teens to mid 20s.  A bit scared, but brave at heart, finding her inner strength to rescue her friend Kai. The main thing is we must believe she grows and matures as a result of her journey and becomes a young married woman by the end.

KAI – 12 years old in the story, and what applies to Gerda also applies to Kai, including becoming a young married man. Starts off as (and will become again) Gerda’s dearest friend, but becomes cold and cruel when the Snow Queen’s ice pierces his heart

THE SNOW QUEEN – no sparkles and taffeta with this one; she’s sleek, sophisticated, modern, and exceptionally cold.  She has presence and command, and is very frightening.   Can be any age; just show me what you think she should be, and we’ll go from there.

CROKE, a boy crow and CORR, a girl crow –  naughty and loveable, they’re the comedy duo, and the children in the audience will adore them if they’re played right. They push the story along.  No fixed age, but they will have to be light on their feet as they’ll do a lot of zipping about!

MADAME SORCIERE DE CRÈME GLACEE – I quote, ‘a witch of indeterminate age’ who finds Gerda in her garden and wants to keep her. She makes extraordinary, magical ice creams and is quite loopy. She’s also French, so you absolutely will have to ‘do the accent.’ A real character part…but with some sadness about her.

PRINCE HABFULDE and PRINCESS MERHABFULDE – adults who act like children who never grew up. Their parents were stolen away many years ago and they’ve never really moved on from that. Think Nice-But-Dim with a touch of Made In Chelsea…but also completely adorable.

ALICE THE WOLF BAND QUEEN – a teenager who never wanted to be the Wolf Queen but has ended up there and is making the best of it. Brave and strong on the outside, a bit scared and unconfident on the inside. Very like Gerda in many ways; you can see they’ll become the closest of friends.

BAE – a reindeer pathfinder. Bae is loving, kind, brave and clever. He rescued Alice once, long ago, and now he’s Gerda’s companion on the most arduous part of her journey.

THE LAPP WOMAN – a shaman, steeped in nature and her environment. Think Inuit or Sami people, perhaps? Bring whoever YOU think she is to the audition.

AUDITION PIECES

I’ve decided not to specify audition pieces; if you look at the script you’ll see most of the characters have one big main scene as well as some ensemble scenes, and it’s the main scenes you’ll audition with. However! – if you’re auditioning for Hans, Gerda, Kai or the Snow Queen, please be prepared to read from any of their scenes. I don’t expect you to learn anything at all by heart, I would just like to see you’ve spent time with the characters and can show me some of their different aspects.  Any questions on this, feel free to get in touch.

DOUBLES

You won’t be asked to audition for these, but bear in mind you may well be cast in these parts even if you’re playing another character.

THE TROLL – Bring me your best Troll! No lines, just a properly creepy Bothers Grimm Wagnerian troll.

DR BONEGRIND – headmaster of the school, horrid, cruel, cowardly.

SILD, TORSK, MAKREL​and RODSPATT – Schoolboys, but can be played by any gender.

ROSE, NARCISSUS, SNAPDRAGON and DANDELION – the talking flowers in Madame Sorciere’s garden, and not all necessarily female!

WULFRUN and WULFRIC – the only members of the wolf band with lines BUT there will be other non-speaking wolves!

OTHER REINDEER – non-speaking parts but definite, specific characters in one scene. Very upbeat, positive characters who will need to be fairly nimble.

And that’s it!  Any questions, please email me jane@stablestheatre.co.uk.  Hope to see you at the audition!