Breath deeply.
Come out and audition for this jukebox swing musical about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the one who became The Buddha!
Be prepared to sing a few bars and read.
Auditions take place at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn Avenue on:
Wednesday, March 13 from 6-9 pm
Friday, March 15 from 7-9 pm
Saturday, March 16 from 2-5 pm
ABOUT THE PLAY
The language of the script is a highly stylized English slang culled from the Swing/Jazz era music era of the United States between 1932-1945. Vocabulary and dialogue from Film Noire Genre and other Gangster films and novels of the time are also used. The acting style will be generally broad, as in the films of the 1930’s and 1940’s, but not as broad as in a classic melodrama. If you have a good impersonation of Foghorn Leghorn, Groucho Marx or Billie Holiday, please let us know at the audition.
CHARACTERS
PRINCE SIDD, a young rich husband, age 23-30
THE BO TREE GIRLS (an Andrews Sisters-style singing group):
BO TREE GIRL ONE, any age
BO TREE GIRL TWO, any age
BO TREE GIRL THREE, any age
THE CHORUS:
KANTHAKA ONE
KANTHAKA TWO
KANTHAKA THREE
KANTHAKA FOUR
KANTHAKA FIVE
KANTHAKA SIX
CHARACTER NOTES
The “KANTHAKA” are a chorus with shared responsibility for narration and playing all the other named characters in the Play. If possible, extra dancers/singers can be added. They can be any race or gender.
The cast of characters in Buddha Swings consists of Prince Sidd, a chorus of six and a duo or trio of backup singers named ‘The Bo Girls’ by the script. The chorus, named after Prince Siddhartha’s horse, Kanthaka, carries most of the show, as the smaller roles and singing parts are distributed equally amongst them. They will be 3 men, and 3 women of any and all ethnicities and a variety.
Prince Sidd will be played by a person of color.
All will be expected to sing and dance, though the choreography will not be excessively acrobatic. Experience with Swing dancing will be a plus. The Bo Girls will function as the voices for an Andrew Sisters/Boswell Sisters type of singing, and assist the Kanthaka in the staging of the various scenes of the play.
The ages of the Kanthaka will be as varied as possible. As young as 15, and as old as 65. Prince Sidd should be between 25-35, and the Bo girls can be any age.
A note on schedules:
As the Kanthaka (the chorus) work together on their scenes, they must rehearse together, and availability of actors will need to reflect that.
The show runs one hour twenty minutes, with an 10-minute intermission. Rehearsals will be Mon-Thurs 6:30-9pm, with possible special calls for music rehearsals on Friday-Sunday as the actors’ schedules permit. The week of the opening, attendance is mandatory by all actors every day.
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