Shakespeare in Detroit (SiD) is hosting auditions for its filmed, summer production of A Midsummer Night's Dream FOR YOUTH between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. This is a part of the nonprofit's educational program, Shakespeare STEAM. Learn more about the program HERE and read below in its entirety for FULL audition details. ​

​

• Actors must be residents of the City of Detroit. 

• All youth actors between the ages of 14 and 18 years old are invited to audition. 

• No acting or performing experience necessary. 

• Detroit Public Schools (and Detroit charter school) students are invited to attend. 

• There are 15 opportunities available to students.

• Parent /Guardian permission is required to participate.

• All auditions will take place on Saturday, April 2, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the former Marygrove College, now the Marygrove Conservancy, at 8425 W. McNichols Road in Detroit.

• MUST email Shakespeare in Detroit at info@shakespeareindetroit.com to book a 5-minute slot for an audition.

• Decisions will be emailed (and/or students/parents will be called by May 2, 2022) shortly following auditions.

• Please be on time for your audition. 

​

PR

PREPARATION

• Prepare two contrasting monologues (we recommend one be a Shakespeare monologue and the other can be any monologue of your choice). 

• The definition of a monologue is: a long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program. In this case, student actors will find a monologue from one of Shakespeare's plays. It can be from a comedy, tragedy or history. And, please, also identify another, contrasting, monologue of your choice. You can ask your teacher to help you identify monologues or Google. A librarian, your parent or a peer from your English class might also be a good resource. Or you can reach out to Shakespeare in Detroit for suggestions. 

• Email info@shakespeareindetroit.com for an appointment. A SiD representative will reply within 48-hours of receipt of your request. If you have a preferred time, please, let us know and we will do our best to accommodate. 

AUDITION DATE/TIME

Saturday, April 2, 2022 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. EST. You will receive an email confirmation for a 5-minute slot. 

LOCATION

Please email info@shakespeareindetroit.com to make an appointment. All auditions will take place on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 8425 W. McNichols Road, Detroit at the former Marygrove College. 

​

DETAILS FOR THOSE CAST IN THE SHOW

• Youth actors cast in the show will be informed via email/phone by May 2, 2022 (most likely, sooner).

• Students and parents will be asked to complete permission slips and consent forms to participate (these are a part of safety protocols) and to ensure there is alignment between SiD, parents and student expectations. 

• Students who successfully complete the program with one or less absence and show up on time, learning all their lines, learning all choreography (dance) and who show up prepared and engaged in the process will receive a $1,000 grant on the final day of the conservatory/rehearsals/filming. 

• Students enrolled in the program who have excessive absences may be dismissed from the program.

• Conservatory begins on Monday, June 27th with an orientation for students and their parents/guardians from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (this will include costume measurements being taken for youth actors). Rehearsals and classes will then begin Tuesday, July 5, 2022. ALL CLASSES TAKE PLACE Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the former Marygrove College. The performance will take place inside the proscenium theater on the campus on Saturday, August 13, 2022. Actor call time is 10 a.m. sharp. 

• The production is set in the 1950s with costumes and props that reflect that time period. 

• Students will rehearse for the play but also focus on the learning pillars of the program, including but not limited to, intensive studies of voice and text, dance, dramaturgy, costume design and other vocational and artistic pillars that will ultimately result in a filmed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

• The curriculum for the summer 2022 conservatory is aligned with SiD's Shakespeare STEAM program.

​

SYNOPSIS FOR A Midsummer Night's Dream 

c/o Folger Shakespeare Library 

​

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, residents of Athens mix with fairies from a local forest, with comic results. In the city, Theseus, Duke of Athens, is to marry Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Bottom the weaver and his friends rehearse in the woods a play they hope to stage for the wedding celebrations.

​

Four young Athenians are in a romantic tangle. Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia; she loves Lysander and her friend Helena loves Demetrius. Hermia’s father, Egeus, commands Hermia to marry Demetrius, and Theseus supports the father’s right. All four young Athenians end up in the woods, where Robin Goodfellow, who serves the fairy king Oberon, puts flower juice on the eyes of Lysander, and then Demetrius, unintentionally causing both to love Helena. Oberon, who is quarreling with his wife, Titania, uses the flower juice on her eyes. She falls in love with Bottom, who now, thanks to  Robin Goodfellow, wears  an ass's head.

​

As the lovers sleep, Robin Goodfellow restores Lysander's love for Hermia, so that now each young woman is matched with the man she loves. Oberon disenchants Titania and removes Bottom’s ass’s head. The two young couples join the royal couple in getting married, and Bottom rejoins his friends to perform the play.

​

​

​