Casting Call for Feb. 24, 2012

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"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" features a book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn. | File photo

Updated: March 25, 2012 8:05AM

Here is a look at open auditions in the Southland and beyond.

BEVERLY ARTS CENTER: Auditions for the professional production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will begin at 1 p.m. Feb. 25 at 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago.

Attendees should prepare a two-minute monologue and an upbeat Broadway song. Adult roles will be cast for five males and four females for the non-equity show. Performances will take place from May 4-13.

Auditions can be scheduled at theater@beverlyartcenter.org.

BRISTOL RENAISSANCE FAIRE: This annual attraction has 250-plus roles to fill for the 2012 25th anniversary season. Once cast, people will receive intensive, fun-filled training with acting professionals from the Milwaukee and Chicago theater industries.

“We will give you the tools you need to perform in our Elizabethan village,” officials said. “You may even qualify for college credit. Come one, come all.”

Open auditions will take place Feb. 25-26, but those interested should schedule a time as soon as possible since spaces are filling up fast. Callbacks will take place at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 26.

“Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity,” officials said.

The fair runs for nine weekends, or 19 days, on Saturdays and Sundays from July 7-Labor Day weekend, ending on Sept. 3.

In order to be a member of the entertainment cast, one must be at least 16 years old by the beginning of the fair season or have a parent or guardian on the fair site at all times during show days. One must be at least 18 years old to be cast in “By the Sword.”

Classes and rehearsals will run on weekends starting June 2 unless otherwise scheduled by individual directors. There will be a meet-and-greet cast dinner on June 1.

Every first year performer also must attend one prerehearsal costume workshop.

For those who can’t make it to the audition location, arrangements can be made for private auditions or video auditions. Information: BRFauditions2012@renfair.com; (847) 395-7773, Ext. 231.

PALOS VILLAGE PLAYERS: Auditions for the group’s spring play, the Mary Chase comedy “Cocktails with Mimi” will take place from 7-10 p.m. Feb. 26 and 8-10 p.m. Feb. 27 at All Saints Lutheran Church, 13550 S. LaGrange Road, Orland Park. Attendees should enter from the rear parking lot.

The play tells the story of a wealthy mother who plans a party to honor her daughter’s future in-laws. Because she considers them a pair of stuffed shirts, she plans a stunt to embarrass them.

At the same time the daughter, who knows her mother would not like them, hires two actors to replace them. All goes well until the real in-laws show up. What follows is a hilarious series of mistaken identities and farcical confusion.

The cast calls for six men and five women and will require readings from the script. Previous acting experience is not required but it will be helpful.

The director is Julie Zebleckis, and the performance dates are May 4-12. The play will be staged at the Palos Park Recreation Center, 8901 W. 123rd St.

Information: pvp.org, (877) 787-8497.

GRANDE PRAIRIE SINGERS: This group has been making beautiful choral music available in the Southland for more than a quarter of a century. Beginning in 1977 as the Park Forest Singers, the Grande Prairie Singers have grown to include the finest voices from 28 suburbs and villages.

Members come from all walks of life and range in age from 16 to 80. The group is always looking for new talent to fill the risers.

Vocalists who are age 16 and older need to be comfortable reading music and should prepare a solo selection to sing for the group’s director, Jo Rodenburg.

Appointments: (708) 481-8684.

MIDWEST MOTET SOCIETY: The group billed as the chamber choir for Chicago’s Southland is hosting auditions through March 13 for its spring concert cycle.

All voice parts are welcome and encouraged to audition. However, the group is especially seeking altos and low basses.

Rehearsals will begin March 13 and will take place on Tuesday evenings in Flossmoor.

The group will be preparing for “From Venice to Vienna: Music from the Salon,” a concert set for 4 p.m. June 10 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2901 Western Ave., Park Forest.

The repertoire to be sung includes Italian madrigals by Orazio Vecchi, Carlo Gesualdo, Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi and Orlando di Lasso and German part-songs by Franz Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms and Franz Schubert.

The Midwest Motet Society is led by Marie Grass Amenta, founder and music director of the group.

“Marie Amenta has a rich knowledge of the composers who truly love the choral instrument. She programs gems of pieces that are as fun to sing as they are to listen to,” MMS mezzo-soprano Ruth Hansen said.

MMS soprano Kari Coventry Smith added, “Rep is key. Many groups repeat much of the repertoire from year to year, but I look forward to each MMS season and being presented with new music to challenge and thrill me.”

“I haven’t sung music at this level, with this attention to detail and professionalism, since college,” MMS baritone Russell Hansen said. “Everyone on the South Side, and beyond, should get out and hear it because it’s an incredible treat when it’s performed at this level, and it simply isn’t done very often at all these days.”

Information: (708) 206-0380; midwestmotet.org.

THE CHANSONETTES: This singing group of south suburban women seeks new members for the Chansonettes’ new season. Interested individuals who love to sing can contact Mary Anderson at (708) 748-1438 or Yetta Elder at (708) 799-1474.