For months before Flat Rock Playhouse’s opening production of the 2024 season, Jersey Boys, Producing Artistic Director Lisa Bryant and her talented staff have been working tirelessly to pull together all the components of what is shaping up to be a spectacular season on The Rock.

At the heart of the Playhouse’s preparations is the search for the talented actors, singers, and dancers who will grace FRP’s Leiman Mainstage for eight highly anticipated productions between May and November. The audition process to find the perfect performer for well over 100 roles is extensive, intensive and rigorous. When it is done, however, the patrons who fill the Playhouse seats this coming season will be entertained by some of the most talented actors in theatre.

This year’s audition process consisted of two parts. On Feb 2nd, FRP held a day-long open local audition. Two days later, Lisa and FRP Resident Music Director, Ethan Andersen, flew to New York to hold two weeks of auditions with equity union actors hoping to land a role at Flat Rock. It was two weeks that would, in many ways, define the success of the Playhouse’s 2024 season.

Local Auditions

The audition process actually started last fall when Lisa Bryant and her team assembled their 2024 mainstage season. Although there were no actors in audition rooms at the time, once the schedule for the upcoming season was confirmed, thoughts immediately turned to the roles that would need to be filled. Every production would require the Playhouse staff to find actors, dancers, and singers with the talent, the look, and temperament to craft another exceptional season of theatre.

With a list of roles to fill and an idea of the kind of actors needed, formal auditions began in early February when the Playhouse held one day of local auditions. The term “local” is a bit of a misnomer as actors arrived in Flat Rock from as far away as Atlanta, Greensboro, Asheville, Burlington, and many far-flung parts of our region. Actors, singers, and dancers signed up for the available time slots and the auditions lasted the entire day.

In the audition room, Lisa and Ethan watched and listened as aspiring (and in some cases returning) vagabonds did monologues of their choosing or sang parts of songs they’d prepared for the audition. Each auditioner arrived with a headshot and a resume which Lisa used to make notes before and after the audition. Ethan was seated at his piano and effortlessly accompanied each singer after receiving direction on which sections of a piece to play and the preferred tempo for the singer.

As an invited observer of the process, one quickly understands that auditions are short, very focused, and happen at an eye-opening pace with a new actor walking through the audition door every 3-5 minutes. Lisa and Ethan, however, clearly know what they are looking for and quickly make determinations about the actor's fit for the 2024 season.

The quality of the local auditions varies considerably from actor to actor. There are returning vagabonds who are known to Lisa and Ethan and clearly very talented and comfortable being in the room. There are also actors and singers who are young or relatively new to theatre and clearly have work to do before they could be considered for a spot on the main stage.

Regardless of their relative talent level, however, every actor was treated by Lisa and Ethan with extraordinary kindness and gratitude for the individual’s willingness to share their talent and enthusiasm for theatre. After each performer left the room, there seemed to be an unspoken understanding about the result of the audition between Ethan and Lisa. On the desktop in front of her, Lisa had two piles of resumes – those who warranted further consideration and those who were not going to work out this year. The former stack was significantly shorter than the latter. Indeed, as the process continued, it became very clear that the “numbers” do not work in favor of the actors participating in auditions. Roles are rare and the aspirants considerable in number.

Local auditions concluded with a dance audition overseen by FRP Director of Education and Choreographer, Lauren Rogers Hopkins. All the actors assembled as one large group in the Playhouse rehearsal studio and Lauren quickly demonstrated a sequence of dance moves performed to a short musical selection required to replicate for the audition. The pace of the instruction was fast and the required sequence of dance moves clearly required talent, experience, and an ability to learn quickly under pressure.

Dancers were then called out to the dance floor in groups of five to go through the steps they just learned. The entire studio was ringed with actors watching and waiting their turn to dance once the music started. As with the acting/singing auditions, talent levels are across the board. Regardless, after each group concluded they received an enthusiastic round of applause from the other actors. The intensity of the process is relieved in part by a palpable sense of community among the actors and the staff evaluating their performance.

From Lisa Bryant, Producing Artistic Director at Flat Rock Playhouse…

**Amanda Tong**
*Lorraine in Jersey Boys*
“Amanda has been with us for a couple of seasons and she represents the rich Local talent we have here in WNC/SC Upstate. She came to our local auditions a few years ago which we hold annually right before we head to NYC, usually in late January. She brings award-winning credentials and regional premieres from shows like Godspell, Flashdance, and *Into the Woods*, and was the New York Musical Festival Winner for Best Vocalist in *Daughter of Society*. Our Playhouse audiences will know her from *Steel Magnolias, A Chorus Line,* and A Playhouse Christmas. She's joyful and kind and wonderfully talented. She'll be in *Jersey* and *Cabaret* this year. We have several extremely talented locals with us this season and we're blessed and grateful for all of them.”

Throughout the process, Lisa carefully watches the dancers, makes notes on their resumes, and then waits for the next group to start. The entire process, from start to finish with roughly 60 dancers, takes less than one hour. It is a dizzying whirlwind of loud music, flying legs and arms, and smiles mixed with the nervous expressions of those actors who never really mastered the steps.

When the day is done, Lisa and Ethan have a start on the casting process for 2024 season. For her part, Lisa was pleased with the first stage of the audition process. “We saw some really beautiful people today. Some are super talented but just not right for this particular season.”

New York City, Equity Principal Auditions

Less than 48 hours later, Lisa and Ethan are in Manhattan. If Friday’s auditions were a non-stop stream of actors, singers, and dancers, the two weeks in NYC are an open fire hydrant of hundreds of some of the most talented performers on the East Coast vying for the chance to be a 2024 Vagabond

The audition process begins at 10 a.m. on Monday morning with Equity Principal Auditions (EPAs). The Playhouse rented rehearsal spaces at Pearl Studios at 500 8th Ave. EPAs are required by the Playhouse’s contract with the Actors Equity Association. The auditions are promoted and posted by the Association so that interested Equity (union) actors can sign up for open slots. Audition slots fill quickly and the available slots were quickly oversubscribed with about 100 actors turned away on each of the available days.

The EPA’s run for three days with each audition lasting for about two minutes. On Thursday, the fourth day of auditions, the schedule was reserved for Equity Chorus Call (ECC) - performers who are singers first and want to be considered for ensemble roles as opposed to principal roles. There are also ECC dance auditions for actors who are stronger dancers and also looking for an ensemble role. Chris Rice Thompson, who directed Cinderella at FRP in 2023, does the choreography for the dance auditions and is assisted by Frenchie Mancuso, a former FRP apprentice.

Over the course of their two weeks in NYC, Lisa and Ethan will see many former vagabonds from seasons past.

Over the course of the EPAs and ECCs, Lisa and Ethan end up seeing over 800 actors, singers, and dancers in four days. The intensity of the process can be overwhelming. “Everybody was lovely,” Lisa explains. “But eight hours of just back-to-back performers is a lot to process.” But their practiced eyes and a clear sense of who they need for the season help cut through the chaos of so many auditions in a very compressed period of time. “The more you see, the quicker you can see and hear what you need,” says Ethan. “I really only need to hear a few measures to know if they are what we need for the season.”

Still the excitement of and potential of each audition sustains Lisa and Ethan through the long days. “It's exhausting but it is also energizing,” says Lisa.

As with the local auditions, the numbers are daunting for the aspiring Vagabonds. A relatively small number of the actors seen during the first four days received callbacks for a more intensive audition in week two. “In years past we’ve gotten many, many wonderful people from the open calls. This year was just kind of a weird anomaly,” Lisa explains.

From Lisa Bryant …

**Melvin Tunstall III**
*Barry in Jersey Boys*
“Melvin was in the Original Broadway cast of *Beautiful: the Carole King Musical*, and the original Toronto company of *Rock of Ages*. He's also an award-winning writer for the Off-Broadway theatre for young adults hit *Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical.* Best of all, Melvin is an amazing person who is incredibly talented. He was recommended for our NYC auditions by Candi Boyd who will be directing the Playhouse’s production of *Jersey Boys*. Melvin is a versatile actor who will also be appearing in *Shawshank Redemption*. Melvin’s ability to go from the world of musical comedy to iconic drama is a rare gift. We are thrilled to bring Melvin to The Rock!”

Agent Calls

Friday starts the second phase of the equity auditions referred to as Agent Calls. For Friday and the following Monday, FRP employees use the services of Dale Brown Casting in NYC to locate, screen, and recommend actors for the specific roles available for the 2024 season. Dale, a former vagabond himself in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has been a casting director for nearly 25 years and has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the actor talent pool in the NYC area.

Dale also has contacts with major agents in the city and works diligently to keep abreast of the talents and careers of area actors. “I go to 2-3 shows a week,” he says with a laugh. Agents are made aware of available roles at FRP and submit their actor clients to Dale for consideration. In many cases, Dale already knows actors that fit the roles being sought and can directly invite actors to the auditions based on his years of experience and detailed understanding of who FRP is seeking. Dale and his team screen the agent submissions and select actors for this round of auditions

Dale’s wealth of knowledge about actors and agents is also combined with a sincere appreciation of FRP. “Whenever I am talking with my students or actors and the Playhouse is mentioned, I tell them that it was one of my favorite places to work ever. There is such a strong sense of family there.”

Agent Calls are targeted toward individuals who fit the look and talent requirements required by the roles available. In addition, the actors auditioning tend to be more prepared with a specific role in mind. “They are given material from the shows ahead of time, so they are already prepared with the character and choices, or they should be,” Lisa explains.

The open calls of EPAs and ECCs are a more generalized search for “a diamond in the rough” among the 100s of talented actors who self-schedule for auditions. Agent Calls, however, are the place Lisa says they are most likely to find the actors they are seeking. “Agent Calls are more targeted and more focused. Most of the time, actors recommended by agents also have more experience under their belt.”

Unlike the EPA and ECC auditions, the actors are allotted more time to audition with Lisa and Ethan seeing about 50-60 people on each day of Agent Calls. “We get more time with them,” says Ethan. “We can give them some feedback notes and ask that they work on particular things. From there, we are ultimately selecting the people that we want to hire.”

Callbacks

The final three days of the equity auditions are spent on callbacks from both the open call and agent call auditions. These are the actors who, based on their initial audition, have been invited back to dive deeper into the possibility of becoming a 2024 Vagabond. It is also a critical opportunity for Lisa and Ethan to get to know the actors on a more personal level. “Callbacks are where you really get to engage with them and get a sense of whether they are somebody that you want culturally in the mix,” explains Lisa. “That’s important because everybody's eating together, living together, and working together. It has to be a good fit.”

From Lisa Bryant …

**Andrea Dotto**
*Francine in Jersey Boys*
“Andrea is a Broadway performer and children's media producer. She's been seen everywhere from Radio City Music Hall to Lincoln Center. She was a nominee for the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Ensemble Dancer in a Broadway Show. And she's also a proud educator of the next generation of performers. Flat Rock audiences won't be able to take their eyes off of her in her role as Francine in *Jersey Boys*. The cherry on top is that her uber-talented husband, Brendan Malafronte, is also in *Jersey Boys* and *Shawshank* this season, and was last seen at FRP in *South Pacific* in 2019. FRP is thrilled that we are getting a two-for-one with this amazing couple.”

Although a callback is a very encouraging sign for an actor, it is far from a guarantee of an offer of a role. On average, there were about 10 actors called back for each available role. This is the point where it is especially difficult – and sometimes sad – to choose among so many talented options. “A callback is an awesome thing to get because you can really get in there and kind of fight for your part,” says Lisa. “But it's heartbreaking how many ‘No’s’ we ultimately have to deliver. Especially when it's folks that we've loved from seasons past.” Lisa is disappointed but also realistic about the process. “It is a big heartbreak when we can't keep making their dreams come true. But such is the way it is.”

As the callback process continues, Lisa and Ethan start to see the casts for the eight shows starting to take shape – at least in their minds. By the final audition on the last day, they are pretty clear about who will be offered roles for the upcoming season. Two long weeks of hard work are starting to come to fruition. “It's really joyful,” says Ethan. “The whole season, which up until now has just been titles on a page, starts to fill with amazing actors. That's really exciting and very fun.”

At the end of two weeks, roughly 85% of the roles for the 2024 season will come out of the NYC auditions.

Offers

Still, Lisa’s work is far from finished. As soon as Lisa gets back to her office in Flat Rock on the following Monday, she begins to reach out to actor agents to make offers and discuss the terms of their engagement. Fortunately, FRP is generally the first option for most of the actors and Lisa estimates that 95% of her offers are accepted. When terms cannot be worked out, she has 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices to fall back upon. Although that is seldom necessary, if it does occur, the drop-off in talent can be little or none as the difference between a 1st and 2nd choice is frequently negligible.

Factors to consider in the offer process include input from directors of the various shows, the availability of on-campus housing for the actors, and the requirement to offer a union-mandated number of “seques” which are multiple roles offered to the same actor. Lisa has large and very colorful charts that allow her to piece together all the roles for the seasons, with the dates actors will be on campus for rehearsals and performances, all cross-referenced with available housing options. It is a Rubik’s Cube of variables that she must manipulate to accommodate the union, the actors, and the specific needs of each show.

Looking back on the experience, Lisa and Ethan are proud to maintain FRP’s reputation of being an especially rewarding audition experience. And for those lucky enough to be hired for the season, it is a warm and inviting environment in which to ply their craft. “We inevitably get comments after folks leave about how much they enjoyed just being in the room.” Ethan adds, “Actors tell us, ‘I was waiting in the hall nervous and then I heard laughter coming from the audition room and knew it would be alright.’”

Melvin Tunstall III, who will portray of Barry in FRP’s production of Jersey Boys confirms the positive experience of auditioning for the Playhouse staff. “The (audition) room really is easy. Everyone was so lovely. It is the kindest room you're going to walk into,” he says with a broad smile. As a native North Carolinian who’s been in New York for many years now, he’s thrilled to be coming “home.” “I am very, very proud. When I tell people I’m going to Flat Rock they say, ‘Absolutely! Flat Rock is a great place to work!’ Being a Carolina boy that feels really good to hear.”

From Lisa Bryant …

**Harry Francis**
*Joey in Jersey Boys*
“Harry comes to Flat Rock Playhouse from London by way of the NYC auditions. In London, he was seen in *Mary Poppins*, *CATS, Wicked, Book of Mormon* and many other well-known shows. The role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys is a unicorn to cast, and so is the understudy for it. The understudy must be able to learn and perform the role they are covering as well as their regular role. Harry walked into the NYC auditions and absolutely nailed the character of Joey for *Jersey Boys* AND the role of Frankie. His performance charisma is enchanting and we know folks will love him like we do.”

Ultimately, the audition process is a complete spectrum of experiences, emotions, and difficult decisions for Lisa and her team. At the end of the day, Lisa wants everyone to know how much she appreciates those who give their time and talent to audition for FRP. “We just want the artists to know we are so grateful to them and that we love and respect them so much. We are so sorry for the people that we can't use because there's just not enough roles”.

Now, months after Lisa and her staff first contemplated the type of actors that would act, sing, and dance in the spotlight of Leiman Mainstage, the 2024 season is just weeks away from transforming from dream to reality. And thanks to the hard work and keen eyes for talent, Playhouse audiences will be treated to exceptional performances by talented actors from all over the country.

Starting May 10th with the opening performance of Jersey Boys, the legacy of artistic excellence at Flat Rock Playhouse will once again be on full display – and a lasting testament to the hard work of all the men and women who’ve created and maintained our theatre for over 70 years.