Casting Notice for THE NIGHT FALLS

BalletCollective is casting DANCERS for the February 2023 World Premiere of The Night Falls, a new, multi-genre work blending opera, dance and theater directed and choreographed by Troy Schumacher (New York City Ballet, BalletCollective), with music and lyrics by Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin), and book and lyrics by Karen Russell (Swamplandia!). PAID.

At times of great crisis, the Sirens emerge from the depths. They sing to the lonely, the desperate, the lost. Felisberto, a teenager from Queens, NY, begins to suspect that the Sirens are summoning him to a Floridian tourist trap called "The Night Falls": a derelict campground and watery grotto. Once there, he discovers he is not alone–other lost souls have been lured to the water's edge.

The Night Falls tells a new myth for our fractured era. thenightfalls.net

DATES

Rehearsal and Production Dates: January 2–February 12, 2023 (New York City area).

The Night Falls is a co-production between BalletCollective and The American Opera Project.

ROLES

1. Felisberto - a teenager from Queens

2. Angela - an athlete

3. George - the music teacher

4. Nadia - the mother

5. Laocoon - the phython hunter

6. The Acrobat

7. Sirenette/Sufferer 1

8. Sirenette/Sufferer 2

9. Sirenette/Sufferer 3

ALL DANCERS SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH AN ATHLETIC, CONTEMPORARY DANCE MOVEMENT STYLE WITH BALLET INFLUENCES PERFORMED IN STREET SHOES. DANCERS DO NOT NEED SINGING EXPERIENCE, BUT THERE IS ONE MOMENT OF GROUP VOCALIZATION IN THE PRODUCTION. Please see below for a more detailed description and audition requirements.

Please click here to audition or send an email to audition@balletcollective.com with your headshot, resume, and a link to a VIDEO audition reel with"The Night Falls” in the subject and which roles you wish to be considered for by March 1, 2022. We require that reels include performance footage or an explanation as to why the reel does not. (Do not attach the actual video files to your email.) Performers must be NY area based or have housing in the tri-state area. 
IN PERSON CALL BACKS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MARCH

Thank you for your interest in The Night Falls, and we look forward to receiving your materials!

 

THE NIGHT FALLS - ROLE DESCRIPTIONS

1. FELISBERTO ROBLES (17-20) - a closeted Cuban-American Queens teenager whose boyfriend, Omar, has recently died. Artistic, sarcastic, shy, a dreamer. A chameleon at school and at home; he is afraid his mother would reject him if she knew who he really was. Before this nightmare began, his only goal was to survive eleventh grade. Ethnicity: Black/Latinx, male or non-binary identifying.

SUFFERERS - desperate, grieving people from all over the country who have begun hearing the Sirens’ song in their dreams. A diverse group in every sense. Contemporary Americans with archetypal resonances. We focus on:

2. ANGELA, THE ATHLETE (20-30) - a recently disgraced star tennis player knocked off her orbit by a public breakdown; a modern-day warrior who has lost her confidence and doesn’t know how to exist outside the lines of the court, “anonymous as dawn.” Female or non-binary identifying.

3. GEORGE, THE MUSIC TEACHER (35-40) - a middle-aged piano teacher; a failed Orpheus who hoped to be a famous composer. Unable to have a child with his wife, Lola, he escapes reality into his music. Male or non-binary identifying.

4. NADIA, THE MOTHER (39-50) - a woman who lost her daughter to an addiction after many Demeter-like rescue attempts and is the first to share her story at the Night Falls campground. Female or non-binary identifying.

5. LAOCOON, THE PYTHON HUNTER (30-50) - a Floridian python hunter and animal trapper who becomes prey himself and has a reluctant epiphany and change of heart. Male or non-binary identifying.

6. ACROBAT (20-35) - an entertainer who has made a career out of their cartwheeling joy. Tumbling experience required. Male or non-binary identifying.

7. (7-9). THE SIRENETTES/SUFFERERS (17-24) - a musical act of three singing sisters who once performed at The Night Falls Grotto. A modern-day, Floridian take on the Sirens of Greek mythology. Also double as SUFFERERS in Scenes 1, 2, and 3. Female or non-binary identifying.