Auditions for Big River

Consider This Theatre Company invites you to audition for the third production in its 2024 season, Big River! Auditions will be held May 28th and 29th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Mills-Pate Arts Center, 7120 Old Nashville Highway, Murfreesboro. Performance dates are August 16 – 18, 23 – 25, 30 – September 1. There are 5 minute audition blocks that you can claim using this link. https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0548A9AE29A3FB6...

Prepare 32 bars of a song that showcases your voice. An accompanist and a bluetooth speaker will be provided. Big River was written by country comedian Roger Miller and is bluegrass/ country/gospel infused if that helps thematically. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to scheduled time to fill out the audition form.

Thank you!

Crew:

Director - Jeff Mangum Producer - Michael Maupins Stage Manager - Olivia Jackson

Roles:

Mark Twain: The pen name of Samuel Clemens, author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on which Big River is based.

Huckleberry Finn: A poor teenaged boy, with no mother. His father is a violent drunk who is rarely around. Huck had been homeless, living in a large barrel. Through a series of adventures told in the story of Tom Sawyer, Huck had gained a small fortune of $6000. At the beginning of the play, he had been taken in and cared for by two sisters.

Widow Douglas and Miss Watson: Two sisters who are taking care of Huck and his education. They both care very much about religion. Miss Watson is a slave owner.

Jim: A slave belonging to Miss Watson, Jim has run away to find his family. He is very superstitious but knows Huck and cares for him as they journey down the river.

Tom Sawyer: Huck’s friend, Tom is a teenaged boy who loves adventure novels.

The Gang of Boys: Ben Rogers, Jo Harper, and Simon are teenaged boys living in St. Petersburg, Illinois.

Pap Finn: Huck’s father, Finn is a vagabond drunkard who loves whiskey and hates the government. Tries to get at Huck’s money.

Judge Thatcher: The trustee managing Huck’s money for him.

Strange Woman: A woman new to the town of St. Petersburg, she knows enough to know what’s going on with the search for Huck’s body and his murderer, but not enough to know that the person she is talking to is Huck.

The King and the Duke: Charlatans and conmen who tell Huck and Jim they are royalty, their goal is to make money any fast way they can, favoring methods that include lying.

Mary Jane, Susan, and Joanna Wilkes: Daughters in a well-off family, their father recently died. These trusting women who are almost taken in by the machinations of the King and the Duke.

Counselor Robinson: A lawyer, he cautions the Wilkes daughters against trusting the King and Duke.

Alice and Her Daughter: Slaves belonging to the Wilkes family.

Sheriff Bell: The local sheriff.

Harvey Wilkes: The real uncle of the Wilkes daughters.

Sally Phelps: Tom Sawyer’s aunt.

Silas Phelps: Tom Sawyer’s uncle.

Doctor: He helps save Tom from a gunshot wound and defends Jim.

Synopsis

Twain's timeless classic sweeps audiences down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim escape from slavery to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures along the way are hilarious, suspenseful and heartwarming, bringing to life everyone's favorite characters from the novel: the Widow Douglas and her stern sister, Miss Watson; the uproarious King and Duke, who may or may not be as harmless as they seem; Huck's partner in crime, Tom Sawyer, and their rowdy gang of pals; Huck's drunken father, the sinister Pap Finn; the lovely Mary Jane Wilkes, and Mary Jane's trusting family. Propelled by an award-winning score from Roger Miller, the king of country music, this jaunty journey provides a brilliantly theatrical celebration of pure Americana.