RENT Auditions

The CM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is holding Main Stage auditions for RENT on Tuesday, November 12 and Wednesday, November 13 at 7:00PM. Callbacks will be by invitation only on Sunday, November 17. Seeking performers 18+

Please prepare a 16 – 32 bar cut of a musical theatre song either from the show or in a similar style. An accompanist will be provided. A dance audition will follow vocal auditions for those asked to stay. Please wear footwear you are comfortable dancing in.

Performance dates are below. Please bring possible rehearsal and/or performance conflicts to the auditions. The CM Performing Arts Center is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in the casting and encourages actors of diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups to audition. Video submissions will be accepted if you are unable to make either audition date. Please send a video submission along with headshot and resume to ader.jess@gmail.com with your name and RENT SUBMISSION in the subject line.

 

PERFORMANCE DATES:

Saturday, February 15, 2025 – 8:00pm

Sunday, February 16, 2025 – 2:00pm

Saturday, February 22, 2025 – 2:00pm

Saturday, February 22, 2025 – 8:00pm

Sunday, February 23, 2025 – 2:00pm

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 – 2:00pm

Friday, February 28, 2025 – 8:00pm

Saturday, March 1, 2025 – 8:00pm

 

*The Following are potential add-ons that should be treated as actual performances

Friday, February 21, 2025 – 8:00pm (February Break)

Friday, March 7, 2025 – 8:00pm

Sunday, March 2, 2025 – 2:00pm

Saturday, March 8, 2025 – 2:00pm

Saturday, March 8, 2025 – 8:00pm

Sunday, March 9, 2025 – 2:00pm

 

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Jess Ader Ferretti – Director

Bobby Peterson – Music Director

Kevin Burns – Choreographer

Rebecca Olivieri – Stage Manager

 

PLOT:

Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.

Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

 

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

Roger Davis

A struggling musician and former drug addict. He is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Roommates with Mark in the loft and battles with being HIV-positive.

Gender: male

Age: 20 to 25

Vocal range top: A4

Vocal range bottom: F2

 

Mark Cohen

Filmmaker and video artist. Knee deep in his own soul-searching, Mark is the typical young artist. He and Roger are roommates in the loft. A bit of a nerd.

Gender: male

Age: 20 to 30

Vocal range top: G4

Vocal range bottom: A2

 

Tom Collins

A computer genius and liberal professor. He is a nurturer with a smooth and relaxed disposition. Used to be a roommate in the loft and is HIV-positive.

Gender: male

Age: 25 to 35

Vocal range top: A4

Vocal range bottom: F#2

 

Benjamin Coffin III

The landlord of Mark and Roger’s apartment building. A former roommate in the loft, Benny traded in his personal morals for power and wealth.

Gender: male

Age: 25 to 35

Vocal range top: F#4

Vocal range bottom: Bb2

 

Joanne Jefferson

A public interest lawyer and headstrong lesbian. She is smart and purposeful in all her decisions. Carries on a tumultuous relationship with Maureen.

Gender: female

Age: 25 to 40

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: G3

 

Angel Dumott Schunard

The eccentric HIV-positive street drummer. A drag queen with an incredible gift of dance and a magnetic personality. He becomes Tom’s lover.

Gender: male

Age: 20 to 30

Vocal range top: A4

Vocal range bottom: C3

 

Mimi Marquez

An HIV-positive stripper with drug addictions. Slender and sickly, she conceals it all at her job in the local strip club. She lives in the same building as the loft.

Gender: female

Age: 18 to 21

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: Eb3

 

Maureen Johnson

An unpredictably zany performance artist. Maureen oozes sexuality and used to live in the loft. She has recently dumped Mark for Joanne.

Gender: female

Age: 20 to 25

Vocal range top: F5

Vocal range bottom: C4

 

Ensemble

Homeless Men & Women; Junkies, Parents (Mrs. Cohen, Mr. & Mrs. Jefferson); Support Group (Steve, Gordon)