By Allison Gregory
Directed by Sarah Baczewski
In this holiday favorite, Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So, when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park.
Providence Players of Fairfax is:
- A non-profit community theater troupe. All participation is on a volunteer basis. No members of the cast or crew are compensated.
- A membership organization. Membership is not required to audition. If cast, all actors (and in fact, all volunteers), are required to become members of Providence Players of Fairfax ($25 per individual or $60 per family – three or more) for the season (if not already a member).
Casting Announcement
Providence Players is casting 11 roles (4 female, 6 male and 1 either). No roles are precast, and all roles are open. All backgrounds, ages, ethnicities welcome and encouraged to audition!
All those auditioning for this production, and all those cast or working as part of the production team must be vaccinated. Please have your vaccine card or photo copy available when you arrive at the audition.
Download all three documents: Audition Announcement, Form (in word and pdf) and Junie B. Rehearsal Conflict Schedule.
Audition Dates
- 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct 25th
- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct 26th
- Callbacks if needed will be 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct 27th
PLEASE RSVP to info@providenceplayers.org with the date you plan to attend.
Audition Location
James Lee Community Center
2855 Annandale Rd
Falls Church, VA 22042
Performance Dates and Times
Preview: Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021; 7:00 p.m.
Evening Performances: Thurs. Fri. Sat.; Dec. 10 – 18, 7:30 p.m.
Matinees: Saturdays & Sundays, Dec 11 & 12, 18 & 19, 2:00 p.m.
About the Director: Sarah Baczewski
A Washington State native, Sarah is a recent transplant (via Los Angeles, CA) to the Washington, DC area. Providence Players’ Virtual Pop-Up “Boredom, Wine and Fear” was her local directorial debut, and she followed it up directing the radio drama “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” for The Arlington Players. She has appeared in Greenbelt Arts Center’s Old Time Radio Series (The Burning Court and Mystery in the Air: The Mask of Medusa) and is a member of The Arlington Player’s Season Planning Committee. She fell in love with community theatre at age 12 and majored in theatre at Whitman College. Following a 12+ year career in the entertainment industry, she shifted to the nonprofit space three years ago and currently works in fund development for a nonprofit focused on D.C. justice reform.
From the Director, Sarah Baczewski
As the holiday show, this production will be bright, colorful, slightly silly and over-the-top, like the Barbara Park books it’s based on. I’m looking for a heightened nature to the material, especially given the casting of adults as first graders. The ultimate goal is a feel-good show that appeals to children and adults. Have fun with the material!
REHEARSALS: Download a copy of the Theater Access Schedule for this show. This is NOT the specific rehearsal schedule (which will be supplied by the Stage Manager), but it will give you an idea for the commitment you are making – rehearsal space and performance – and how to identify conflicts.
The Conflict Schedule has the tentative rehearsal schedule. Unless indicated otherwise, all other rehearsals will happen at the James Lee Community Center. Rehearsals will be held in the evenings roughly from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM and on Saturdays and Sundays 10 AM to 1 PM or 2 to 5 PM, depending on cast availability.
Please come to auditions prepared to list any availability conflicts with rehearsal or the performance schedule. Space is provided on the audition form for this purpose.
About the Play
Place
The play takes place in several locations, moving swiftly from one to the next. These locales include Room One (the classroom); the auditorium stage; Junie B.’s basement; Junie B.’s bedroom; the media room/holiday gift shop. The momentum of the story should never have to wait on a set change; furniture should be suggestive, and kept to a minimum.
Time
The holiday season, the present
Cast of Characters
- JUNIE B. JONES – a first grader; precocious, passionate, opinionated, a bossy leader; doesn’t understand why things can’t always go exactly her wait; a bit of a brat, but an endearing one
- MAY – a classmate; the rule-abiding, class tattle-tale who doesn’t have any friends; prissy; Type A
- HERB – Junie B.’s best friend and frequent defender; he easily loses things
- LUCILLE – a rich kid; snooty; loves frilly dresses and never shies away from reminding everyone how ridiculously rich her family is
- JOSE – a classmate; prefer a native Spanish speaker; the most practical of the Room 1 students
- SHELDON – a classmate; a bit of an odd duck; does know the meaning of “too much info”; very phobic (germaphobic; stage fright)
All the first grader characters can be played by actors in a wide range of ages, from 16 and up.
- SCARY (late-30s-50s) – the teacher; sometimes seemingly omniscient in his dealings with his class of first graders; frequently long-suffering; a caring teacher but one who won’t let you get away with much
- GRANDPA MILLER (50+) – Junie B.’s grandfather; loving, somewhat indulgent and also deeply amused by his granddaughter; 1 scene
- ELF ELLEN (30s/40s) – a volunteer parent; a little perturbed by Herb & Sheldon’s antics; 1 scene & 1 additional appearance
- TOOT (40-60) – the enthusiastic choral teacher; 2 scenes & 1 voiceover
- VOICE OF PHILIP JOHNNY BOB – a stuffed elephant; what does the voice of a first grader’s imaginary stuffed elephant BFF sound like? Open to creative interpretations. Could be a squeaky, child-like voice (or an actual child) or a robust James Earl Jones-type. 2 scenes
Additional Audition Information/Instructions:
- HOW WE WORK: Most Providence auditions have actors up and down to read multiple times in multiple combinations and scenes. Most actors find this fun. As space allows, you will be able to watch the auditions. You may be asked to go outside with audition partners and work a bit on a scene. We will do our best to get you up multiple times reading for parts you are interested in. You will also be asked to read for other parts you may not be auditioning for. The Providence Players strives to make our productions open to interested and engaged actors & actresses, regardless of their level of experience. We try to make our auditions as relaxing and fun as possible.
- AUDITION PROCESS & SIDES: Auditions will consist of readings from the script. No monologue required. Sides for the audition process will be supplied at auditions.
- AUDITION FORM: Please ALSO COMPLETE the attached Providence Audition Form and bring it with you to the audition. Resumes and headshots will be accepted but are not required. We may ask to take a picture of you, but this is for internal use only and will not be shared.
We look forward to seeing you at the auditions!