Audition Info

PRINCIPAL CASTING CALL: “THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS”

PRODUCTION DATES:

• First Rehearsal: January 13, 2020
• First Public Performance: February, 12, 2020
• Closing Performance: March 29, 2020

PRODUCTION TEAM:

• Director: Gordon Greenberg
• Choreographer: Amber Mak
• Music Director: Tom Vendafreddo
• Casting Director: Trent Stork

SEEKING:

Seeking strong actors/singers of all genders, ethnicities, ages and types.

EQUITY PRINCIPAL AUDITIONS

EMC and Non-Equity actors are welcome and encouraged to attend.

• When: Monday, March 18, 2019
  • 10:00am-6:00pm
  • Lunch: 1:30-2:30pm
• Where: Chicago Actors’ Equity Office, 557 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60661

PREPARATION:

• Please bring ONE copy of Headshot/Resume
• Please prepare a one-minute selection of a contemporary musical theater/pop song that shows off your voice and comedic skills.

Equity Chorus Call Auditions

EMC and Non-Equity actors are welcome and encouraged to attend.

• When: Tuesday, March 19^th 2019
  • Female Identified Performers: 10:00am-2:00pm
  • Lunch: 2:00-3:00pm
  • Male Identified Performers: 3:00-6:00pm
• Where: Chicago Actors’ Equity Office, 557 W. Randolph St.. Chicago, IL 60661

PREPARATION:

• Please bring ONE copy of Headshot/Resume
• Be warmed up and prepared to dance in appropriate attire and bring jazz or tennis shoes. You may be asked to sing. Please prepare a one-minute selection of a contemporary musical theater/pop song that shows off your voice and comedic skills.

The Secret of My Success: A New Musical

Casting Breakdown

Description: Loosely based on the hit Universal film starring Michael J. Fox, The Secret Of My Success follows a young ambitious Midwesterner who moves to New York City to start his dream job, only to be laid off on his first day. In his enthusiasm to succeed, he gets tangled up in a scheme in which he assumes the identity of an absent executive and has to frantically juggle being two separate people at once to make his way up the corporate ladder. When he falls in love with a beautiful co-worker, he realizes that there is something much more important at stake than his career – his heart. Ultimately, he discovers who he really is by pretending to be someone he’s not. In the process, he redefines his relationship with himself, his parents and the very idea of what it really means to be a success.

CHARACTERS:

Brantley Foster/Carlton Whitfield: Male, any ethnicity, age 28. Raised on a failing farm in Minnesota, Brantley has overcome financial and family challenges by putting himself through business school and making his way to New York to work at corporate headquarters – only to be fired on his first day. Through a series of events, he assumes a false identity as an executive at the company and must juggle personas to climb the corporate ladder and pursue the woman of his dreams. Quick witted, Midwestern charming and kind hearted, Brantley’s magnetism and fearlessness make him quickly popular, but when his scheme threatens not only his job, but his home town and the woman he has fallen for, his ambitions transform, along with his notion of success. Seeking an excellent actor with charm, wit and smarts – with pop bari-tenor voice.

Piers Johnson: Male, any ethnicity, age 50. The CEO of Prescott Industries, Piers has married into the corporate family, in both senses. His wife owns the company, and his life is his job. Feeling his power and relevance slipping with age, he is fixated on staying young. He is also secretly attempting to steal the company away from his wife.  Seeking excellent comic actor with strong baritone voice.

Christy Mendez: Female, Latinx, age 28. Raised in a lower middle-class home in Staten Island, she is a single mom struggling to advance at the company and still be a good mother to her nine-year old son. Piers has recognized that she’s the brightest person in the office and leans on her to do most of his work. Although she and Brantley (as Carlton) butt heads initially, the spark soon turns into a flame, and she falls for him. Seeking excellent comic actor with strong high belt and mix.

Vera Prescott Johnson: Female, any ethnicity, age 45-50. The chairperson and majority shareholder of Prescott Industries, Vera is also a best-selling author of ‘The Perfect Marriage,’ which belies the fact that her marriage to Piers is not. Quippy, wry and authoritative in a sort of Miranda Priestly way, she is actually very lonely and connects with Brantley, a similarly lost soul. Seeking excellent comic actor with strong belt/mix.

Lester Mann: Male, any ethnicity, 30’s – 40’s. A musician with extreme stage fright, Lester has been temping at Prescott for the better part of a decade. He befriends Brantley and attempts to help teach him the ropes, only to be betrayed by him. Good natured with an open heart and a sort of naïve innocence, he also has a penchant for older women. Seeking excellent comic actor with strong bari-tenor voice.

Garth Portnoy: Any gender, any ethnicity, 30’s-40’s. The supervisor of the temp pool at Prescott, Garth takes his/her job very seriously and is fueled by the power derived from knowing that someone is below him/her in the pecking order. The kind of person who thinks they’re hilarious, but no one gets it, Garth is a constant threat to Brantley, who is secretly also pretending to be an executive. Stuck in the 1990’s and probably driving a Camaro, Garth is obsessed with his/her body and loves Crossfit, although he/she may think they’re in better shape than they are. Seeking excellent comic actor with broad bold choices and strong singing ability – a la hair band 1980’s music.

Sylvia Plotkin: Female, Jewish, any ethnicity, 60’s-70’s. Gravel voiced with sandpaper dry wit and strong opinions, she is Carlton Whitfield’s assistant. Inept and uninterested in improving her job performance, she turns out to be working for the federal government as an undercover investigative agent, gathering intel on Piers. Seeking excellent comic actor who can carry a tune. Some light rapping may be required.

Joann Foster: Female, any ethnicity, late 50’s-early 60’s. Salt of the earth Midwestern with a strong work ethic and a positive attitude, Joann gets things done and doesn’t dwell on the negative. She has taken over Brantley’s job at the local cannery in her hometown of St. Cloud, Minnesota and is determined not to be a bother to her son, as he makes his dreams come true. Seeking excellent comic actor with very strong, warm, almost folky, singing voice.

Rosa Mendez/as cast: Female, Latinx, late 50’s – early 60’s. Christy’s mother, she ends up doing most of the care taking for Christy’s son, Ernie. A practical, quick witted, warm and protective, she worries her daughter is biting off more than she can chew. Seeking an excellent comic actor with good singing ability.

Ernie Mendez: Male, any ethnicity, 8-11 to play 8. Christy’s precocious son, Ernie wants to spend more time with his mom and feels the pain of separation but turns it into humor. As a passing form of protest, he has decided not to learn how to tie his shoes until his biological father comes back home. Seeking excellent comic actor with good singing ability.

ENSEMBLE: We need to find a wide variety of ethnicities, ages and body types to play white collar executives, temps, Staten Island commuters, YMCA manager, security guards, HR Manager, the real Carlton Whitfield, etc, .

All must be excellent comic actors with excellent pop rock Broadway singing voices and be able to move well.