Like Julius Caesar’s closest friends, you can take a stab at the auditions for this year’s Bard in the Quad production.
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is coming to Oregon State University brought by the Theater Department in the School of Visual and Production arts. Auditions are being held May 19 and 20 in the Gladys Valley Gymnastics Center in room 106.
According to Elizabeth Helman, the director for this year’s production and a theatre arts senior instructor, nothing is needed in advance and she encourages students to come in, play some games and go through some cold reads from the script. If interested in auditioning, fill out this form.
The auditions themselves will last for an hour and a half to two hours. Sunday’s auditions will start at noon and Monday’s will start at 5 p.m.
Anyone is welcome to audition, no prior experience required and the only rule is to dress accordingly for movement, including no open-toed shoes.
“These are all stories about human experience, Shakespeare is for everybody, it is just learning how to act and use your body in a different way,” Helman said.
This year will be Bard in the Quad’s 19th season, with the production itself taking place in front of the Memorial Union in early August. The whole production is outside, and according to Helman, the most challenging part of these productions is fighting the weather and making use of the space to the best of their abilities.
Due to the lack of a building the production team makes up for it with costumes and a good sound system. Bard in the Quad is a massive commitment and according to Helman there is a lot to do for everyone involved.
“Our program is focused on providing students with as many hands-on experiences with theater. It is exciting, very challenging, the hardest you are gonna work but the most fun you’ll have,” Helman said.
Helman and the production team have taken on a lot more for this performance, hiring a combat coordinator for the fight scenes, and plans for, as she put it, “crazy costumes.”
The team isn’t just looking for actors. According to Helman they are always looking for students to work as crew, such as costume designers, set builders and sound help. Helman said that the whole production thrives with on the job training for any position.
According to Helman, the people of Corvallis love coming to see this production every year and said she loves “seeing the same families coming back every year.”
