Theatre Audition Information

Student Success Fall 2026 Auditions Information

Please fill out the information form and sign up for an audition slot.
Information Form
Audition Slot Sign up

Dance Nation
By Clare Barron
Director:
MJ Learned- mjl6j@mtmail.mtsu.edu
Stage Manager:
TBD

Dance Nation- Performances 10/8-10/10, 2026- Deborah K. Anderson Studio Theatre
Rehearsals begin 9/2/2026, 6-10 PM.
Then rehearsals held weekly:
Tuesday-Friday 6:00 PM-10:00 PM, Saturdays 1:00 PM- 5:00 PM, depending on student availability.

Alice by Heart
Book and lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Director:
Jenna Martin— jam2kx@mtmail.mtsu.edu
Stage Manager:
Jester Bowen— jjb8v@mtmail.mtsu.edu

Alice by Heart – Performances 11/20 – 11/22, 2026 – Deborah K. Anderson Studio Theatre
Rehearsals begin 09/11/2026 –6pm-10pm

Then rehearsals held weekly:
Friday and Saturday, 6pm – 10pm from 09/11-10/3
Then:
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday OR Monday, Wednesday, Friday 6pm-10pm for 10/3-11/15
Depending on student availability.

For your audition

Prepare the following:

• A 60-90 second contemporary monologue.
  
  AND
  
• Perform a 32-bar cut of a contemporary musical or a folk/pop/rock song in the style of the show that showcases your storytelling abilities.
  • Please provide clearly marked sheet music for your piece. Accompaniment will be provided.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your audition time to check in with stage management at the audition desk outside of the Theatre and Dance Main office located on the 2nd floor of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts building.

Callbacks will consist of scene work, cold reads, and a dance call.
A British dialect is preferred for Alice by Heart, but not required.

Show Information

Dance Nation
By Clare Barron

Synopsis
In Middle America, a dance team of adolescent girls (and one boy) are preparing for the most important moment of their young lives – a national dance final. Under the guidance of a ferocious dance teacher, we see the teens collectively fight for glory while dealing with their own talents, inadequacies and experiences. Some are naturally skilled, some just want to have fun, some have overbearing stage mothers, and all are discovering their power in a world that threatens to take it away.

*Please note that Dance Nation includes explicit language

Cast List
*All characters, with the exception of dance teacher Pat, are between the ages of 11-14, however this does not require you to age down your voice or physicality.

Dance Teacher Pat
Amina
Zuzu
Connie
Luke
Maeve
Sofia
Ashlee
Vanessa/ One of the Moms
The Moms

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
Dance Teacher Pat
The head of the dance studio. Male-presenting, 40’s.

Amina
The star dancer, struggles to choose between friendship and chasing her ambition. Fem presenting, any race/ethnicity.

Zuzu
Always second best. Struggles with self-doubt, often letting her doubt get in the way of her wants. Fem-presenting, non-white.

Connie
A talented dancer but feels overshadowed. Becomes interested in Ashlee. Fem -presenting, South Asian descent.

Luke
The only male dancer on the competition team. Male-presenting, any race/ethnicity.

Maeve
The oldest and least talented dancer on the team. A good friend who marches to her own beat. Fem-presenting, any race/ethnicity.

Sofia
Can be a bit of a know-it-all. Bold but struggles internally. The team looks to her for all things adult. Fem-presenting, any race/ethnicity.

Ashlee
Future president of a post-apocalyptic USA. Aware of her intelligence and commanding presence.

Vanessa (also plays The Moms)
Could’ve been a phenomenon. Fem-presenting, any race/ethnicity.

The Moms
They mean well. Fem-presenting, any race/ethnicity.

Alice by Heart
Book by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson
Music by Duncan Sheik

Synopsis
Taking place in 1940s London during the Blitz, Alice by Heart tells a story of a young girl and her best friend in an underground tube station/make-shift bomb shelter. Alice and Alfred have lost everything except for each other and their beloved copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. Alfred has Tuberculosis and is nearing the end of his life, but Alice, in denial, insists that she and Alfred go through the story one last time together. Alice learns that while time passes, and she cannot hold on to her childhood or the people she loves forever, those parts of her will always live on in her heart and soul.

Cast List
We anticipate casting between 10-12 actors. All roles are available.
For more information, see the detailed character breakdown.

Alice Spencer / Alice
Alfred Hallam / White Rabbit / March Hare
Red Cross Nurse / Queen of Hearts
Harold Pudding / Mad Hatter
Tabatha/Cheshire Cat
Dodgy / Duchess
Clarissa / Queen of Diamonds
Nigel / Dormouse
Angus / Caterpillar 1
Dr. Butridge / King Of Hearts / Jabberwocky
The Following roles will be split between actors as needed
CATERPILLAR 2
KNAVE OF SPADES
KNAVE OF HEARTS
MOCK TURTLE
MOCK MOCK MOCK TURTLE
MOCK MOCK MOCK MOCK TURTLE
YOUNG ALICE
YOUNG ALFRED
ALFRED’S MOTHER

DETAILED CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Alice Spencer
Alice is a young girl in denial of the passage of time. She does not want to get older, and she does not want to let go of her childhood, including Alfred. Throughout the show she struggles with the challenges of growing up like the loss of her home from the war, her developing feelings for Alfred, and her grief for him as he fades away. We are looking for a skilled actress who can lead a show and navigate a complex arc of character development.

Alfred Hallam
Alfred is Alice’s childhood best friend. He introduced her to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland when they were very young and since then, has spent many years with her, rereading and acting out the beloved story. He has had tuberculosis most of his life and is now nearing death. He spends the show convincing Alice to let him go. We are looking for an actor with a strong, yet gentle presence and the emotional depth to portray a young man who knows he will never get to grow up.

Red Cross Nurse / Queen of Hearts
The Red Cross Nurse is a woman tasked with nursing sick children, mostly orphans, in the tube station. She is stern, but not uncaring: she simply cannot afford mistakes. She tries to make Alice understand the gravity of the situation, crushing her childish illusion that Alfred will get better and everything will go back to how it was. The Queen of Hearts is an exaggerated caricature of the Red Cross Nurse in Alice’s imagination.

Dr. Butridge / King of Hearts / Jabberwocky
Dr. Butridge is the doctor in the tube station. He has suffered loss of hearing from an explosion, and often comes across as a bumbling idiot because of this. In Alice’s imagination he plays the King of Hearts, the Queen’s spineless and simple King, as well as the Jabberwocky, a monstrous creature who stands between her and Alfred.

Tabitha / Cheshire Cat
Tabitha is an orphan who has found her way to the tube station, but not before losing her younger sister in the war. She takes Alice under her wing, using a gentle hand to guide her towards acceptance of her losses. We are looking for a witty actress with a mysterious disposition and wide emotional depth.

Angus / Caterpillar 1
Angus is an older boy in the tube station, who mocks Alice for her childish tendencies. He has developed a dependence on opium and smokes freely in the tube station to forget the troubles of the war. As the caterpillar, he encourages Alice’s denial and coerces her to take part in his escapism.

Clarissa
Clarissa is a pampered girl in denial of losing her wealth and privilege as well as her family and friends. She sees Alice as beneath her and mocks her as a distraction from her own grief.

Dodgy / Duchess
Dodgy is a former Eton schoolboy. He, like Clarissa, is living in denial of his loss of status. He has an affinity for cross-dressing, which comes through when he appears as the Duchess in Wonderland, a bitter woman who is jealous of Alice’s youth and femininity.

Harold Pudding / Mad Hatter
Harold Pudding is a young soldier suffering from severe head trauma and PTSD. In the war, he lost his best friend, and never quite processed the loss. He is trapped in his own mind by his mental handicap and speaks in riddles and rhymes no one understands.

Nigel / Dormouse
Nigel is the youngest child in the bunker but tries to act older than he is. However, underneath he is a frightened child, missing his mother, and struggling to process the events of the war.

---

Theatre Production Auditions

Every semester, the Department of Theatre and Dance hosts auditions open to all MTSU Students to participate in our Theatre production.

Auditions for our Fall 2026 Center Stage Series shows Jack’s Tale & The Tragedy of Macbeth took place on April 13th, 2026
The next round of auditions will be for our Student Success Series shows:

Dance Nation & Alice by Heart

Auditions for the Student Success Series shows will take place in August 2026.
More information on those auditions will be shared at a later date.
Please email John.Underwood@mtsu.edu for more information

---

Student Success Series Opportunities

Additional productions have been selected to be produced as part of our student success series.

The purpose of the SSS will be to provide additional opportunities for students who are not working on Centerstage series shows.  

In order to be eligible to be cast in a Student Success Series show, theatre majors must have auditioned in the CenterStage series shows for that semester, unless they are first-year (new or transfer) students. Any student who is offered a CSS role but does not accept it is not eligible to participate in an SSS production.   

MTSU Theatre Audition Policy is available here

---

Theatre and Dance Program Auditions

MTSU students are not required to audition for the theatre program in order to be cast in a production.

Program auditions ARE required for students looking to pursue a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts Degree in Theatre.
For more information on the BFA Theatre degree, please email Kristi.Shamburger@mtsu.edu  

---

Perspective students do not have to audition to take theatre courses. Auditions are only required to be cast in a production or be considered for the BFA program. If you have any questions about the audition process or upcoming opportunities, please email the Director of Production and Technical Operations – John.Underwood@mtsu.edu.

Check back to this page periodically, as information on upcoming auditions will be available soon.
If you are interested in learning more about applying to work on the design or technical side of production, you can learn more at Production Applications