Creative Teams

We invite all interested performers to submit a video audition for Carousel Players’ 2020 General Auditions. All submissions will be reviewed by the Artistic Director, Monica Dufault.

All audition submissions will be considered for casting in future projects, including Carousel Players’ ongoing new play development work. 

In your submission, please outline your experience in theatre for young audiences and/or working with children, and any vocal and movement experience. If you play any instruments or have a special skill, please let us know as well. 

Please note that Carousel Players’ work is primarily school touring productions, and that all performers are also responsible for loading and unloading the sets, and setting up/striking at each performance location.

Submission Deadline: August 28, 2020

Submission Details:

Please create a self video including:

• one contemporary Canadian monologue
• a joke that you like to tell
• one special skill that you want to share, such as:
• Singing a short song or one verse of a song
• Puppetry
• Juggling
• Playing a musical instrument

Note: Maximum length for entire video audition: 3 minutes

Director Monica Dufault   Associate Director Joe Recinos 

Submission Deadline: August 28, 2020

Callbacks: September, 2020

Design Workshop – November 9 & 10, 2020

Production Dates – March 1 – April 18, 2021

Production Details:

Bluenose is a chaotic, foolish story of three red-nosed pirates traversing the sea when they unexpectedly encounter Ku, a blue nosed person from a ‘new world’. The play explores concepts of patriarchy, assumed superiority, and imperialism/colonialism through the lens of clown and music exposing these ideas for what they are: absurd, arbitrary and so utterly, completely ridiculous. 

Roles to be Cast:

Ratt – the self-proclaimed captain of the red-nosed pirate crew; has a take-charge attitude

Spatt – like a cabin-boy who forever aspires to a higher position but doesn’t have the brains to get there

Knatt – always reading a book, Knatt is the most thoughtful of the trio of red-nosed pirates

Ku – a blue-nosed person from a nearby island with a stone-hard drive to remain true to her sense of self, and her people

Please Note:

Although the pirates are referred to as male in the script, we will be casting this production with an all female-identifying cast. 

As we will be exploring themes of colonization and patriarchy it is of the utmost importance to us that our creation and performance environments are safe, brave, and welcoming spaces for everyone.

This will be a school touring production, and all performers will also be responsible for loading and unloading the set, and setting up/striking at each performance location.

Submission Details:

Carousel Players is committed to telling stories that are inclusive reflecting the multitude of diverse voices that make up our community.

All artists who identify as female and are of the IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and/or POC) and LGBTQ2S+ communities are highly encouraged to apply.

Please include any clown/buffon training and musical abilities as well as union/non-union status in your submission. 

As we are unable to hold in-person auditions at this time, we invite all interested performers to submit a video audition. All audition submissions will be reviewed by the Artistic Director Monica Dufault, and other members of the creative team, and will also be considered for casting in future projects, including Carousel Players’ ongoing new play development work. Those selected for a callback will be contacted.

Please create a self video including:

• one contemporary Canadian monologue
• a short song or a single verse of a song
• a short physical comedy bit (example: putting on a piece of clothing and getting all tangled up in it)

Note: Maximum length for entire video audition (including all elements above): 3 minutes

Bluenose – Script

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT – a new musical adaptation created by Jocelyn Adema, Lena Maripuu, Reanne Spitzer and Annie Tuma, based on the picture book by Margery Williams

Director and Dramaturge: Monica Dufault

Assistant Director: Jocelyn Adema   Choreographer: Reanne Spitzer

Submission Deadline: August 28, 2020

Callbacks: September 2020

Development/Design/Music Workshop – January 11-17, 2021

Production Dates: October 4 – November 28, 2021

Production Details: 

A contemporary retelling of the classic tale about a toy Velveteen Rabbit and B, who are inseparable friends. Together they invent worlds in the house and in the garden, and when B gets sick, the Velveteen Rabbit never leaves B’s side. Guided by the Toy Horse and the Magic Fairy, the Velveteen Rabbit discovers how toys become real, and the power of a child’s love. 

Characters in the Play
B – a young child [to be played by an adult] (Track 1)
Velveteen – a toy rabbit who wants to be real (Track 2)
Fairy – a magical musical being who guides the story (Track 3)
B’s Mom/Dad – a single mom/dad juggling work and parenting (Track 4)
Toy Horse – a fabulous toy with flare and experience – think My Little Pony meets roller derby (Track 4)
Real Rabbit #1 – a real rabbit who is suspicious of Velveteen (Track 4)
Real Rabbit #2 – a real rabbit who is kind to Velveteen (Track 1)
Note: For Track 3 or 4, we are specifically seeking a musician comfortable with playing a stringed instrument.

 We will be casting two tracks, and we are looking for performers eager to engage with a collective devised process and who will be contributing to a new creation currently in development.

Please note that this will be a school touring production, and that all performers will also be responsible for loading and unloading the set, and setting up/striking at each performance location.

A Message from the Creators of the Adaptation (Gorgon Theatre’s Jocelyn Adema, Lena Maripuu, Reanne Spitzer, and Annie Tuma): We at Gorgon Theatre acknowledge that we’re white women, and that our past productions consisted of dominantly white stories told with able white bodies. With The Velveteen Rabbit, we welcome the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people to create with us behind and on the stage. We cannot stress enough that we are so excited to meet extraordinary people ready to collaborate and create an amazing performance for young audiences that could change the world!

Submission Details:

Carousel Players is committed to telling stories that are inclusive reflecting the multitude of diverse voices that make up our community. It is of the utmost importance to us that our creation and performance environments are safe and welcoming spaces for everyone.

All artists who are of the IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and/or POC) and LGBTQ2S+ communities are highly encouraged to apply. 

In your submission, please outline your experience in collective creation, theatre for young audiences and/or working with children, and any vocal and movement experience. If you play any instruments or have a special skill, please let us know as well. 

As we are unable to hold in-person auditions at this time, we invite all interested performers to submit a video audition. All audition submissions will be reviewed by the Artistic Director Monica Dufault, and other members of the creative team, and will also be considered for casting in future projects, including Carousel Players’ ongoing new play development work. Those selected for a callback will be contacted.

Please create a self video including:

• one contemporary Canadian monologue
• a short song or a single verse of a song
• a short movement/dance improv exploring one of the following:

A child discovering the wonder of a garden OR A child experiencing a restless nightmare

Note: Maximum length for entire video audition (including all elements above): 3 minutes

The Velveteen Rabbit – full book