Information Packet 

View our Information Packet to learn about how our Main Stage program works. Here, you will find information about the audition process, casting, rehearsals, tech week, costuming, and shows.

Ages: 18-27 with limited roles for ages 16-17

Cast size: 8+ ensemble

Run-time: 2.75 hours

Background: Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.

Based loosely on Puccini's La Boheme, Jonathan Larson's Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

Audition Sign-up

Read the info packet linked above, in full, before signing up for an audition slot.

Out of respect for everyone’s time, we require all actors to sign up for an audition slot, whether they are auditioning in person or submitting a virtual audition.

It is strongly recommended that all auditioners present the following components:

Please note: The links referenced will go live one month prior to auditions.

1) Vocals:

• Prepare a one-minute selection from a musical theatre song that shows off your voice.

• If you would like to be considered for a lead role, please also prepare one of these cuts (or more than one, if you would like):

  • Music Audition Cuts

• Please be sure to choose selections that show your range and ability to its fullest!

• We will not have an accompanist present, but you may bring a backing track if you would like.

2) Acting: Memorize a side from the show (linked below). The alternate part of your side will be read by a panel member.

• Acting Audition Sides

3) Choreography:Memorize the dance combination linked below.

If you have any special skills (ie. tumbling, acro, etc), please let our audition panel know so you can showcase them.

Roger Davis

A struggling musician and former drug addict. He is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Roommates with Mark in the loft and battles with being HIV-positive.

Vocal range top: A4; Vocal range bottom: F2

Mark Cohen

Filmmaker and video artist. Knee deep in his own soul-searching, Mark is the typical young artist. He and Roger are roommates in the loft. A bit of a nerd.

Vocal range top: G4; Vocal range bottom: A2

Tom Collins

A computer genius and liberal professor. He is a nurturer with a smooth and relaxed disposition. Used to be a roommate in the loft and is HIV-positive.

Vocal range top: A4; Vocal range bottom: F#2

Benjamin Coffin III

The landlord of Mark and Roger's apartment building. A former roommate in the loft, Benny traded in his personal morals for power and wealth.

Vocal range top: F#4; Vocal range bottom: Bb2

Joanne Jefferson

A public interest lawyer and headstrong lesbian. She is smart and purposeful in all her decisions. Carries on a tumultuous relationship with Maureen.

Vocal range top: E5; Vocal range bottom: G3

Angel Dumott Schunard

The eccentric HIV-positive street drummer. A drag queen with an incredible gift of dance and a magnetic personality. He becomes Tom's lover.

Vocal range top: A4; Vocal range bottom: C3

Mimi Marquez

An HIV-positive stripper with drug addictions. Slender and sickly, she conceals it all at her job in the local strip club. She lives in the same building as the loft.

Vocal range top: E5; Vocal range bottom: Eb3

Maureen Johnson

An unpredictably zany performance artist. Maureen oozes sexuality and used to live in the loft. She has recently dumped Mark for Joanne.

Vocal range top: F5; Vocal range bottom: C4

Ensemble

Homeless men & women; Junkies; Parents (Mrs. Cohen, Mr. & Mrs. Jefferson); Support Group (Steve, Gordon); etc

If you don’t know your range, or wonder if your range has changed, here is a tool that you can use to figure it out:

• Sing along with this video and make note of your lowest and highest comfortable note. Doesn’t need to be perfectly accurate, this is just an approximation.

• Tenor/Bass voices, start each section in the higher register of your voice (for the high-note exercise, only use your chest voice. No need to push into falsetto)

• Alto/Soprano voices, start each section in the light middle register of your voice.

• Disregard the voice type ranges at the end of the video, these are not accurate to how we’ll be voicing the cast!