If you're reading this and it's past midnight -- GO TO BED!

I can officially tell you that the list won't be posted until sometime Saturday morning. We've been at it for more than 6 hours solid, and we're done for the night. Go to sleep. Seriously.

I know you're all eager to find out the casting for the season. At this point, so are we. We will be meeting to cast the shows Friday night. We expect that it will take many hours and might not be done by Saturday morning. (In other words, don't stay up late Friday clicking refresh.)

When we post the cast list, it will be broken down by show with people's names listed with first name and last name initial. For example, my name would be listed as "Joey S." If there were more than one person with similar names, we might use "Joey St." or even "Joey S********n" if necessary. We want to give the relevant info while protecting privacy on the web.

This is going to be by far the hardest part of this process for us. We still can't believe how many amazingly talented people we've seen in the last few weeks. You are an impressive group, and we can only promise to do our very best to find the shows and roles that are the best matches and serve everyone's best interests.

Thanks for your continued patience.

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So we tried, but we didn't get all the info ready about callbacks yet. Some people have been notified, and others will be notified tomorrow morning. We're sorry for any stress and confusion! Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Just to reiterate from an earlier post:

Not everyone will be called back. In fact, a majority of people won't be. We'll be calling people back to read and sing for specific roles from specific shows. Callbacks are a chance for us to get a better idea of what people can do beyond what we saw in your initial audition. They're also a chance to see how combinations of people work together.

If you don't get called back, don't read into it too much. For one thing, we will be using everyone who auditioned as part of the season. There simply isn't time to callback everyone. (Plus that just ain't the way theatre works!) We saw lots of people whose auditions were wonderful, but we don't need to call them back since we already know what to do with them casting-wise.

Be in touch with questions, etc.
Joey

Our brains are reeling. Over the course of four days of auditions, we saw over 120 amazing performers representing the Candor, Dryden, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield, Trumansburg areas -- public, private, and home schoolers.

We were awed by the courage we witnessed. (If you don't know what I mean, you've never stood all alone in a room and sung and acted in front of strangers or pushed your body and mind to the limit learning an intense dance combination in record time surrounded by other hopeful dancers!)

We're still sorting through it. We expect to know who we're calling back and for what by Wednesday. We'll be getting in touch to schedule callbacks for Monday (November 12) and check availability and interest for particular shows. Callbacks will consist of songs and scenes that you'll get ahead of time to prepare. We'll provide the materials you'll need online.

Not everyone will be called back. In fact, a majority of people won't be. We'll be calling people back to read and sing for specific roles from specific shows. Callbacks are a chance for us to get a better idea of what people can do beyond what we saw in your initial audition. They're also a chance to see how combinations of people work together.

If you don't get called back, don't read into it too much. For one thing, we will be using everyone who auditioned as part of the season. There simply isn't time to callback everyone. (Plus that just ain't the way theatre works!) We saw lots of people whose auditions were wonderful, but we don't need to call them back since we already know what to do with them casting-wise.

You may or may not hear from us prior to Wednesday to check about availability, etc. One way or another, we'll talk to you all soon.

~ Joey

If you didn't spot it on the calendar, you should know that if you're auditioning this weekend, the times have been adjusted slightly. The auditions have been shortened to 60 minutes. So the schedule for dance auditions is now:

Saturday: 2:30-3:30pm
Sunday: 5:00-6:00pm

Everything else is the same. Be in touch with any questions, etc.

~ Joey

So last Friday and Sunday were the first round of auditions.

Wow.

The enthusiasm, talent, resourcefulness, energy, commitment -- we were blown away. We saw about 50 people last weekend. We'll be seeing almost 70 this weekend. (There are still a few slots left!)

We can't wait to get started working with all of you!

~ Joey

Wow, this message is coming much later than I had planned. I'm very sorry for the delay and grateful for your patience. Between waiting for insurance information to process and a few last minute venue changes, I wanted to wait until I had things definite. Now I do...


Audition Locations

Friday, October 26
Dryden Central School Auditorium
118 Freeville Road, Dryden
Click for a map/directions

Sunday, October 28
Ithaca Youth Bureau
1 James L. Gibbs Drive, Ithaca
Click for a map/directions

Saturday, November 3
Charles O. Dickerson High School Auditorium
100 Whig Street, Trumansburg
Click for a map/directions

Sunday, November 4
Ithaca College
(Song/monologue auditions in Whalen Music School room 3302, Dance auditions in Dillingham Theatre building Studio 1)
953 Danby Road, Ithaca
Click for a map/directions

We will post signs to help you find your way. It's up to you what you do between your song/monologue and dance auditions. Stay rested and nourished.

If you haven't yet signed up, there's still time. We also posted a some songs and monologues for you to use if you need help finding material for the audition.

If you've already signed up to audition (in a leap of faith, audition-location-wise), I encourage you to keep your appointment. After all, rehearsals and performances (like the auditions) will be scattered around the county. If you do need to reschedule, you'll find a link in the confirmation email you received when you signed up. If you need help or have questions, of course, let me know.


Other News

I'd like to give a quick shout out to the dozens of people who have been in touch about being mentors. Staff from Ithaca College and Cornell, family members, local professionals, and about a dozen Mighty BAs from IC's theatre department have all expressed interest in lending support and expertise. We'll be organizing soon to figure out who might work on which shows and in what capacities.

Also, my last update included a somewhat sheepish request for donations. I've been told that that's life in a non-profit -- constantly on the prowl for funds. To be honest, I haven't made a habit of going to the PO box every day. Turns out I need to start getting in the habit. The response was nothing short of moving. We received generous and thoughtful donations from friends and strangers (who we'd love to meet!). On behalf of everyone who will benefit from this giving -- especially the nearly 100 kids who will be auditioning and the dozens of others who will be working behind the scenes -- thank you!

If you'd like to contribute, you can write checks payable to "Social Ventures" with "Running to Places" in the memo. Our mailing address is:

Running to Places
PO Box 483
Ithaca, NY 14851

Talk to you all again soon!
Joey

If you haven't guessed why I haven't blogged for a while, you probably didn't get here by way of the home page. It's been a mad dash, but WE HAVE A SEASON! This endeavor didn't even have a name six months ago, but now we have a schedule of shows that will take us from January through September. We're very excited about the titles we've selected. They each offer something challenging and unique with many opportunities for involvement. We can't wait to get started.

If you are interested in auditioning, you can find out what you need to know and even sign up to audition online. We've spread the auditions over a couple of weekends with many slots at different times of day to accommodate a range of schedules. Oh how we wish we had a crystal ball to know how many people will be auditioning. There are still plenty of slots available now, but I wouldn't wait until the last minute.

Be in touch if you have questions, concerns, etc.
~ Joey

Once we announce the titles and dates for the shows for our first season (as well as the locations we'll be running to for each), we're going to hold auditions that will be a bit different from what you might be used to. We're going to hold a massive audition that will cover the whole darn season.

In other words, you won't be auditioning for a specific role or even a specific show. You'll be auditioning for the company on the whole. And generally speaking, we'll be casting the whole season all at once.

We're hoping to have the problem of having 350 people show up to audition. It would be, shall we say, tricky to put that many people onstage at once. So you might get cast in the first show of the season. Or you might get cast in the second show of the summer. Or you might be selected to be a featured performer for the cabaret.

We want to get the maximum possible number of people involved. We want to give people opportunities to enjoy the spotlight who might not usually get to. So often, casting is tough because we feel like there are so many talented, committed artists, we could cast a show three times over. So we want to spread the wealth.

We also hope this process will give people a chance to plan the rest of their schedules. If you know you're cast in a summer show, but not a spring one, you can sign up for the club or team that meets in the spring -- without feeling conflicted about missed opportunities to explore all the things you are interested in.

I hope this all makes sense. It's a bit of an experiment and a gamble. We have no crystal ball to help us predict what kind of turn-out we'll get at an audition like this -- or how well it will work out. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm curious to know your thoughts about all this.

And keep telling your friends. The word of mouth buzz keeps growing. It's crazy and very exciting!