Casting Call for "A Christmas Story" Show
The company is holding auditions for "A Christmas Story" Show and looking for performers, please see the details below. ONLY LOCAL TALENT WILL BE CONSIDERED. About the project: Humorist Jean Shepherd’s memoir of growing up in the midwest in the 1940s follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun under the tree for Christmas. Ralphie pleads his case before his mother, his teacher, and even Santa Claus himself at Higbee’s Department Store. The consistent response: “You’ll shoot your eye out!” All the elements from the beloved motion picture are here, including the family’s temperamental exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys’ experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; Ralphie’s father winning a lamp shaped like a woman’s leg in a net stocking; Ralphie’s fantasy scenarios and more. The movie was released in 1983, the same year CAST opened. The play and our organization are celebrating 40 years in 2023. Additional info: Download the audition packet above for all important information. Print and bring the packet with you to auditions, if able. Copies of the packet will also be available at auditions. Please apply if interested.
6 roles
(an adult male) is the narrator of our story. Jean Shepherd is the actual author of the books that the story is based on, as well as the actual narrator voice we hear in the 1983 movie. On stage, he is a warm, charismatic and engaging storyteller; omniscient but not overpowering. A good-natured curmudgeon with a deadpan sense of humor. Ralph focuses the action, keeps the story moving, and holds the audience’s attention with his presence and spark.
The secret engine that runs the family, keeping the household together with a smile – despite bickering children, limited funds, an x-rated lamp in the living room window, a cranky furnace, and a crankier husband. She would never let The Old Man know that she is more in charge than he is – as is appropriate for a housewife of this era. Vibrant, warm, affable – but not a pushover – she is always busy, especially anytime she is in the kitchen, and even more so at Christmas-time.
Ralphie’s Dad. He is gruff and grumbling on the exterior but has a good heart. He doesn't overtly show it, but he does love his family. A blue-collar guy, he usually expects the worst out of most situations. The actor playing this character shouldn’t be afraid to go "over the top" for comedic purposes.
Ralphie's 5th grade teacher, a seemingly stereotypical 1940s educator. She is prim and proper, stern when necessary, but warm and even humorous when the situation merits it.
Santa at Higbee's Department Store is ill-tempered, slightly inebriated, and very unhappy with his job--nothing like the "Jolly Old Elf" of the Christmas stories! He gets rid of each kid as fast as he can--probably to shorten his day so he can head for the nearest "watering hole"! The actor playing this role must be a strong comedic actor and comfortable with children.
Men in women in tree lot, shopping, and “dream” scenes.
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