NOW CASTING:
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some!)
Co-directors: Leslie O'Carroll and Branden Smith
REHEARSAL DATES: November 11 - December 2 (no rehearsals Nov 28, 29, 30 for Thanksgiving)
PERFORMANCE DATES: 12/11-12/30 for a total of 17 performances including Christmas Eve day and the day after Christmas.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Please submit your video by 8am on Monday October 28th. Virtual callbacks will be held between October 28th- 30th.
Virtual Auditions only: Material does not need to be memorized for auditions or callbacks, but please be familiar. Please email an unlisted Youtube video (or your preferred service) to: Info@backstageTheatre.org with the subject line “Every Christmas Audition” and include the following:
Your name and which character you will be reading for.
Where you are based out of and whether or not you have housing in Summit County, CO.
Please read a monologue of one of the below characters, keeping in mind the brief character description. If you prefer, you can submit a pre-prepared comedic monologue instead.
Bonus points: include a favorite holiday memory and/or an impression based on one of the characters listed!
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
ACTOR 1 : They came to perform a traditional Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol tonight and they do not want to change course. Struggles to keep the other two in line, but finally gives in to the fun. Plays: Grinch, Scrooge, George Bailey
ACTOR 2: Youthful in spirit, starry-eyed and full of wonder. An energetic lover of all things Holiday. Plays: Gustav thee Green-Nosed Reingoat (Rudolf), Della (Magi) Linus, Old Man Potter
ACTOR 3: Think a less uptight Hermione Grainger - ever-ready with a fact-check and research, but ready to put on a show. Plays: Mrs. Claus, Cratchit, Ghost of Christmas Past, Mouse King Present and Future
ACTOR 1 (In show we will use your real name, in script it is Jim):
Ok, John, I’m gonna try this logically… Okay, now Santa visits all the children in the world, all the good, all the nice children, on Christmas Eve, leaves them presents, fills their stockings, eats and drinks their milk and cookies, and ho, ho ho, off to the next… right? Okay! Good… now… John, there are about 380 million children in the christian world, okay, in the Santa Claus believing part of the world, right? Right. Okay, now if we break that down to an average of, say… three kids per house, that’s… 126 million houses he has to visit… in one night. John, even giving him all the time zones to work with, that breaks down to something like 800 houses per second. That means Santa has about 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh, hop out, slide down the chimney, fill the stockings, down a couple of cookies, glass of milk, shimmy back up and zooom! On to the next house…| Do you understand what I’m getting at here? I know it’s hard to accept, and I’m sorry…
ACTOR 2 (In show we will use your real name, in script it is John):
I can’t do this. I can’t do another Christmas Carol. It’s been done to death! Everybody’s seen it. Everybody knows it… God bless us everyone… Bah humbug… Nice Ghost, Fat Ghost, Scary Ghost… yadda, yadda, yadda… I’ve done a gazillion Christmas Carols. First time I did it I was Tiny Tim, now I’m the old dead guy… I just can’t do it again. And what makes it a “Beloved Holiday Classic”? I mean, it’s not like I automatically think “Christmas Carol” every December… I mean, yeah, I do, but that’s just because every thaetre I’ve ever worked at does it, and I’m just doing this one because I need the insurance weeks… I don’t hate Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. I was just saying that “Christmas Carol” is not my personal idea of Christmas…
ACTOR 3 (In show we will use your real name, in script it is Michael):
Okay! Are we ready? Great! I’ve got some notes here that should help us get started… we can divvy these up and use them throughout the evening… For instance, Christmas Traditions Around the World, Christmas in other countries: (reading from card) Christmas in Sweden – In Sweden, children eagerly await thee arrival of Jultomten, a wizened little gnome who lives beneath the floorboards and rides in a sleigh pulled by the Julboker, or “Goats of Thor”. Traditional Swedish holiday foods include surstromming - baltic herring which has been buried in the ground and allowed to ferment; luteefisk– codfish which has been dried, soaked in lye, buried in the ground and allied to ferment; and jellied pigsfeet. On Christmas Eve, a young girl of the house starts the festivities off dressed in a long white dress, and a wreath with lighted candles is put on her head – she is called the Juldottir, which translates roughly as “girl with the flaming head”
Pay: Roles pay $250 / week, over 7 weeks for a total contract of $1,750
COME WORK WITH US!
OUR 50th Anniversary Season runs NOW - AUGUST 2025
DEI: BBT is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment and encourages actors of all types to audition for any role regardless of perceived genders or types that are listed in a cast breakdown. BBT follows the Community Standards for Theatre for Colorado.
Our performance and rehearsal space is at the Breckenridge Theater- 121 S. Ridge Street. The stage and facilities are wheelchair accessible. Please reach out to us with housing accommodations requests / additional accessibility questions at info@backstagetheatre.org.
If you do not have accommodations in Summit County, we will provide housing for performers. Please let us know if you DO have local accommodations.
General audition guidelineS
Currently, all of our auditions are virtual.
EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME) : Rehearses November, runs the month of December.
FINDING NEMO JR.: Our annual Student Theatrical Enrichment Program production (STEP)
EVERY BRILLIANT THING: Rehearses in February, runs the month of March
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: Rehearses the month of June and runs late June through Mid-August - LARGE CAST MUSICAL
STAGE MANAGERS, Designers and other contractors
Come work in the beautiful mountains of Breckenridge, CO!
We accept submissions on a rolling basis year-round. Please send your information our way! Make sure to note whether you have access to local housing in Summit County, in Denver, or would need to housing provided.
We are accepting resumes for the following:
Teaching Artists (experience with ages 3-18)
Guest Directors & Music Directors
Production Managers and Technical Directors
Stage Managers and Asst. Stage Managers
Designers (Scenic, Lighting, Costume, Sound, Projection)
Sound and Lighting Board Operators
Master Electricians
Graphic Designers, Photographers, and Videographers
Email your resume, website, and/or any supporting materials you may have to info@backstagetheatre.org
Please use "Attn: Season Contractor 2023-24" in the subject heading. In your cover letter, indicate where you primarily reside and if you have access to local housing.