~Audition Notice ~

The Old Trout Puppet Workshop is holding general auditions in hopes of finding performers for a truly mighty slate of upcoming projects.  We are looking for people who have a way with puppets, but who might also have other skills, such as acrobatics, aerialism, dance, clowning, or acting. 

The first of the upcoming projects is called Ghost Opera, which we are producing in partnership with Calgary Opera, and which will premiere in residence at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada; we need people from roughly April 1^st to June 9^th, 2019.  We are also looking for people to join our touring ensemble, which will be performing in potentially several different shows in rep on a semi-sporadic basis around Canada, the U.S., and Europe for the next few years.

Please prepare a short two to three-minute video of a puppet piece set to this aria from Hansel and Gretel.

The puppet you use should be created out of a piece of fabric with a solid head – the head can be a conventional puppet head, doll head, something that closely resembles a head, or an actual severed head (as a last resort, only, please).

The performance piece does not have to strictly adhere to the content of the aria, but certainly could if you’re inspired to go that direction; the puppet does not have to pretend to be singing the words, either, but it would be sort of impressive if it did.  SOME sort of connection to the music will be good to see, however you choose to interpret that directive.  But the most important thing is to demonstrate your ability to bring the puppet to life, making a particular effort to give the puppet a palpable relationship to gravity (what we call “fixed point”), a strong sense of where it’s looking, which communicates intention and contemplation (“focus”), and a connection between the breath of the character and the performer that communicates the holding and release of tension.  Which is to say: have the puppet climb something, see something in the distance, and desire that thing (or be afraid of it, if you like), and then jump (or fall) back down.  There should be an arc to the piece that demonstrates a beginning and an end, but don’t drive yourself bonkers – we’re not looking for an act of flabbergasting creative genius, which ingeniously subverts the instructions and makes us re-think who we are and why we’re here – really we just want to see how you wiggle the dolly.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume and a short cover letter via email, with the subject line “Your Next Great Puppeteer” to:

• mail@theoldtrouts.org 
• along with your video in either a You Tube or Vimeo link format.
• Deadline for submission is Friday June 22, 2018.

If you have questions, or need further information, please email:

• Peter Balkwill              pete@theoldtrouts.org