AMERICAN COAST THEATER COMPANY

SEEKING VIRTUAL SUBMISSIONS FOR:

 

CHESS THE MUSICAL

A lightly staged Rock Opera Concert

By Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA, lyrics by Tim Rice

 

Rehearsal Dates: May 6 – June 5, 2024 at the Lyceum Theater in Costa Mesa.

Performance Dates: June 6 – 16. There is some pay for principles.

 

VIDEO SUBMISSION:

Please submit an upbeat rock opera song with proper belt or mixed vocal in respective range. Looking for rock tenors, baritones, basses, and soprano 1 & 2. All roles available. Songs from CHESS are encouraged. Physicalize the character with emotional truth/depth. Video auditions should be submitted to SKBerkompas@gmail.com with subject CHESS Submission. Include headshot/resume.

Deadline: Submit an unlisted U-Tube channel link in the email by January 3.

 

IN-PERSON CALLBACK:

A group callback will be held in-person on January 9 from 6pm – 9pm, by invitation. Callbacks will include more singing from the show; sides, and possibly a prepared dramatic monologue. Sides will be provided to those in advance by January 5 via email.

 

DESCRIPTION:

CHESS is set in the 1980s during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It is a story about the romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, one Russian and one American, and the Hungarian-born American woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.

 

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

FLORENCE – strong belt voice (to E). 20s-30s. Born in Hungary, has been brought up in America. She is clever, theatrical, touching, vivacious, volatile.

 

FREDDIE – rock Tenor (to C). late 20s-30s. An American chess champion. A cross between Bobby Fisher and John McEnroe. Arrogant and temperamental, but a genius; his chess playing is revolutionary. Artistry, obsessiveness, and danger.

 

ANATOLY – Baritone (to G sharp). 30s-early 40s. A Russian chess champion. Unexpectedly charming. Doesn’t seem like a romantic hero at first but becomes one. Intelligent, feeling, passionate.

 

MOLOKOV – Bass (down to F sharp). 40s-50s. Not a fake, comic, stage Russian. Intellectually formidable. Seemingly a father figure to Florence. Anatoly’s chess “second”. An actor who sings well.

 

SVETLANA – strong belt Soprano 2 voice. 30s. Anatoly’s wife. Domestic, wholesome, homey. A dramatic contrast to Florence. Not a contemporary cosmopolitan woman.

 

WALTER – Bass-Baritone (down to G sharp). 50s. A marketing agent. Seemingly respectable, substantial, trustworthy. An actor who sings well.

 

ARBITER – rock high Baritone (up to A). 30s-40s. International businessman. Smooth, but with a quick temper.

 

MALE & FEMALE ENSEMBLE: Need 15 strong singers who can act.

 

All genders, races, ethnicities, ages, and abilities are encouraged to submit.