2025 Colorado Shakespeare Festival Audition Announcement

The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson, CSF 2022

The deadline for submitting to the 2025 prescreening process has concluded and we will not be able to receive any further applications at this time. Please check back in September 2025 for information regarding the 2026 season.

This announcement will remain posted for reference until our callback process has come to an end.

COLORADO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AUDITION ANNOUNCEMENT 2025

Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF) will be producing a three-show season of Shakespeare’s plays on the Roe Green Indoor Theatre in the summer of 2025. The contract dates are May 20 – August 10, 2025. CSF will be accepting headshots and resumes for actors to be considered for live and video general auditions. We hold live general auditions each season in Boulder and Denver, Colorado, in addition to considering video auditions from qualified candidates. CSF provides housing and travel support to a limited number of actors not local to the Denver / Boulder area.

Plays being produced in our 2025 season will be announced in late October 2024. Please visit our homepage at the end of that month for a complete list of productions.

CSF hires approximately six (6) AEA on three-show contracts, and nine (9) non-AEA actors on two- or three-show contracts.

COMPENSATION

  • AEA contracts range between $788.00 and $838.00 per week—depending on two- or three-show contracts—for twelve (12) weeks.
  • non-AEA contracts range between $396.00 and $600.00 per week depending on number of productions and understudy assignments.
  • Internship compensation is $250.00 per week for twelve (12) weeks.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSIDERATION

  • Applicant must have received Shakespeare training or equivalent experience.
  • Applicant must have at least one (1) professional Shakespeare production credential or equivalent experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Stage actor training at an MFA level or higher (or equivalent experience).
  • Training and applied experience in stage combat.
  • Dialect ability and fluency in languages other than English.
  • Training and applied experience in singing of any style (jazz, folk, opera, choral, non-western, etc.).
  • Training and applied experience in acrobatics and/or dance of any style (jazz, hip hop, aerial, tap, ballroom, etc.).
  • Mid- to advanced-level training and applied experience in musical instrument performance of any type.

TO REQUEST A GENERAL AUDITION
Headshots and resumes will be accepted starting September 16th, 2024, at 9am MDT through October 14th, 2024, at 5pm MDT for review. Please submit your materials via our online form for consideration. Audition requests should include the following:

  • Your full name, preferred email address, and direct phone number.
  • A PDF of your current headshot and acting resume (in one file).
  • Your AEA status (AEA or non-AEA). Please include if you intend to join AEA prior to May 2025.
  • Your preferred medium for auditioning, pending review of your materials.
    • If you are requesting a live general audition, please identify all immovable time restrictions (we will do our best to accommodate but cannot guarantee anything at this time).
    • If you would need to travel from out of state to audition, please request a video audition.

If you have worked for CSF as an actor in the last two (2) seasons, and wish to be considered for the 2025 season, you do not need to do a general audition. Please contact Kurt Mehlenbacher at [email protected] to inform us of your interest and you may be invited to callbacks, considered without any audition, or made an offer directly.

No phone calls, please. Submissions received prior to 9am on September 16th will not be considered.

The deadline to submit your pre-screening materials is Monday, October 14th, 2024 by 5pm MDT.

Invitations to attend the live general auditions or submit a video audition will be sent out starting on Monday, October 21th, 2024 and continue through that week. An assigned audition slot and / or further instructions will also be sent out at this time.

Monday, November 4th — If invited to submit a general audition video, the deadline to submit is 5pm MDT. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Friday, November 8th — BOULDER CU Student general auditions (3pm to 5pm, by assigned appointment): Department of Theatre & Dance C342, University of Colorado Boulder Theatre & Dance Building, Boulder, CO, 80309.

Saturday, November 9th —
DENVER AEA general auditions (9am to 5pm, by assigned appointment): Denver University Department of Theatre, Johnson McFarlane Hall (JMAC), 1903 East Iliff Avenue, Denver, CO 80210. Room TBD.

Monday & Tuesday, November 11th & 12th — BOULDER AEA overflow days (by assigned appointment): University of Colorado Boulder Theatre & Dance Building, Boulder, CO, 80309.

AUDITION MATERIALS

For live general auditions, please bring with you one (1) hardcopy of your headshot and resume stapled together or printed back-to-back.

For all general auditions, please prepare two (2) contrasting classical monologues, no more than two (2) minutes in length total (each piece should not exceed 1 minute in duration). One (1) monologue must be comedic, one (1) must be dramatic, and at least one of the two should be Shakespeare.

CU ACTING INTERNSHIPS

CSF will consider all THDN undergraduate students who audition for the 2025 season as an applicant for a CU Acting Internship. Students must be currently enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder for Academic Year 2024/2025 (AY24/25). Please follow the above instructions to receive an audition appointment for Friday, November 8th to be considered for an internship. Please be sure to identify yourself as a CU student to ensure appropriate placement. All internship applicants are required to apply for work-study for Summer 2025.

CALLBACKS
Live callbacks will be held in Boulder, CO on the University of Colorado Boulder campus on December 7th and 8th, from 9am to 5pm. Notifications of a callback—both live and video—will be sent via email (with sides) starting November 11th. The deadline for video callbacks is Monday, December 2nd, 2024 by 5pm MST.

Auditions are screened by Tim Orr, CSF Producing Artistic Director, and Wendy Franz, CSF Managing Director.

As a unit within the University of Colorado Boulder, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival is committed to building a culturally diverse community dedicated to contributing to an inclusive environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer.

Submit Materials for Pre-Screening