Audition SignUp Form for Summer Youth Theatre 2023
Summer Youth Theatre 2023:
The Memorandum
by Václav Havel
Directed by Jelena Stojiljkovic Rhynes
Audition/Interviews May 13, 24, 31—by appointment only
Rehearsals June-July
Performances July 21-29, 2023
The VORTEX seeks students ages 13-17 to participate in Summer Youth Theatre 2023 (SYT). Now in its 31st year, this award-winning, tuition-free program rehearses and performs evenings and weekends. Rehearsals culminate in a full production of The Memorandum, by Václav Havel, presented to the public July 21-29, 2023. The Memorandum parodies bureaucracy and conformity.
Students of any ethnicity, heritage, gender, ability, economic background, and experience level are welcome to audition to be a part of an ensemble of diverse youth who train together as they rehearse and perform this stylish satire.
Summer Youth Theatre cultivates the tools of theatre: teamwork, focus, discipline, precision, communication, and artistry. In addition to the rigorous rehearsal process, students receive experience in production with hands-on workdays. Theatre professionals mentor the aspiring young artists with Saturday masterclasses, providing an array of diverse theatre skills.
AUDITION/INTERVIEWS:
By appointment at vortex@vortexrep.org.
Please submit an application online (see form, below) or by mail.
Prepare a memorized, one-minute monologue from a play.
A parent/guardian is required to attend the interview.
Students interested in design and technical theatre should also apply for an interview.
ABOUT THE VORTEX’S SUMMER YOUTH THEATRE:
For several generations, Summer Youth Theatre (SYT) has provided high-caliber theatrical productions to Austin audiences as the jewel of The VORTEX’s educational and community engagement. 2021’s Pandemdem Edition received the B. Iden Payne Award for Jessica Cohen’s Outstanding Original Song. The Austin Chronicle named SYT “Best Theatre Program that Treats Kids like Grownups.” Nominated for dozens of local awards, SYT has received B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Production of a Play for Youth for The Commedia of Errors and Machinal, Outstanding Direction of a Play for Youth for The Commedia of Errors, The Physicists, Moby Dick, and The Frogs, Outstanding Acting for The Physicists and Moby Dick, and Outstanding Sound Design for Machinal. Every year, students work with adult artists who are among Austin’s most celebrated theatre professionals. Bonnie Cullum founded SYT in 1991 and was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame in 2009.
The VORTEX Summer Youth Theatre students receive instruction in theatre arts that is equivalent to 3 credits under the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Fine Arts, Theatre Levels 117.64, 65, 66, 67. The SYT program teaches students ages 13-17 and spans grades 6-12 (middle school through high school). The VORTEX Summer Youth Theatre provides an education, which, by TEKS standards, is equivalent to or higher than High School Theatre Arts II, Technical Theatre I, and Theatre Production II. The VORTEX has developed this curriculum over thirty years.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Václav Havel wrote The Memorandum in 1965 as an ironic satire dissenting against communist rule. Despite its veiled themes, the play was approved by government censors and published. Havel was eventually imprisoned for his political activities from 1979-1983. He went on to become the final President of Czechoslovakia in 1989 and then the first democratically-elected President of the Czech Republic in 1993. The Memorandum is broadly considered Václav Havel’s masterpiece.
The VORTEX Mission:
We conjure urgent, unashamed art to create action in a shifting age. We embrace diverse communities, break down barriers, and elevate inclusive discourse from our cultural harbor in Austin, Texas. We enliven humanity with magical green new theatre at our Butterfly Bar and Sanctuary.
The VORTEX Core Values:
Our core values are encompassed by the Pentacle of Integrity: Transformation, Magic, Community, Diversity, and Earth. Integrity lives at our core. We engage in radical transformation through edge-walking artistic creations and innovations. Magic emanates from our cultural harbor, engaging Spirit. Our space and our culture support expanding circles of inclusive community. Our art reflects diversity of people and voices from the global majority. Sustainability and environmentalism center Earth at our foundation.
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Sponsorships and community donations subsidize these tuition-free opportunities for youth. Please contact us at vortex@vortexrep.org to support these crucial educational opportunities. Summer Youth Theatre 2023 is also funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, Six Square Austin’s Black Cultural District, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin Cultural Contracts.