Singing Lessons - Columbia University

Columbia University
New York, NY
US

CONTACT NAME

Brennan Urbi

Job Details

DESCRIPTION

SINGING LESSONS

Written and Composed by Edison Hong

Directed by Brennan Urbi

Dramaturgy by Zihe Tian

Produced by XiaoYan Zhu & Xiaoyu Mai

About the Project:

SINGING LESSONS follows Miles, a neuroscience PhD candidate who is studying how songbirds learn to sing. Teal 25, the Australian Zebra Finch he is studying, has stopped singing however and Miles's research is brought to a halt. Miles tries in every way to get his study back on track in this show that dives into the immensity of neuroscience and the whimsy of magical realism.

This is a non-union project developed at Columbia University School of the Arts | For 2nd Year MFA students, under the guidance of Anne Bogart, Brian Kulick, and Lynn Nottage. SAG-AFTRA actors are eligible.

Rehearsals: Jan 31st - March 1st

Tech : Feb 27th

Performance: March 7th -8th

Auditions:

Submit to [email protected]

Please send any monologue, scene, or text you feel excited to share.

If interested in chorus please send a 16 bar cut as well as your experience and comfortability with part singing.

Attach Headshot and Resume.

In the body of the email please include anything else you would like us to know (accessibility needs, an intro, your favorite movie, or a hey)

Submit to [email protected] by January 16th

Character Breakdowns:

MILES - 27 - Male - A neuroscientist PhD candidate who is studying how songbirds learn how to sing. His intelligence is a double edged sword that has both helped him on his journey in his field but also fuels his existentialist questions about who he is, the greatest of those questions surrounding his childhood without his father.

DAVID - 40’s - Male - Principal Investigator who oversees MILES and JUNE in the lab. He has staked his life on making his lab a success and is willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to make it so.

JUAN - 40’s - Male - MILES’s father. Superficially friendly and warm, but a lost soul underneath the surface.

CHORUS - 20-40 - Male - Group of 3 Men who will sing vocal interludes. Must be a STRONG part singer. This will require complex 3 part harmonies tonally similar to Meridith Monk.

JUNE - 27 - Female - A fellow neuroscientist PhD candidate whose warmer personality traits only come through when she is not focused on her research goals. With a grandparent who has a neurodegenerative disease, she is convicted in continuing her work. *THIS ROLE IS CAST*

TEAL - Acts like 25 but actually 8 months old - Male - A used-to-be bird but now-a-human, he is now exploring what it means to be human as he reflects on what it meant to be a bird. Whatever bro-ish demeanor he may have contrasts with his genuine curiosity of the new world that he has found himself in. *THIS ROLE IS CAST*

EQUITY STATEMENT

Singing Lessons values Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity as one of our primary guiding principles. We are committed to sustaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable space where everyone feels valued and respected regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, or ability.

DURATION

Jan 31, 2025 - Mar 8, 2025

SALARY

$0.00 – $0.00 per hour

HOW TO APPLY

APPLY BY EMAIL

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