All auditions take place at The Sauk (240 E. Chicago St. in Jonesville, MI) unless otherwise noted. ​​​​​​


A Christmas Carol

Audition Dates: October 14, 15 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: December 5-8, 12-15, 2024


Auditions will consist of readings from the play. No preparation necessary. No experience necessary. There are roles for 8 women, 8 men, 3 teen males, 2 teen females, 2 boys (to play age 8) and 1 girl (to play age 10). This production will be directed by Trinity Bird. 


About the Play

​Once there was a boy named Ebenezer. Although his youth was filled with many challenges, he was happy. Until he found himself alone. Now, known simply by his last name – Scrooge – he lives a secluded life away from family and devoid of friends. What happens one Christmas Eve when shadows of past, present and future remind Scrooge what it feels like to be happy? This original adaptation of A Christmas Carol was written specifically for The Sauk by Executive Director Trinity Bird. It the story you know and love with a few new surprises!


Available Roles: 

  • ​STORYTELLER - 30 to 40. A father-figure. 
  • YOUNG EBENEZER - Approximately age 8. Despite his mother’s death, a happy child. 
  • YOUNG FAN - Approximately age 14. Ebenezer’s protector. 
  • EBENEZER - Plays ages 15 to 18. A bitter teen becoming a man and still hopeful there is some good in the world. 
  • FAN - Approximately age 21. A smart young woman. 
  • SCROOGE - Approximately 40-50.
  • FLOWER VENDOR - Female. Any age. 
  • FATHER VALENTINE - Catholic priest. 
  • BOB CRATCHITT - Scrooge’s clerk. Father to Tiny Tim. 
  • CHARITY MAN - A representative of an early toy donation charity. 
  • CHARITY WOMAN - A representative of an early toy donation charity. 
  • BRENDA - Approximately 25-30. Fan’s grown daughter. High-spirited. Warm-hearted. 
  • THE GHOST OF JACOB MARLEY - Scrooge’s business partner. Been dead seven years. 
  • THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST - A beautiful woman. All-knowing. Direct. Honest.
  • HEADMASTER - Drunk. Does not like children. 
  • DICK WILKINS - age 15. Scrooge’s best friend. 
  • MR. FEZZIWIG - Teen Scrooge’s employer. Host of the best Christmas party ever. 
  • MRS. FEZZIWIG - His charming, over-the-top wife. 
  • BELLE - Ebenezer’s girlfriend. 
  • TINY TIM - One of the Cratchit children. Age 12. Looks younger. Uses a crutch. 
  • BELINDA CRATCHIT - Bob’s wife. A loving mother.
  • MARTHA CRACTHIT - The oldest child. 16.
  • PETER CRATCHIT - The oldest boy. 14.
  • LUCY CRACTCHIT - The youngest girl. 10.
  • MATHEW CRATCHIT - The youngest boy. 8. 
  • THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT - A sassy, blunt, honest woman.
  • FRED - Brenda’s husband. 
  • THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS YET TO COME. A terrifying presence. 
  • STORYTELLER’S SON
  • Ensemble of townspeople, party guests, etc.



My Fair Lady

Audition Dates: November 16 at 2 p.m., November 17 at 6 p.m.
Performance Dates: January 30-February 2, 6-9, 2025


Audition requirements will be announced at a later date. Trinity Bird will direct with musical direction by Kristi Gautsche. Allison Tappen will stage manage. 

About the Play
Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady is that rare musical by which all others are measured. The tale of a cockney flower girl transformed into an elegant lady features one of musical theatre’s greatest scores, including: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?,” “With a Little Bit of Luck,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” Eliza Doolittle is a young flower seller with an unmistakable Cockney accent which keeps her in the lower rungs of Edwardian society. When Professor Henry Higgins tries to teach her how to speak like a proper lady, an unlikely friendship begins to flourish.  


Available Roles

  • ELIZA DOOLITTLE* - A cockney flower girl from Lisson Grove working outside Covent Garden. Her potential to become "a lady" becomes the object of a bet between Higgins and Pickering. 
  • COLONEL PICKERING* - Retired British officer with colonial experience and the author of "Spoken Sanskrit." 
  • MRS. EYNSFORD-HILL - A friend of Mrs. Higggins' and Freddy's mother. 
  • MRS. HIGGINS - Henry's long-suffering mother. 
  • HENRY HIGGINS* - British, upper class professional bachelor, world famous phonetics expert, teacher and author of "Higgins' Universal Alphabet." 
  • FREDDY EYNSFORD-HILL* - Upper class young man who becomes completely smitten with Eliza. 
  • ALFRED P. DOOLITTLE* - Eliza's father; an elderly but vigorous dustman. 
  • BARTENDER - George, works the Tottenham Court Road Pub. 
  • HARRY* - Drinking companion of Alfred Doolittle. 
  • JAMIE* - Drinking companion of Alfred Doolittle. 
  • MRS. PEARCE* - Henry Higgin's housekeeper. 
  • MRS. HOPKINS - A cockney woman of Tottenham Court. 
  • PROFESSOR ZOLTAN KARPATHY - A bearded Hungarian; former phonetics student of Henry Higgins. 
  • A BYSTANDER - Opening a bystander outside Covent. 
  • FIRST COCKNEY, SECOND COCKNEY, THIRD COCKNEY - In Covent Garden Market, with a Fourth Cockney they form the male COCKNEY QUARTET. 
  • Large ensemble - BUTLER, FOOTMAN, LORD BOXINGTON, FLOWER GIRL, FOOTMAN, SECOND FOOTMAN, SELSEY MAN, HOXTON MAN, TWO MAIDS, THREE BUSKER, SIX SERVANTS, TWO STEWARDS, ANGRY WOMAN, ANGRY MAN, CHARLES, POLICEMAN, QUEEN OF TRANSYLVANIA, MAID, etc.

*denotes Principal Vocal Parts



Small Mouth Sounds

Audition Dates: February 1 and 2 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: April 3-6, 2025


Audition requirements will be announced at a later date. Bruce Crews will direct. 


About the Play

In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward humor, this strange and compassionate new play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.


Available Roles

  • The Teacher - A disembodied, androgynous voice with a strange, slightly accented way of talking. 
  • Joan, late 40s, wears a lot of clothes and jewelry from India. She is a therapist and sex educator in colleges, high school and in private practice with couples. 
  • Judy, maybe 50, is Joan's partner. She works at "O" magazine as a top editor in the art department. 
  • ​Alicia, thirty-ish, strawberry-blonde from Southern California. She is the kind of person who manages to make a lot of noise even when she "in silence."
  • Ned, somewhere in his 40s, has had a severe run of bad luck worse than the worst country-western song.
  • Rodney, mid-30s, ageless, fit, gorgeous, grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and teaches yoga. 
  • Jan, 50-ish, is from a small town in Finland. He is pale and sweet, with a wide-eyed, continually curious air about him. 



Sauk Shorts

Audition Dates: March 3 and 4 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: April 24-27, 2025


Auditions consist of readings from the various scripts. Titles, director and production team to be announced. Joella Hendrickson will stage manage. 




Oklahoma!

Audition Dates: March 17 and 18 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: June 5-8, 12-15, 2025


Audition requirements will be announced at a future date. Trinity Bird will direct with musical direction by Kristi Gautsche. Gay Shaw will be vocal coach. 


About the Play

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, setting the standards and rules of modern musical theatre. In a Western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey, as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road, contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination and the promise of a new land.


Available Roles

  • Aunt Eller
  • Curly
  • Laurey
  • Ike Skidmore
  • Fred
  • Slim
  • Will Parker
  • Jud Fry
  • Ado Annie Carnes
  • Ali Hakim
  • Gertie Cummings
  • Ellen
  • Kate
  • Sylvie
  • Armina
  • Aggie
  • Andrew Carnes
  • Cord Elam
  • Mike
  • Joe
  • Sam



The 24-Hour Theatre Project

Audition Date: May 9 at 8 p.m.
Performance Date: May 10 at 8 p.m.


Each person will have up to two minutes to show off what they can do (perform a monologue, tell a story, sing a song, dance, perform a special skill or a combination of these things) . Please remember the writers and directors are looking for your strengths but can only judge their reactions based on what they see you do. Anyone age 15 and older can audition. Actors cast in the project must be available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. Playwrights and directors TBA.



Winnie The Pooh

Audition Dates: May 30 at 7 p.m., May 31 at 2 p.m.
Performance Dates: July 18-20, 25-27, 2025


Audition requirements will be announced at a later date. Director TBA. 


About the Play

This play is a faithful adaptation of A. A. Milne’s first book of Pooh stories: Winnie-the-Pooh. Welcome to Christopher Robin’s “100 Aker Wood”, home of all your favorite childhood friends: Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, Roo and of course that “hunny” loving bear, Pooh. Balloons, Heffalumps and Donkey-tails take the stage and everyone celebrates at a woodsy party.


Available Roles

  • Storyteller
  • Mr. Milne
  • Mr. Shepard
  • Christopher Robin
  • Winnie-The-Pooh
  • Rabbit
  • Piglet
  • Eeyore
  • Owl
  • Kanga
  • Roo



Jesus Christ Superstar

Audition Dates: June 9 and 10 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: August 14-17, 21-24, 2025


Audition requirements will be announced at a later date. Trinity Bird will direct with musical direction by Kristi Gautsche. Sarah Kilgore will choreograph. Gay Shaw will be vocal coach. Allison Tappen will stage manage. 


About the Play

What’s the buzz? The first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be produced for the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar has wowed audiences for over 50 years. A timeless work, the rock opera is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Superstar follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Gethsemane.” A true global phenomenon and perfect pick for schools, community theaters and professionals alike, Superstar continues to touch new generations of audiences and performers.


Available Roles

  • JESUS (Male) Rock Tenor. Leader of the twelve Apostles, a man, called the "Son of God" and the "King of the Jews".
  • JUDAS (Male) Rock Tenor. Arguably the antagonist of the show. One of the twelve apostles of Jesus; concerned for the poor and the consequences of Jesus' fame.
  • MARY MAGDALENE (Female) Exotic/Beautiful Belter A female follower of Jesus who finds herself falling in love with him. The role requires an actress that can show grace, stability, weakness and compassion.
  • PILATE (Male) Rock Baritone. Governor of Judea who foresees the events of Jesus' crucifixion from beginning to aftermath in a dream and finds himself being presented with that very situation.
  • KING HEROD (Male) High Baritone. The King of Galilee; Jesus is brought to him for judgment after first being taken to Pilate.
  • PETER (Male) Tenor. One of Jesus' twelve apostles; denies Jesus three times upon the night of Jesus' arrest to save himself.
  • SIMON (Male) High Baritone. One of Jesus' twelve apostles; urges Jesus to lead his followers into battle against the Romans.
  • CAIAPHAS (Male) Low Bass with Rocky Top. High priest who sees Jesus as a threat to the nation.
  • ANNAS (Male) High Baritone. Fellow priest at the side of Caiaphas who is persuaded by Caiaphas into seeing Jesus as a threat.
  • ENSEMBLE (Male) Must be strong movers AND good rock / pop sounds.
  • ENSEMBLE (Female) 3 Soul Girls will also come out of the ensemble. Must be strong movers who have good rock / pop sounds.



Plays-in-Development

Audition Dates: June 16 and 17 at 7 p.m.
Reading Dates: July 11, 12, 2025


Auditions will consist of readings from the scripts. Scripts and directors TBA. 



Girls' Weekend

Audition Dates: July 18 and 20 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: September 11-14, 2025


Audition requirements to be announced at a later date. Chris Dube will direct.  


About the Play

​In this lightning-quick farce, four women travel to Dot’s Northwoods cabin to consume copious amounts of wine, laugh at their lives, trade stories and chat about their book club’s latest selection. However, after the third case of wine comes through the door, it becomes clear there will be more stewing than reviewing. Carol, who is monitoring her temperature for the best “window of opportunity” to get pregnant, gets a ride to the cabin from her husband, Rick, who is hoping the “time is right” for a quick tryst. She sends him home, frustrated, in a snowstorm, only to discover that her temperature shows she IS ready, and calls him to drive back and hide out in a shed until she can sneak him in with a special porchlight signal. Meg, recently widowed, is having a secret affair with Dot’s son, only to find he has shown up at the cabin unexpectedly and wants to further their relationship in stealth. Meg sends him to hide in a boathouse until he sees her special porchlight signal and the coast is clear to rejoin her in the cabin. Ellie, the youngest and Meg’s daughter, would rather not be a part of the weekend with her “elders” and meets a young townie, inviting him to hide out in a barn. When he sees her special porchlight signal, he climbs into her bedroom window and sneaks her out to a local bar after the other ladies retire. The only obstacle to each of the ladies’ secret endeavors is Dot, who wants to stay up all night and party with the girls. So they make sure they ply her with plenty of party favors, and Dot proceeds to pass out. The ladies move Dot’s lifeless body from floor to closet to room, as the bottles tip up, the secrets spill out and the men sneak in. The madcap, door-slamming chaos comes to a head when Dot wakes up and discovers her girls’ weekend is full of men!


Available Roles

  • DOT: 50- to 6-something. Orchestrates the weekend. Has a 30-something-year-old son, Stephen. 
  • MEG: 40s. Dating Stephen. Has a 20-something-year-old daughter, Ellie
  • CAROL: 30s. Trying to have a baby with her husband, Rick. 
  • ELLIE: 20s. Single. Free spirit. Doesn't really want to be there.
  • STEPHEN: 30s. Dot's son. In a relationship with Meg.
  • RICK: 30s. Carol's husband.
  • SHERIFF TOM LANE: 40s. Divorced. Newly elected. 
  • BUBBA: 20s. Townie. Went to college with Ellie. Currently working for his dad. 



The Outsiders

Audition Dates: August 18 and 19 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: October 16-19, 23-26, 2025


Auditions will consist of readings from the script. No preparation necessary. No experience necessary. Trinity Bird will direct this production. Mandee Leigh Howard will stage manage. 


About the Play

S.E. Hinton, who wrote this modern classic when she was 16 years old, comments: "The Outsiders, like most things I write, is written from a boy's point of view. That's why I'm listed as S.E. Hinton rather than Susan. (I figured most boys would look at the book and think 'What can a chick know about stuff like that!') None of the events are taken from life, but the rest—how kids think and live and feel—is for real. The characters—Dallas, who wasn't tough enough; Sodapop, the happy-go-lucky dropout; Bob, the rich kid whose arrogance cost him his life; Ponyboy, the sensitive, green-eyed Greaser who didn't want to be a hood—they're all real to me. Many of my friends are Greasers, but I'm not. I have friends who are rich, too, but nobody will ever call me a Soc—I've seen what money and too much idle time and parental approval can do to people. Cool people mean nothing to me—they're living behind masks and I'm always wondering "Is there a real person underneath?" This entirely practical stage adaptation deals with real people, seen through the eyes of young Ponyboy, a Greaser on the wrong side of life, caught up in territorial battles between the have-it-made rich kids—the Socs—and his tough, underprivileged "greaser" family and friends. In the midst of urban warfare, somehow Ponyboy can't forget a short poem that speaks of their fragile young lives:

          Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold.
          Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour.
          Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief,
          so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

"Robert Frost wrote it," Ponyboy tells Johnny. "I always remembered it because I never quite got what he meant by it." Cherry, a beautiful Soc, comes to share a special sensitivity with Ponyboy as she discovers that he remembers poems and needs to watch sunsets. At the same time, Cherry's attracted to the older, tougher Dallas, and in a sense she's caught in the violent space between the Greasers and the Socs. While the Socs appear to have everything, the only thing a Greaser has is his friends. As these young people try to find themselves and each other, as the sadness of sophistication begins to reach them and their battles and relationships reach a resolution, Ponyboy's dying friend, Johnny, sends him a last message … I've been thinking about the poem that guy wrote. He meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep it that way. It's a good way to be. This is a play about young people who are not yet hopeless about latent decency in the midst of struggle.


Available Roles

  • PONYBOY - in his early teens, a greaser
  • JOHNNY - Ponyboy's friend, in his early teens
  • BOB - a Soc
  • RANDY - a Soc
  • DALLAS - early 20s, a greaser
  • TWO-BIT - early 20s, a greaser
  • DARRY - Ponyboy's oldest brother, 20-years-old
  • SODAPOP - Ponyboy's second oldest brother, mid teens
  • SANDY - Sodapop' girlfriend
  • CHERRY - a Soc
  • MARCIA - Cherry's friend
  • MRS. O'BRIANT - a parent
  • JERRY - a parent
  • DOCTOR - at the hospital
  • NURSE - at the hospital
  • MR. SYME - an English teacher
  • PAUL - early 20s, a Soc



The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Audition Dates: October 20 and 21 at 7 p.m.
Performance Dates: December 4-7, 11-14, 2025


Audition requirements to be announced at a later date. Tim Ambrose will direct. 


About the Play
This dramatization of C.S. Lewis' classic work faithfully recreates the magic and mystery of Aslan, the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of four children who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia. The intense action features chases, duels and escapes as the witch is determined to keep Narnia in her possession and to end the reign of Aslan. All the memorable episodes from the story are represented in this exciting dramatization: the temptation of Edmund by the witch, the slaying of the evil wolf by Peter, the witnessing of Aslan's resurrection by Susan and Lucy, the crowing of the four new rulers of Narnia, and more. The supporting characters are also here: the unicorn, the centaur and other forest animals, along with Father Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and Tumnus the Faun. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is a true celebration of life. 


Available Roles

  • ASLAN - a great lion
  • WHITE WITCH - an evil queen
  • LUCY
  • EDMUND
  • SUSAN
  • PETER
  • MR. BEAVER
  • MRS. BEAVER
  • UNICORN
  • CENTAUR
  • TUMNUS - a faun
  • FENRIS ULF - a wolf, head of the Witch's secret police
  • DWARF - a servant to the Witch
  • FATHER CHRISTMAS - a bringer of gifts
  • ELF - Father Christmas' helper
  • WHITE STAG - an elusive omen of good fortune. 
  • ENSEMBLE consisting of Aslan's followers, the Witch's Army and Wood Nymphs. 
HILLSDALE COUNTY'S COMMUNITY THEATRE