Thalian Association Community Theatre will hold auditions for their 2025 Azalea Festival Show, Mary Poppins, February 10 and February 11 at 7 pm. Auditions will be held at the Community Arts Center, 120 S. 2nd Street in downtown Wilmington. The production, directed by Emily Graham with assistant direction by Benjamin Thomas-Reid, runs April 4 through April 15 at Historic Thalian Hall.
Please prepare 16 bars of a musical theatre style song to sing along with the sheet music. An accompanist will be provided.
PLEASE CALL 910-251-1788 TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT TIME.
Callbacks will be Wednesday February 12 at the Community Arts Center. Please be prepared to read from a provided script, sing from the show, and attend a dance call.
Actors of all ethnicities and racial backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to audition for our entire season! All roles are available. New people are always welcome! Please note: the role of Mary Poppins and Bert will be expected to fly if the actor is able.
Roles:
Bert
The narrator of the story is a good friend to Mary Poppins. An everyman, Bert has many occupations, including hurdy-gurdy player, sidewalk artist and chimney sweep. Bert watches over the children as well as the goings on in Cherry Tree Lane. He has charm, speaks with a Cockney accent and is a song-and-dance man. Looking for a strong singer/actor/dancer.
Gender: male
Vocal range top: F#4
Vocal range bottom: B2
George Banks
The father to Jane and Michael Banks, is a banker to the very fiber of his being. Demanding “precision and order” in his household, he is a pipe-and-slippers man who doesn’t have much to do with his children and believes that he had the perfect upbringing by his nanny, the cruel Miss Andrew. His emotional armor, however, conceals a sensitive soul.
Gender: male
Vocal range top: Eb4
Vocal range bottom: Bb2
Winifred Banks
George’s wife and Jane and Michael’s mother. A former actress, she is loving and distracted homemaker who is busy trying to live up to her husband’s desire to only associate with “the best people” as well as be the model wife and mother. She suffers from the conflicting feelings that she’s not up to the job of “being Mrs. Banks,” yet, she is, and more.
Gender: female
Vocal range top: D5
Vocal range bottom: A3
Jane
The high-spirited daughter of Mr. and Mr. Banks is bright and precocious but can be willful and inclined to snobbishness.
Gender: female
Age: 9 +
Vocal range top: F#5
Vocal range bottom: A3
Michael
The cute and cheeky son of Mr. and Mrs. Banks. Excitable and naughty, he adores his father and tries to be like him. Both he and Jane misbehave in order to get the attention of their parents.
Gender: male
Age 9 +
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: A3
Katie Nanna
Jane and Michael’s nanny at the beginning of the show. Overwhelmed and upset, she has absolutely had her fill of the Banks children.
Gender: female
Miss Lark
The haughty next-door neighbor of the Banks family treats her dog, Willoughby, as if she were child.
Gender: female
Admiral Boom
A retired Royal Navy man and neighbor of the Banks family. A physically large man with a loud and booming voice, he speaks in Navy jargon and has a soft spot for his neighbor, Miss Lark.
Gender: male
Mrs. Brill
The housekeeper and cook for the Banks family. Overworked and harassed, she’s always complaining that the house is understaffed. Her intimidating exterior is a cover for the warmth underneath. Mrs. Brill doesn’t have a high opinion of nannies in general and Mary Poppins in particular.
Vocal range top: D#5
Vocal range bottom: F#3
Robertson Ay
The houseboy to the Banks family. Lazy, sleepy and grumbling, he never gets things right and believes himself to be useless.
Vocal range top: G#4
Vocal range bottom: F3
Mary Poppins
Jane and Michael Banks’s new nanny. She is extraordinary and strange, neat and tidy, delightfully vain yet particular, and sometimes a little frightening but always exciting. She is practically perfect in every way and always means what she says. A mezzo soprano with strong top notes, she should be able to move well. Precision and diction are key. Looking for a strong singer/actor/dancer.
Vocal range top: C6
Vocal range bottom: Gb3
Park Keeper
Uniformed and officious, he makes sure no one breaks park regulations. His life is defined by rules, but he secretly hankers after his childhood.
Neleus
The statue of a young boy posed with a dolphin in the park. Neleus was separated from his father, Poseidon, and misses him very much. A small and lonely being, he is very happy to befriend Jane and Michael. A strong dancer.
Gender: male
Queen Victoria
A statue in the park.
Gender: female
Age: 40 to 40
Bank Chairman
The head of the bank where Mr. Banks is employed, is an Edwardian stuffed-shirt.
Gender: male
Age: 50 and older
Vocal range top: D4
Vocal range bottom: C3
Miss Smythe
The Bank Chairman’s humorless secretary.
Gender: female
Ensemble
Annie, Fannie, Valentine, Teddy Bear, Mr. Punch, Doll, Chimney Sweeps, Toys, Parkgoers.
Von Hussler
A businessman seeking a loan from the bank for a shady business deal. He speaks with a German accent.
Gender: male
Age: 30 to 30
John Northbrook
An honest business man seeking a loan to build a factory for his community. He speaks with an accent from Northern England.
Gender: male
Bird Woman
Covered in a patchwork of old shawls, and her pockets are stuffed with bags of crumbs for the birds. She tries to sell her crumbs for the birds. She tries to sell her crumbs to passersby, who ignore her as if she doesn’t exist. Sings “Feed the Birds.”
Gender: female
Vocal range top: C5
Vocal range bottom: Gb3
Mrs. Corry
Owns a magical gingerbread shop. She is a mysterious woman of great age.
Gender: female
Ageless Adult
Miss Andrew
George’s overbearing and scary nanny. With her bottle of nasty-tasting brimstone and treacle to keep naughty children in line, she is a bully who only knows one way of doing things – her way. A soprano with an alto belt, there can be some heaviness to her voice along with range.
Gender: female
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: Gb3