Auditions
Audition sign-ups for My Favorite Year are open!
Slots are limited! Sign up today!
BFT Audition FAQ
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Sampled from Musical Theater International:
"It's 1954, and Benjy Stone, writers' assistant on TV's "King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade," is assigned the daunting task of babysitting the veteran Hollywood swashbuckler, Alan Swann. The reckless Swann is in town to do a live guest appearance on the show and his antics nearly get Benjy fired. When Benjy is given an unexpected glimpse into Swann's broken heart, though, he begins to discover a thing or two about life and love."My Favorite Year has a large cast with many featured characters,which will allow us to highlight our array of very talented young actors and give many opportunities to our students in the chorus.
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Auditions will be held IN PERSON Monday, June 9th and Tuesday, June 10th between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m at Old North Reformed Church in Dumont, NJ. Students will be granted a 10 minute time slot in which they will showcase their audition song and selected monologue. Callbacks will be held Saturday, June 14th.
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If you are unable to attend an in-person audition, we do accept video auditions. You MUST submit an audition slot request form, even if you plan to submit a video audition!
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Rehearsals will generally be held:
After 3:30 p.m. between June 16th and June 20th
Between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday - Thursday from June 23th through July 23rd.
Not every student will be called for every rehearsal. Schedules will be released with casting notices. Due to the nature of this program, we highly recommend that students miss no more than four (4) rehearsals over the summer. Students will be asked to submit their conflict sheet prior to casting, and we will try to accommodate all conflicts. If you have scheduling questions or concerns, please email bluefiretheatricals@gmail.com and we will do our best to make it work!
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Our performances will be held:
Thursday, July 24th at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, July 25th at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 26th at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
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In order to audition, you MUST submit an audition slot request form. You can find that form HERE!
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All Bergen County students entering grades 7 to 12 or who have graduated from high school in 2024 (or ages 12 to 18) are eligible to audition.
This is a great performance opportunity for students who are seasoned actors, or who are just taking their first steps into the world of musical theater. We want to work with you!
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Yes! Due to our limited performance space, we are able to accommodate a limited number of students. All students who are granted audition slots will be offered a role in our show. Audition slot requests received after reaching capacity will be placed on a waitlist. We encourage you to sign up as soon as possible!
The production staff reserves the right to refuse audition slots to parties who apply on a case-by-case basis.
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Students cast in the Ensemble will have multiple roles, as well as the opportunity to learn different styles of dance and singing.
Ensembles are integral to the production of a musical. An ensemble role is a fun and exciting way to develop your theatrical skillset.
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Please prepare the following:
One contemporary musical theater piece, no longer than 32 bars
One comedic monologue of your choosing running no more than two minutes OR One of our production staff’s selected monologues
No accompanist will be provided at auditions. In your audition request form, you MUST include a karaoke YouTube link WITH TIME STAMPS in your audition timeslot request.
We are looking for students to show off their talents first and foremost. If you are new to auditioning and feel that there is one specific song that best suits your voice, we encourage you to prepare that song!
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Audition monologues are required to audition. You may select your own comedic monologue, or you may prepare one of the following monologues:
BENJY:
Hello. My name is Benjy Stone and I want to tell you about 1954, which was my favorite year. Not my best year, not the year I had the most success, but my favorite year. In 1954, you could tell the difference between a Ford and a Chevy just by looking at them. “Little Things Mean A Lot” by Kitty Kallen was the number one song. Fifth Avenue was a two-way street, and everything had chlorophyll in it. It was also the year when things changed for me. It’s the year that separated my life into before and after. In 1954, I made the jump from the wise-cracking kid from the deli, pushing a joke with every cruller, to freshman writer on T.V.’s hottest show: The King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade. And every Saturday night at 8:00 pm we went on the air… live!
ALAN SWANN:
And I kept walking out until my career and wife and child walked out on me. Benjamin, tomorrow I’ll be sober and I’ll remember all of the reasons I should stay away from her. Tomorrow, Tess will be in Connecticut and the world will be ordinary again. She wants me to come and it may be the last time she asks. I’m going with or without you. So please, for the last time, where is the plaza?!
K.C. DOWNING:
He was a complete gentleman. Except he kept making… jokes. Constantly. Wise-cracks, puns, one-liners. Reading the menu with this Elmer Fudd voice. It was a nightmare. Well, let him pick on some other girl, I don’t need the pressure. I don’t have time for that kind of behavior. This is a business, you know. It’s not all jokes and sketches and slap schtick.
Reader: Slapstick, honey. Schtick is altogether another thing.
I know that… of course I know that..!
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A one-time $150 performance fee will be charged to all cast members.
Students from multi-student households (such as siblings) will receive a 20% discount after the first fee.
Students who identify themselves as members of the Old North Reformed Church and are confirmed as members will receive a 50% discount on the participation fee.
Scholarships are available for eligible participants. Email bluefiretheatricals@gmail.com for more information.