Portland
Shakespeare
Project
IGNIGHTING A PASSION FOR THE CLASSICS
Nonprofit theatre company producing classics and contemporary works.
VPortland Shakes is holding auditions for its summer production of
“The Merchant of Venice”
by William Shakespeare in a Modern Verse Translation by Elise Thoron
Directed by Michael Mendelson
Once you have completed the form, you will receive an email confirming your audition time.
If you have any questions, please email audtions @ portlandshakes .org
Auditions Details
- March 15 from 10:30 am-3:30 pm
- Callbacks are on March 16 from 10:30 am-2:30 pm
- Both are held at TAC at the Tiffany Center
One AEA contract is available under the Special Appearance II contract; the other contracts are non-AEA, paid at $250 per week.
- Rehearsals begin June 2 and rehearse for 20 hours a week.
- Performances are July 10-20 at the Portland Playhouse, with a possible one-week performance extension through July 27.
If you are interested in auditioning, please complete this Google Form
- Auditions are 8-minute blocks, and you will be assigned a 30-minute window, meaning you will audition sometime in that window.
- The order of which slot in the window you get is allocated on a first-come, first-assigned basis. This gives flexibility for those who show up early and might run late.
- At the audition, we would like you to perform a one-minute classical monologue based on the character you are interested in.
- We would also like you to sing 15-30 seconds of a song you are comfortable with. This production does not include musical numbers, but there will be some singing.
- Singing at auditions will be unaccompanied, but we encourage you to bring in an instrument if you have one and can play it.
Welcome to the Portland Shakespeare Project
For 13 years, the Portland Shakespeare Project has entertained and enriched audiences by producing classical and contemporary works associated with classical material.
We have produced classics, such as Twelfth Night, directed by the inestimable Lisa Harrow, and commissioned and produced adaptations of classics, such as C.S. Whitcomb’s Lear’s Follies and Pericles Wet by Ellen Margolis, which was inspired and adapted from Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and brought you new works through Proscenium Live! You can read about some of these shows in the drop-downs “Past Seasons” and “Proscenium Live” above.
We are honored and grateful to be able to collaborate with Play On Shakespeare, which has supported Portland Shakes in doing Hamlet this past April, as well as The Winter’s Tale and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In addition to serving as our Artistic Director, Michael Mendelson is the Managing Artistic Director of The Actors Conservatory.
He wrote about directing Hamlet:
“I never thought of directing Hamlet until I did. I was afraid of the issues it would ask our creative team and me to explore. This production is an extraordinary opportunity to unite The Actors Conservatory class of 2024, Play on Shakespeare, and the Portland Shakespeare Project in powerful collaboration.
To work with students about to launch their careers, an international Shakespeare organization, world-class artists, and professional artists from our community as ensemble members and mentors was an opportunity Portland Shakespeare Project had to explore.”
We intend to keep doing what we do again next year, so keep watching us here.
You can read more about Play On Shakespeare at PLAYONSHAKESPEARE.ORG and The Actors Conservatory at PAC.EDU.
Our Thanks To These Organizations
For Their Support
Past Seasons
You can read about some of these shows in the drop-downs “Past Seasons” and “Proscenium Live” in the menu above.
Past Seasons