Now Announcing Auditions for the 2018 Cast of The Buttcracker: A Nutcracker Burlesque
Nov. 28th-Dec 26th at Uptown Underground

Audition Date and Time: July 14th, 12pm-4pm

Audition Location: Volta Performing Arts Center, 2142 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago

TO SUBMIT: Spaces are limited. To reserve your space, email headshot and resume to thebuttcrackerauditions@gmail.com. You will receive a confirmation that you have a slot.

Available Roles:

Clara – Principal – Our hero, the Admin of the office, charged with setting up the office holiday party. Young, awkward, and a bit on the lower side of self-esteem, but grows into an awareness of and confidence in their sensuality and sense of self. All genders and races considered. Does not need to be a formal dancer, but a familiarity with movement and comedy preferred. Burlesque experience not required.

Drosselmeyer – Principal – The hired entertainment for the office party, and the orchestrator of the hallucinogenic trip to the Land of the Sweets. Drosselmeyer is a soloist, but also bookends the show. This can be anything from magic to drag. Seeking a skilled entertainer who knows how to work a crowd. Any gender or race. MAY SUBMIT VIDEO IN LIEU OF ATTENDING AUDITION.

Sugar Plum Fairy/Rat King – Principal Soloist, Double cast role. Any gender or race. Must be an excellent dancer. Point, jazz, modern, ballet, hip hop, etc. Burlesque experience not required.

Tea Dance – Soloist – any kind of dance or nighttime act – burlesque preferred. Tea soloist performs in their own dance that they are contracted to perform in the show, but all rights to the piece are retained by the performer. Soloist also participates in top of and bottom of show. Any gender or race. MAY SUBMIT VIDEO IN LIEU OF ATTENDING AUDITION.

Chocolate Dance – for Dec. 26th shows only – Fire act preferred. Performer retains rights to the piece. Soloist also participates in top of and bottom of show. Any gender or race. MAY SUBMIT VIDEO IN LIEU OF ATTENDING AUDITION.

Ensemble – a Group of Four skilled dancers – participate in Dance of the Snowflakes, Dance of the Reeds, Dance of the Flowers, and Rat King vs. Buttcracker, as well as at top and bottom of show. Any gender or race. Burlesque experience not required.

Please note: This is a ballet. No roles require speaking.

Two understudy/swings will also be cast.

Time Commitment  

Rehearsals for Clara, Sugar Plum/Rat King, Drosselmeyer and Ensemble begin Oct. 7th, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evening rehearsals 7pm-10pm. You will not be called for every rehearsal.

Mandatory Tech is Nov. 27th at Uptown Underground from 6pm-11pm.

Tea and Chocolate soloist attend first rehearsal (October 7th) and tech only, Nov. 27th. They are welcome to attend any other rehearsal.

Show Dates are Nov. 28th, Dec. 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th at 8pm at Uptown Underground. Possible extension include 10pm shows on Dec. 12th, 19th, and 26th, for a total of 8 shows.

All performers are compensated per show.

Clara, Drosselmeyer and Sugar Plum must be available for all shows.

TO SUBMIT: Spaces are limited. To reserve your space, email headshot and resume to thebuttcrackerauditions@gmail.com. You will receive a confirmation that you have a slot.

To prepare: From 12-2pm – Ensemble and Principal Dance Call – you will learn a short choreographed piece and then present that to the director and choreographer.

Soloists 2-4pm – If you are interested in Sugar Plum Fairy/Rat King, Tea, or Chocolate, you will be asked to present a short choreographed solo act. This may be in any style: burlesque, boylesque, queerlesque, magic, hoops, silks, etc. Please note: if you are auditioning for Chocolate Solo and you have a fire act, you only need to submit a video. If you are interested in doing Pole or anything requiring rigging, feel free to submit videos for that as well.

For questions, please email thebuttcrackerauditions@gmail.com

Hi friends!

If you waited to get tickets, you waited too long! The Buttcracker is officially sold out for our last show! The best advice we can give is to show up at the door, and if by 8pm there are tickets available, we will sell them at door price, $30. Thank you everyone who came to see the show this year, and we’ll see you all again next year!

Tickets for the 2017 Production of THE BUTTCRACKER: A NUTCRACKER BURLESQUE are now on sale!

$25 General Admission, $30 at the door! Get your ticket today and save!

CLICK HERE!

Tom Boi Theatricals is proud to announce the return of THE BUTTCRACKER: A NUTCRACKER BURLESQUE at Uptown Underground, performed Wednesdays, November 28th, December 6th, 13th and 20th, at 8:00pm, under the new direction and choreography of long-time dancer, choreographer, and artist Darling Shear. 

Darling Shear is a Chicago Native but has roots in Atlanta where Darling started dance training. Darling attended North Springs Charter School of the performing arts where Darling was trained in Ballet, Modern, Jazz and African. Darling began dancing professionally right out of high school and in that time worked with many great choreographers. The highlights were working with Bubba Carr choreography/artistic director to Cher for 12yrs and counting, Rhonda Henriksen soloist with Hubbard Street and Twyla Tharp, Tracy Vogt former Philadanco dancer, Hinton Battle the Original Scarecrow from the broadway production of “The Wiz” and Lauri Stallings Hubbard street soloist and founder/artistic director of gloATL.

Darling moved back to Chicago the summer of 2011 to start Suna Dance a collaborative artist group and had the first performance in November of 2011. Darling, a freelance dancer/choreographer in the city, has worked with The Fly Honeys of the The Inconvenience, Body Cartography of Minneapolis, Links Hall, Victoria Bradford, Chicago AIDS Foundation, chances dances, no small plan productions, Slo’Mo, the Public hotel, Soho House Chicago, Growing Power inc., expo Chicago, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, the school of the art Institute,  Depaul museum, University of Chicago,  University of Illinois in Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago Film Archive, Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, Salonathon, and Open TV beta.

Stay tuned for the official audition notice coming up in a few weeks!