StagingCAST
6 Female, 8 Male, 2 children (1 Female and 1 Male) + Ensemble BAND PARTS Piano, Keyboard, Drums/Percussion, Percussion, Bass Guitar/Double Bass, Guitars, Trumpet/Flugel, Violin, Flute/Piccolo, Alto Sax/Clarinet, Tenor & Baritone Sax |
Photo from the UK tour - photography credit Alastair Muir
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Character Descriptions
SCOTT – Romantic Male Lead
Age Range: 18 – 28 (playing 19 – 21)
Description: SCOTT has Aussie good looks, is charming, the star of the dance studio with the world at his feet. However, SCOTT is also rebellious and can be obsessive and angry as he discovers there is more to dancing when he begins to dance his own steps which amaze the crowds but break all the accepted rules of dance that he has been taught. He is a young man learning to stand up for himself and not be fearful. He is also experiencing love for the first time.
Skills: Strong fully trained dancer, ballroom training a plus, acting and singing ability required.
Vocal Range: High Baritone, up to G#
FRAN – Romantic Female Lead
Age Range: 18 – 28 (playing 19 – 21)
Description: FRAN is a girl who blossoms from the ugly, awkward duckling of the dance studio into a beautiful and passionate dancer (and Scott’s dance partner) as they display their breathtaking, rule-breaking new dance routine in the finale of the show. A character who undergoes a real transformation, as FRAN and SCOTT become dance partners, fall in love and stand up for what they believe in. She is truthful, can be very direct and is strong and proud.
Skills: Strong actor/singer with dance training, ballroom training a bonus but not essential.
Vocal Range: Pop - Musical Theatre belt to E flat, down to G below middle C
SHIRLEY HASTINGS – Principal Role
Age Range: 40 – 55 years old
Description: SCOTT’S mother, iron-willed matriarch of the Kendall Dance Studio, should believe she was a champion dancer in her youth. Wiry and brittle in an overly groomed way. She’s a fierce harridan whose tears are shocking and her motto is “I’ve got my happy face on”. A manipulator and bully especially to her husband, self deceiving slave to Ballroom Family and the Studio - “The sacrifices we’ve made for you, the money, the time and effort …” An Aussie battler.
Skills: Strong acting role.
Vocal range: Belt, low F (below middle C) to D
DOUG HASTINGS - Principal Role
Age Range: 50 – 60 years old
Description: SCOTT’s father and SHIRLEY’s husband. Great actor, who carries the emotional heart of the piece. Character is mute for much of the time and appears intensely nervous, and socially inept. Dances only in Flashback Studio comic scene, one poignant solo dance scene and when he asks SHIRLEY to dance in the finale. Appears in all the Studio and Festival scenes. Able to sustain the mystery of whether his strange behaviour is that of a goodie or a baddie: keeper of the dark secret. Comically obsessive, but finally heroic -‘The Mouse that Roared’. The tragic clown.
Skills: Strong acting role. A good mover a bonus. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, to F
LES KENDALL – Principal Role
Age Range: 50 – 60 years
Description: Proprietor of Kendall’s Studio. SCOTT’S coach who toes the Federation line. Dignified and sincere in his own way. Camp “theatrical” quality. Fruity voice and flowery delivery. He is vain about his appearance but ultimately self-deluding as to his attractiveness. Old song and dance man.
Skills: Good character actor. Good mover/dancer. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, to F.
BARRY FIFE – Principal Role
Age Range: 45 – 60
Description: President of the Dance Federation. The most powerful man in Ballroom Dancing. A fleshy, sweaty man. A Buffoon and manipulator.
Skills: Role for a huge Falstaffian character, comic-with-a-bite actor. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, to F
RICO – Principal Role
Age Range: 40’s – 50’s
Description: FRAN’S father. Strict “Spanish” despot. Intense, fiery, excitable.
Skills: Flamenco Dancer who inspires SCOTT with the Real Spanish rhythm. Strong actor who speaks Spanish, or is willing to learn Spanish.
Vocal range: Baritone, not a vocal role (no solo singing)
ABUELA – Principal Role
Age range: 50’s – 60’s
Description: FRAN’S Spanish grandmother. She is kind and supportive of her granddaughter. Excellent sense of rhythm, is also a Spanish dancer.
Skills: Strong actor. Ability to speak Spanish or a willingness to learn to speak Spanish. Must sing.
Vocal range: Mezzo belt, to A
J.J. SILVERS – Principal Role
Age Range: 35 – 50 years old
Description: Master of Ceremonies at Festivals. Federation Man.
Skills: Good comic skills, must be able to interact with the audience and ad lib if required. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, low B flat to F
TINA SPARKLE – Principal Role
Age Range: 25 – early 30’s
Description: Stunningly tall gazelle-like dancer, current Pan Pacific champion. She has a beautiful body, however is not very bright.
Skills: Very good ballroom dancer, strong actor, must sing.
Vocal range: Pop-belt, to D
Age Range: 18 – 28 (playing 19 – 21)
Description: SCOTT has Aussie good looks, is charming, the star of the dance studio with the world at his feet. However, SCOTT is also rebellious and can be obsessive and angry as he discovers there is more to dancing when he begins to dance his own steps which amaze the crowds but break all the accepted rules of dance that he has been taught. He is a young man learning to stand up for himself and not be fearful. He is also experiencing love for the first time.
Skills: Strong fully trained dancer, ballroom training a plus, acting and singing ability required.
Vocal Range: High Baritone, up to G#
FRAN – Romantic Female Lead
Age Range: 18 – 28 (playing 19 – 21)
Description: FRAN is a girl who blossoms from the ugly, awkward duckling of the dance studio into a beautiful and passionate dancer (and Scott’s dance partner) as they display their breathtaking, rule-breaking new dance routine in the finale of the show. A character who undergoes a real transformation, as FRAN and SCOTT become dance partners, fall in love and stand up for what they believe in. She is truthful, can be very direct and is strong and proud.
Skills: Strong actor/singer with dance training, ballroom training a bonus but not essential.
Vocal Range: Pop - Musical Theatre belt to E flat, down to G below middle C
SHIRLEY HASTINGS – Principal Role
Age Range: 40 – 55 years old
Description: SCOTT’S mother, iron-willed matriarch of the Kendall Dance Studio, should believe she was a champion dancer in her youth. Wiry and brittle in an overly groomed way. She’s a fierce harridan whose tears are shocking and her motto is “I’ve got my happy face on”. A manipulator and bully especially to her husband, self deceiving slave to Ballroom Family and the Studio - “The sacrifices we’ve made for you, the money, the time and effort …” An Aussie battler.
Skills: Strong acting role.
Vocal range: Belt, low F (below middle C) to D
DOUG HASTINGS - Principal Role
Age Range: 50 – 60 years old
Description: SCOTT’s father and SHIRLEY’s husband. Great actor, who carries the emotional heart of the piece. Character is mute for much of the time and appears intensely nervous, and socially inept. Dances only in Flashback Studio comic scene, one poignant solo dance scene and when he asks SHIRLEY to dance in the finale. Appears in all the Studio and Festival scenes. Able to sustain the mystery of whether his strange behaviour is that of a goodie or a baddie: keeper of the dark secret. Comically obsessive, but finally heroic -‘The Mouse that Roared’. The tragic clown.
Skills: Strong acting role. A good mover a bonus. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, to F
LES KENDALL – Principal Role
Age Range: 50 – 60 years
Description: Proprietor of Kendall’s Studio. SCOTT’S coach who toes the Federation line. Dignified and sincere in his own way. Camp “theatrical” quality. Fruity voice and flowery delivery. He is vain about his appearance but ultimately self-deluding as to his attractiveness. Old song and dance man.
Skills: Good character actor. Good mover/dancer. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, to F.
BARRY FIFE – Principal Role
Age Range: 45 – 60
Description: President of the Dance Federation. The most powerful man in Ballroom Dancing. A fleshy, sweaty man. A Buffoon and manipulator.
Skills: Role for a huge Falstaffian character, comic-with-a-bite actor. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, to F
RICO – Principal Role
Age Range: 40’s – 50’s
Description: FRAN’S father. Strict “Spanish” despot. Intense, fiery, excitable.
Skills: Flamenco Dancer who inspires SCOTT with the Real Spanish rhythm. Strong actor who speaks Spanish, or is willing to learn Spanish.
Vocal range: Baritone, not a vocal role (no solo singing)
ABUELA – Principal Role
Age range: 50’s – 60’s
Description: FRAN’S Spanish grandmother. She is kind and supportive of her granddaughter. Excellent sense of rhythm, is also a Spanish dancer.
Skills: Strong actor. Ability to speak Spanish or a willingness to learn to speak Spanish. Must sing.
Vocal range: Mezzo belt, to A
J.J. SILVERS – Principal Role
Age Range: 35 – 50 years old
Description: Master of Ceremonies at Festivals. Federation Man.
Skills: Good comic skills, must be able to interact with the audience and ad lib if required. Must sing.
Vocal range: Baritone, low B flat to F
TINA SPARKLE – Principal Role
Age Range: 25 – early 30’s
Description: Stunningly tall gazelle-like dancer, current Pan Pacific champion. She has a beautiful body, however is not very bright.
Skills: Very good ballroom dancer, strong actor, must sing.
Vocal range: Pop-belt, to D
PERFORMERS PLAYING SUPPORTING ROLES WILL ALSO BE PART OF THE ENSEMBLE
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LIZ HOLT – Supporting Role
Age Range: 18 – 25 years old Description: SCOTT’S partner of fifteen years, immaculately over groomed, yet has a screeching vocal quality and howls like a banshee with a nasal voice. Hysterically screaming if she doesn’t get her own way. She is ruthlessly ambitious and determined to win the Pan Pacific Championships yet underneath she is quite brittle. A young SHIRLEY HASTINGS. Skills: Good Ballroom dancer. Good actor-comic and timing skills. Must sing. Vocal range: Pop-belt, to D VANESSA CRONIN – Supporting Role Age Range: 18 – 25 years Description: LIZ’S best friend and WAYNE’S partner. Warm, very attractive but not very bright. Skills: Very good ballroom dancer, Strong actor, must sing. |
KEN RAILINGS – Supporting Role
Age range: 30’s - 40’s Description: A waning ballroom star. Desperate to make a come back. Skills: Strong dancer, actor, singer. Vocal range: Baritone, to F WAYNE BURNS – Supporting Role Age Range: 19 – 25 years old Description: SCOTT’S best mate. VANESSA’s dancing partner & fiancé. Loyal Kendall Studio member and he carries much of the plot. Boy – next – door or quirky looks with comic naiveté. Aggressively ambitious drive - He ‘dances to Win’. Sporty rather than Arty, by day – a Car Mechanic and is bewildered with SCOTT’s search for real dance! Skills: Strong actor & dancer. Must sing. |
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ENSEMBLE
CLARRY WRENCH/ MERV – Ensemble Age Range: 30 – 40 years old Description: Beginner dancer member of Kendall’s Studio. Sometime partner of NATALIE. Tall, gangly quirky ‘why are you even trying to dance’ look. Deadpan delivery or speech impediment. Dancing relieves the tedium of his humdrum life – by day works with WAYNE as a mechanic. He probably lives with mum. Skills: Strong comic actor. Good mover. Must sing. (MERV – Ensemble) Age Range: 35 – 50 years old Description: A middle-aged Federation official. Skills: Good acting skills, good mover/dancer, must be able to sing. NATALIE/PAM/AUDITIONEE - Ensemble Age range: 18 – early 20’s Description: FRAN’S best friend and dance partner. Skills: Strong ballroom dancer. Good acting and singing skills required. |
(PAM SHORT – Ensemble) Age Range: 20 – 30 years Description: KEN’S partner on the dance floor in “blocking” sequence. Skills: Strong ballroom dancer. Good acting and singing skills required. NATHAN STARKEY- (Doubles as one of the 8 ensemble members) - Ensemble Age Range: 25 – 35 years old Description: Golden boy good looks and physique who is about to retire as TINA SPARKLE’S partner and Pan Pacific Champion to concentrate on his Landscape Gardening business. Skills: Very strong “Federation” Ballroom Dancer. Acting and singing skills required. |
MALE ENSEMBLE DANCERS/ SWINGS
Including: Jonathon Drench, Tommy Arbunt, Liam Lamb and Rory West
Age range: 18- 30’s
Skills: Must be highly skilled dancers. Extremely proficient in ballroom dancing, all styles. Singing and acting skills a bonus.
FEMALE ENSEMBLE DANCERS / SWINGS
Including: Emily Waters, Muriel Shunt, Stephanie Shanks and Kaylene West
Age range: 18 – 30’s.
Skills: Must be highly skilled dancers. Extremely proficient in ballroom dancing, all styles. Singing and acting skills a bonus.
Including: Jonathon Drench, Tommy Arbunt, Liam Lamb and Rory West
Age range: 18- 30’s
Skills: Must be highly skilled dancers. Extremely proficient in ballroom dancing, all styles. Singing and acting skills a bonus.
FEMALE ENSEMBLE DANCERS / SWINGS
Including: Emily Waters, Muriel Shunt, Stephanie Shanks and Kaylene West
Age range: 18 – 30’s.
Skills: Must be highly skilled dancers. Extremely proficient in ballroom dancing, all styles. Singing and acting skills a bonus.
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CHILDREN’S ROLES
KYLIE – Minor supporting role Age Range: 10 – 12 years old Description: SCOTT’S Sister. Skills: Must be a strong dancer, ballroom training a bonus. Acting skills required and must be able to sing. LUKE – Minor supporting role Age range: 10 – 12 years old Description: KYLIE’S ballroom dance partner. Skills: Must be a strong dancer, ballroom training a bonus. Acting skills required and must be able to sing. |
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