“Devising Tacoma” A National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funded project for developing a new full-length Musical. Hosted by and in collaboration with the University of Washington, Tacoma Seeking Devising Collaborators! “Devising Tacoma” is seeking five Devising Collaborators with an abundance of creative energy to participate in a devising process to create a full-length musical, using Andre Dubus’ short story “Townies” as primary source material. “Townies” explores the relationship between a university and its surrounding community by centering multiple viewpoints on what is sometimes called the “town-gown” divide. Although the original short story unfolds at a small New England college, we are interested in exploring the themes and meaning within a Tacoma-centered context. This exciting creative process is supported by The National Endowment for the Arts and The University of Washington, Tacoma. The devising process will begin in July, running for approximately ten weeks, with an estimated weekly commitment of six hours (schedule to be arranged with the selected devising team). At the completion of the devising process, the project will hold an open call audition for actors/singers, who will perform the new musical in a series of workshop-style, stage-reading performances throughout the community for feedback and refinement. A more formal, developed showcase performance of the revised work will be held in May 2025. Because this is a devised project, we are seeking collaborators from a variety of backgrounds and artistic styles, which might include dance, music, physical theatre, acting, improvisation, spoken word, performance art and movement. We are especially interested in performers with a range of experience, including those who might be new to theater and performance. We are interested in meeting anyone who feels that the work and the project speak to them and that they have a unique voice to bring to the project through their art. Applicants representing diverse ethnicities, abilities, and gender identities are encouraged to audition. Audition Dates: Friday, June 14: 5:30-8:00pm Location: TBA Saturday, June 15: 1:30-5:00pm Location: Lakewood Playhouse. 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd SW, Lakewood WA Callbacks: Monday, June 17: 7:00 pm Location: Cherry Parkes 007 on the UWT campus. Map included. Preparing for Auditions: Once again, because this devising process will develop the script through the exploration of multiple artistic perspectives (i.e., movement, sound, image, language, etc…), this audition process is open to creative storytellers from all backgrounds. This means that while we are of course interested in performers from traditional acting backgrounds, we also welcome auditions from dancers, singers, musicians, spoken word artists, etc… From all auditioners we would like to see two audition elements: 1. Prepare an artistic response to the short story. This is open to any interpretation you want to share. For example, it could be a dance, a musical response, movement, image, monologue, poetry, etc… We ask that the response is no longer than 3 minutes. 2. Auditions will also include a brief reading from either the short story or another cold reading, both of which will be provided at the time of audition. But reminder, these are auditions for devisers, not actors, so we’re more interested in how auditioners handle the language and thematic material, as opposed to acting skills. Please bring a headshot and resume to the audition if you are able. Devising Schedule and Expectation of Commitment: July 1-September 30, roughly six hours per week (most often in two 3-hour blocks or similar). Compensation: Devisers will be paid $18/hour, for an estimated maximum of 60 hours over the course of the devising phase. To book or confirm your audition date and to receive the short story: Contact Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden at mtbbw@uw.edu For general questions contact: Michael Kula at mkula@uw.edu