Bucks County Playhouse Acting Apprentice Program Participants from 2018
Auditions for the renowned Bucks County Playhouse Acting Apprentice Program will be held on Friday, January 18, 2019 at 11:30 am, Lambertville Hall, 57 Bridge Street in Lambertville, NJ. Auditions are open to students about to start college as well as those currently enrolled in college (must be over 18 years old). To secure an audition slot, contact Producing Associate Jeremy Ehlinger by email at
Jeremy@bcptheater.org or call 267-740-2090 X110.
In addition to these local auditions, casting for the Acting Apprentice program will also be conducted nationwide through both live auditions and video submissions. Apprentices come from some of the top-ranking musical theatre programs at colleges and universities throughout the country. Apprentices accepted in past years include students from University of Michigan, University of Cincinnati, Syracuse University, Rider University, and Point Park University.
In 2019, the centerpiece of the Summer Apprentice Program will be the Playhouse’s new production of “Mamma Mia!” directed by Broadway and television star John Tartaglia. Apprentices will become part of the acting company of the show, serving as chorus members and/or swings. The program will run June 1 through August 4, 2019.
The new Playhouse Acting Apprentice Program, led by Broadway choreographer and dance educator Patrice Soriero, prepares the next generation of musical theatre professionals for their own performing careers. Over the course of the program, Apprentices attend master classes, workshops, and talk-backs featuring leading actors, singers, dancers, writers, producers, choreographers and casting agents. These influential Broadway/Bucks County creators and performers will talk about how they built their careers, overcame challenges, and won Tony Awards. To further enrich the summer experiences, Apprentices are responsible for inspiring the next generation by teaching and mentoring the Playhouse Youth Company and the Solebury School StarCatchers program.
The Bucks County Playhouse Apprentice Program is part of the Actors’ Equity Association Membership Candidate Program (EMC), and Apprentices may be able to obtain EMC points for some of their work at the Playhouse.
After orientation weekend in New Hope, PA, the next two full weeks of the apprenticeship will be in NYC rehearsing “Mamma Mia!” in one of Broadway’s finest rehearsal studios June 3 through June 23. Apprentices will return to New Hope, PA and remain there through the show’s closing on August 4. Full term attendance in NYC and in New Hope is required. A small stipend will be paid for food and expenses.
Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country’s most famous regional theaters, and a roster of American theatrical royalty, from Helen Hayes to Harpo Marx to Robert Redford, regularly graced its stage. Young actors like Grace Kelly, Jessica Walter and Rob Reiner launched their careers at the Playhouse through its famed Acting Apprentice Program. It remained in continuous operation until December 2010, and after undergoing a $6 million restoration, was reopened in 2012. Now under the direction of Broadway producers Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman, the Playhouse is once again producing original productions of classic plays and musicals and serving as an important link in the development of new work.
In 2016, the Playhouse re-launched the Acting Apprentice Program, giving talented young actors in professional training programs the opportunity to work alongside its Equity company of actors, under the direction of some of America’s leading directors, choreographers and producers.
ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE
Bucks County Playhouse is a year-round, nonprofit theatre that has grown to a $6 million producing organization with an annual audience of over 73,000. Founded in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill, Bucks County Playhouse quickly became “the most famous summer theatre in America,” featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Kitty Carlisle, Angela Lansbury, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, and Liza Minnelli and remained in continuous operation until 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened after a multi-million-dollar restoration thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein. Now open, the Playhouse just unveiled a 4,000 square foot Delaware-river facing restaurant and bar expansion.
In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman took the helm of the Playhouse, and today the Playhouse has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Its productions of “Company” starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named by Wall Street Journal to its “Best of Theatre” list for 2015. The 2017 season included four world premieres and audiences grew by over 34%. Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” directed by Marsha Mason, and “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42ndStreet,” and “Guys & Dolls” directed by Hunter Foster. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.
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