Announcing Auditions for Olivia Seymour's HEART ON FIRE, a new musical
Directed by Matt Hawkins
Show Dates: February 19 - 23, 2025; February 26 - March 2, 2025
Location: Philbin Studio Theatre | DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
About the Auditions & How to Prepare
For auditions please prepare the following:
- Please prepare one of the sides below.
- Sing any song of your choice (acappella, backing track, or live music is acceptable). Songs of all genre are acceptable (e.g. pop, rock, classical, musical theatre, etc). Audition song length should be approximately 32 bars (verse and chorus). You do not need to sing the entire song you choose.
Sides
Video Audition Submissions
Due Monday, November 25 | 5:00 PM EST
PLEASE NOTE: There are NO IN-PERSON AUDITIONS for HEART ON FIRE. All first round auditions will be submitted through the video audition form. Callbacks will be in-person only for those selected for a callback.
Video Audition Submission Instructions
- Please submit two videos (one singing and one reading). Please submit both videos in the same form submission.
- Sing any song of your choice (acappella, backing track, or live music is acceptable). Songs of all genre are acceptable (e.g. pop, rock, classical, musical theatre, etc).
- Pick from the sides listed in the "About Auditions" section to read. As a reminder, your reading video should be separate from your singing video.
In-Person Callback Dates
Monday, December 2 | 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
B024 | DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Tuesday, December 3 | 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
B024 | DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Wednesday, December 4 | 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
B024 | DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
About the Show
As the political climate of 1960s California heats up, sisters Lisa and Cassie find themselves on either side of the growing counterculture phenomenon. While Lisa is content with her simple life of running her late mother’s diner and trying to start a family, Cassie desires more for herself, wanting to be a great singer and leave behind all she knows. With the hippie movement on the rise and the Vietnam War continuing to escalate, Lisa does her best to protect her family from the world while Cassie finds herself inevitably drawn into it, causing a divide between the sisters and their ideas of what it means to be a young woman in a rapidly evolving country.
Olivia Seymour's HEART ON FIRE is the official selection for Notre Dame Film, Television, and Theatre (NDFTT)'s 2024 New Works Lab. The New Works Lab is a program developed alongside the Musical Theatre minor that allows for students to develop and stage a musical that they have written as part of NDFTT's theatre season. The student whose project is selected will workshop their script throughout the Fall semester, which means that the above show description is subject to change as the story develops. Previous New Works Lab productions have included My Heart Says Go (formerly Stupid Humans) and Dawn's Early Light.
Roles Available
(4 men, 4 women, & Ensemble)
- LISA KERR, 25. Warm and yet fiercely protective. A matriarch, a devoted wife, and a loving sister. Runs her late mother’s diner, and knows her customers well. To her, family is everything. A bit stuck in the past.
- CASSIE REID, 16. Lisa’s wild and free-spirited younger sister. Very taken by the way the world is changing. Loves Lisa dearly, but hates the idea of living a life where she is tied down.
- STEPHEN KERR, 30. Lisa’s husband. Not as charismatic as his wife, but patient and kind. A cop following in his father’s footsteps. Dislikes the progressive youth, and doesn’t hide it well.
- LORETTA HILL, 23. A well-known activist within the hippie community. Takes Cassie under her wing. Fiery and bold, but warm.
- JOHNNY HILL, 21. Loretta’s brother. A young rockstar who takes an interest in Cassie. He seems charming at first glance, but is emotionally manipulative and abusive.
- RED, 18. A friend of Cassie’s. Defiant and outspoken. Lives with his mother, who loves and protects him fiercely after kicking his father out of the house. Openly against the war effort.
- DIANA, 17. Cassie’s best friend. Wealthy, but hates the privileged lifestyle and hangs out with the riffraff instead. Hurt by her parents’ lack of attention. Heart of gold. Going steady with Russell.
- RUSSELL, 17. A friend of Cassie’s, and Diana’s lover. Comes from an abusive home and has a tough skin to hide it, but a gentle soul underneath. Thinks Vietnam may be his only way out.
- ENSEMBLE, Diner patrons, hippies, groupies, protestors.
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Any student of any major is welcome and encouraged to audition for FTT's shows. Auditions are also open to students, faculty, and staff at Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College.
FTT has pledged a commitment to concrete actions that expose and dismantle white supremacy, including (but not limited to) planning anti-racist theatre seasons. We are committed to providing artistic opportunities for our Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students. We welcome students with disabilities and students of all gender identities.
We are committed to making the audition and rehearsal process accessible to all interested students. For questions about auditions and/or equity and accessibility, contact us at theatre@nd.edu.