The Secret Garden Audition #1 (Youth)

Hendersonville Performing Arts Company is ecstatic to announce auditions for The Secret Garden!! 

Based on the beloved novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden is a sweeping and heartfelt musical about healing, hope, and the transformative power of love. When young Mary Lennox is sent to live with her reclusive uncle in a mysterious English manor, she discovers a hidden, neglected garden...and with it, the possibility of new life for herself and those around her. Guided by unforgettable music by Lucy Simon and lyrics by Marsha Norman, this enchanting story follows Mary as she uncovers long-buried secrets, forms unexpected friendships, and helps bring a broken family back to life. Lush, emotional, and inspiring, The Secret Garden is a timeless theatrical experience for all ages.

We look forward to meeting you all at auditions!

Production Team: 

Director: Grant Collins

Music Director: Trey Lundquist

Assistant Director: Lauren Proctor

Stage Manager: Katie Woytach

Choreographer: Cat Umano

Costumer: Kelly Phillips and Captain Sandella

Please see full details below:

Performance Dates:

Thursdays: Dec 3, Dec 10, Dec 17 - 7:30pm

Fridays: Dec 4, Dec 11, Dec 18 - 7:30pm

Saturdays: Dec 5, Dec 12, Dec 19 - 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday: Dec 6 - 6:00pm

Sundays: Dec 13, Dec 20 - 2:00pm

Please note the Dec 6th performance has moved to 6pm to accommodate for the Hendersonville Christmas parade. 

Possible rehearsal schedule will be available at auditions. 

• Rehearsals will begin with a full cast read thru and sing thru on Sunday, October 11. 

• Pending cast/team availability, rehearsals will be Sunday afternoons and then Monday - Wednesday night during the week. 

• We will switch to full week rehearsals during Tech Week. In observance of Thanksgiving we will have Thursday, Friday, Saturday off and resume rehearsal that Sunday. 

Audition #1 - for Mary, Colin, and middle and middle/high school aged Dickon (no one over 18)

September 25th - 6pm - 9pm

Location: HPAC - 260 W Main St. Suite #204, Hendersonville, TN 37075. Please see the link below for directions to the audition room. 

Callbacks: We will not be having callbacks for these roles. Auditions will be both a callback and an audition all in one. Be prepared to stay for the entirety of your time slot, in case you're asked to read or sing again. 

*Please note that not all roles will be called back and you may still be cast in the show even if you don't come to callbacks* 

Audition #1 (Colin, Mary, younger Dickon) Requirements: 

• Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your slot to complete an audition form.

  • Prepare 1 song (45 secs to a minute) in the style of the show. Bring clearly marked sheet music or a backing track, acapella auditions will not be accepted. 

• Come prepared to read one (or more) of the monologues below. Memorization is not required. 

• Headshot and resume can be uploaded when signing up for an audition time. 

• Come prepared with your conflicts from October 11th  through November 29th to list on the audition form. Please be thorough; some conflicts can be scheduled around if we know ahead of time. No tech week or performance conflicts will be accepted.

Video Auditions: We will be accepting video submissions for those who can’t attend the in-person auditions. In person is the preference but we will make accommodations for those who cannot attend.  Video auditions with your prepared song will need to be sent in by midnight on September 24th at secretgardenhpac@gmail.com

CHARACTERS: Ages listed refers to age of character and do not reflect on age of actor. All races, genders, and ages encouraged. If auditioning for DICKON, MARTHA, BEN, and MRS. MEDLOCK, a Yorkshire/Northern British accent is encouraged. Received Pronunciation British accent (stereotypical upper class British accent) encouraged for rest of the cast. 

NOTE: The Secret Garden is a story that has themes including death, trauma, and grief. Parents of minors should be advised that these heavy themes will be addressed and take their child’s emotional well-being in mind in auditioning for roles, particularly for the role of MARY.

MARY LENNOX - 

• Female, 10 is the character’s age but we will be looking at ages 10 thru 13 (or actresses who look that age range)

• (Range: Young Voice, Ab3-D5) 

• A ten year-old girl, sent to live with her uncle, Archibald, when her parents die from cholera in India. Quite the curious explorer, and often finding herself in trouble. Stubborn and always fighting for what she believes in. Must be a strong actress capable of carrying a show. British accent required.

COLIN CRAVEN 

• Male, 10 is the character’s age but we will be looking at ages 10 thru 13 (or actors who look that age range)

•  (Range: Young Voice, A3-E5) 

• Archibald's ten year-old son. Spent his life in bed due to a heart condition. He is very stubborn and throws temper tantrums to get what he wants. He believes his father hates him for causing Lily’s death.

DICKON 

•  Male, 14 - 18 for this audition

•  (Range: Tenor, D3-G4) 

• Martha's younger brother. Looks after the sick plants and animals within the Misselthwaite grounds—including Mary. He is a young man who is between the world of child imagination and adult reasoning. Open, honest, and energetic. Befriends Mary and convinces her to take care of the Garden.

Audition Monologues

Memorization is not required. Read the one related to the part you want. Accents are not required but encouraged. Have fun with it. Take chances. 

COLIN  (Standard British): My mother died when I was born.

That’s why my father hates me. Sometimes I have been taken to places at the

seaside, but I won’t stay because people stare at me. And one time a grand

doctor came from London, and said to take off this iron thing Dr. Craven made

me wear, and keep me out in the fresh air. But I hate fresh air, and I won’t be

taken out. I want you to come back first thing tomorrow morning and tell me

about India. In the books my father sends me, I’ve read that elephants can swim.

They seem altogether too large to be swimmers, unless maybe they use their

ears.

MARY (Standard British): You can’t send Dickon away! You little

Rajah! If you send Dickon away, I’ll never come into this room again. I won’t even

look at you. I’ll stare at the floor. You’re more selfish than I am. You’re the most

selfish boy i ever saw. You just say you’re dying to make people feel sorry for

you. If you were a nice boy, it might be true, but you’re too nasty too die.

(softening) Close your eyes, and I will do what my Ayah used to do in India. I will

pat your hand and stroke it and sing something quite low.I have bad dreams too.

Last night I dreamed about my father. Only he had a lump on his back, like your

father. And then, when he turned around, he was your father.

DICKON (Yorkshire): You want to go in the garden where the Robin lives? Well,

you have to understand, he’s makin’ his nest. And he can’t afford to have you

interferin’ if you’re not friendly. What he thinks, is that you’re lookin’ for a nest

yourself, only it looks to him like your nest would have to be pretty big. It’s not

mine to go into, Mary. But it might be yours, I can’t say. He’s been keepin’ it safe

for somebody, that much I know. But maybe the robin is waitin’ to hear why you

want to go in there exactly. Bein’ as he’s got the safest nestin’ spot in all England,

he’s wise to be wary.

Click here for directions to the audition space. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15Tn6CsBPwH55-FSWG3n935uqBna6VUYQ/view?usp=sharing