Theater & Music Theater

Try on Theater

Try On Theater Days offer a welcoming introduction to theater making in the Princeton theater and music theater program at the Lewis Center for the Arts. At scheduled times throughout the year, the program holds community evenings and workshops to encourage students (and other campus community members) to participate in our student-driven season in many capacities. This process replaces traditional solo auditions with group workshops and serves as an opportunity for students to get involved in other aspects of theater, such as stage management, design, sound engineering, production, and more.

Try on Theater Days was highlighted as a feature story and included among 2022’s 10 Most Popular Posts in American Theatre, the national magazine for the American professional not-for-profit theater industry.

Try on Theater Days: January 29-30, 2024

Two students smile and interact in front of others standing in the background during Try on Theater Community Day.

Students participate in Try on Theater Days community event on Sept. 5, 2023, in the Wallace Theater. Photo by Allison Ha

Come learn, play, and move! Try-on some theater making — and be cast in a spring show or sign on to participate backstage. No experience needed. Our 90-minute casting workshops replace traditional auditions with group exercises, games, and generative activities alongside the directors and project leaders of our spring shows. No preparation is needed and no participant will be required to perform alone. Graduate students, staff and faculty are welcome to participate in casting workshops, although typically performing opportunities are first offered to students. Our drop-in theater production & design workshops offer the chance to learn about opportunities offstage in design, stage management and production. All evenings are intended to be educational and enjoyable, whether or not you plan to participate in upcoming productions. There will be snacks!

Casting for Theater & Music Theater Program Shows

Monday, Jan. 29 & Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024
6-7:30 p.m. (session 1) and 8-9:30 p.m. (session 2)

Studios at Lewis Arts complex

Come and join us for a collaborative workshop if you are interested in performing. Sign up to join a casting workshop

The following spring shows are casting in January:

  • El Ritmo Que Nos Libre, installation play with dance, created by Carrington Johnson & directed by Layla Williams
  • Sisyphus, a new play by Jessica Lopez
  • A new play reading by Aneekah Uddin, based on familial narratives of the Bangladeshi Liberation War (public research presentation)
  • Paivapo ’76, a new musical by Tanaka Dunbar Ngwara & directed by Sabina Jafri
  • Xulgria, a new musical ritual by Princeton Arts Fellow Kamara Thomas, rehearsed in the spring course MUS 348/THR 378

More information about each show is available on the theater & music theater season page.

 

Write Lighting Cues with Tess James

Monday, Jan. 29 from 6-8:30 p.m.
Light Lab at Lewis Arts complex

Try on the role of Lighting Designer in this hands-on, drop-in event. Make something and ask questions about elements of design and explore what non-performance roles the LCA has to offer. Feel free to join us for as long or short a time as you have available. No sign-up required.

Stage Manage Like a Boss with Carmelita Becnel and Milan Eldridge

Tuesday, Jan. 30 from 6-8:30 p.m.
Light Lab at Lewis Arts complex

What’s a Stage Manager? How do you Stage Manage? Why do you Stage Manage? Come learn the answers to these questions (and more) in this drop-in event with Carmelita Becnel, Production Stage Manager for the Program in Theater and Milan Eldridge, Assistant Stage Manager for the Program in Theater. Inspect a stage manager’s production book, write stage blocking, tape out a tiny set (it’s like connect-the-dot!), utilize critical thinking, and maybe try your hand at calling cues! Discover how stage management skills are skills for life.

 

Additional Try on Theater Days

Additional TOT Days will be held throughout the 2023-24 academic year:

  • Monday, April 29, 2024

 

Questions?

For questions about TOT Days, please contact Carmelita Becnel at cbecnel@princeton.edu or Jane Cox at janecox@princeton.edu.