The Palo Alto High School Theater Department is hosting auditions for its fall plays from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday with callbacks on Thursday at the Haymarket Theater.
“Shrek the Musical Jr.” will be directed by Tony Kienitz and produced by Tanna Herr, while “The Odyssey” will be directed by Kathleen Woods, the head of the Theater Department. According to Herr, there are many available roles and auditioning actors don’t have to be experienced actors.
“We would like to encourage people outside of the theater department to come and see what it’s like to be a part of it,” Herr said.
Herr and Kienitz, who both have experience producing children’s shows, chose the play “Shrek the Musical Jr.” because they wished for a show that would appeal to a broad audience.
“You pick up a show that the high school kids would want to see as well as younger people,” Kienitz said. “It’s a tricky thing to do, to find a show that’s known by high school people, adults, and to the younger kids. That’s what we’re trying to do, we’re going to expand it as far as we can and draw in as many audience members as we can.”
“The Odyssey,” however, was chosen after discovering a flaw with the show the department had originally chosen, according to Woods.
“That was a whole other interesting journey because originally we were planning on doing ‘Metamorphoses,’ which is a retelling of Greek Myths,” Woods said. “But you need a swimming pool. We realized that we’re in the middle of a drought and that it was probably not the best choice.”
According to Woods, those with musical talent who are not necessarily actors can also audition for “The Odyssey.”
“I have a Paly graduate, Jonathan Shue, who’s a professional actor and musician, and he’s going to be working with students to compose music as a part of ‘The Odyssey,’” Woods said. “There’s going to be a lot of innovation around the staging piece and the music.”
The directors are not the only ones excited about the upcoming fall plays. According to junior Molly Kraus, who will be auditioning for “The Odyssey,” she is most excited for the people.
“It’s always the people we’re really here for in the end,” Kraus said. “Everyone involved in the production, whether they’re on stage, behind it or watching it.”