REXBURG—Auditions begin next week for BYU-Idaho’s stage production of the musical “Anastasia.”
Theatre, dance and music students at BYU-Idaho are all invited to audition for the musical, which will keep the departments busy over this semester and next.
The Department of Theatre at BYU-Idaho has worked behind the scenes for over a year in preparation for “Anastasia.”
“We met with all of the faculty in our department, and we read a whole bunch of plays,” said Jennie Pardoe, a BYU-Idaho theatre professor, and the director for Anastasia. “Once we chose ‘Anastasia’ and once I was selected as the director for ‘Anastasia,’ I've been deep diving into Russian history, specifically looking at the multiple revolutions that happened at that time. It was kind of a revolutionary time in Russia.”
Pardoe is also working with Danielle Matheson from the Department of Music, and Autumn Hawkes from the Department of Dance. They have worked together to research the music, dancing styles, and characters in the musical, and in greater Russia.
Pardoe hopes that as her actors prepare for auditions, and later those who are chosen, prepare for the show, they will emotionally connect to the story and characters. She says that while the story is complex, the underlying themes, based on a “what if,” are very relatable.
“One of my favorite songs is in both the movie and on stage and that's ‘Journey to the Past,’” Pardoe said. “And in that song, Anastasia is singing about how she's looking for, she's looking for home. She's looking for love. She's looking for her family. And she has a sense that she already has that.”
Pardoe compared the feelings of this song to the journey here on earth.
“I feel like in terms of the gospel, we know who we are as children of God. And we have a sense of our belonging to a heavenly family in the eternities, but we don't always feel it there, and we're looking for that feeling. Just like Anastasia is looking for it,” Pardoe said.
With all the preparations they have done already, Pardoe says she is ready for auditions.
"That's always one of the most exciting parts of the production because it's like everything that has just been ideas in my head starts to take shape in actual people," Pardoe said.
She, along with Matheson and Hawkes, will be looking during auditions for students who can do some combination of acting, singing and dancing. Their top priority at auditions is something else entirely though.
"What we want is people to come and present their best selves in their audition because we can see if that's something that we can work with,” Pardoe said. “The things that across the board we're looking for, are confidence and the ability to connect with other people."
Auditions run from Monday, Oct. 5-7, with callbacks scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 9.
The auditions are open to all students at BYU-Idaho, but they encourage dancers to audition, as there will be numbers with ballroom, jazz and pointe ballet throughout the show.
To learn more about the auditions, or the show, which will open late next semester, find BYU-Idaho Theatre on Instagram and Facebook, or visit byui.edu/theatre.