Spring Musicals!
This spring we have two show options for our students to audition for...
Tuck Everlasting: Auditions March 13, Callbacks March 15
Descendants the Musical: Auditions March 14, Callbacks March 15

 Auditions are open to students ages 8-18 who are registered for a spring session class. Spring session class registration opens February 1st.

Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to find out everything you need to know about being in a show with CYT Colorado Springs!
 

CYT shows are appropriate for the entire family and are an excellent way to introduce children to the arts!
CYT produces at least one Broadway-style musical each session. Enrollment in CYT classes provides students (ages 8-18) the opportunity to audition for our current production. Students not cast in the show are encouraged to participate in other ways. Depending on age and ability, students (and siblings) can participate on the backstage crew, technical team, or the costume and makeup committees.

Understanding the types of shows that CYT Colorado Springs produces...

Show-in-a-Week camp productions
These are the simplest of our fully licenced shows. In a 5 day summer camp, students audition, rehearse & perform a 30-45 minute performance. Sets are often created by the students and costumes are generally camp shirts accessorized to show their character. There is no parent commitment other than making sure the student gets to camp, memorizes any lines at home & cheering them on at the performance at the end of the week. This performance is free for family and friends to attend. The total cost is the price of the camp

CYT Lite Shows
CYT Lite shows take the show-in-a-week format and stretch it over a class session, which allows the choreography to be more involved and more time to work on vocals, line memorization & characterization. Most rehearsals are during class with 2 longer Saturday morning rehearsals as well. Tech rehearsals are either the night before or on the performance day. Sets and costumes are simple and some costume items are brought from home. There are two public performances and tickets are $5-$10. Parent commitment is minimal although we appreciate parent help with costumes, makeup and on the performance day backstage & for concessions & tickets. The cost is the price of a class plus a production fee.

2-week Master Camp for Teens
The Master Camp is a jr. length show that is rehearsed and performed in just two weeks in the summer. Auditions are generally about a month prior to the camp so those with lines and solos can arrive at the first day of camp with those memorized. Depending on the show, there may be 2 or 3 public ticketed performances. There is no mandatory parent commitment, but we appreciate volunteers to help with costumes, sets & props and then on the show weekend we ask for help at the theater. The total cost is the Master Camp fee.

Main Stage Productions
These are our big shows. We produce at least one Main Stage show every class session in the fall, winter & spring. Students who are ages 8-18 who are registered for a class that session are eligible to audition for that session's Main Stage shows. These shows are either Full or Jr. shows with full costuming and staging performed in a larger theater for one weekend or a smaller theater for two weekends. The commitment is great for both the students and the parents. Rehearsals are on Fridays and Saturdays (some jr. shows may be just Saturdays) for 7-9 weeks plus a tech week in the theater space that includes a longer Saturday rehearsal and 5 hour rehearsals Monday-Thursday the week before the shows begin. There will be 4-5 public performances. Parents are required to serve on pre show and show teams such as sets, costumes, props, concessions, green room and others. All students must be in a CYT class and pay a production fee if cast.
Please note- All students auditioning have the option of telling us if they will accept any role. If they say that they will accept any role and are cast, but drop the show after casting, then they become ineligible to audition for the next two school year sessions (fall, winter, spring) of Main Stage productions.

Summer Stock Shows
These shows are like a Main Stage production except they are in a more condensed timeframe. Auditions would be about a month before the rehearsals begin so cast members can come to rehearsals with their lines already memorized. The rehearsals take place over about a 3 week period and then a full tech week in the theater before 3-4 performances on a weekend. Students have no class requirement in the summer but the fees generally include a camp fee and a production fee or a larger production fee. Parent commitment is smaller than a regular Main Stage show, but we still ask for help in getting our show up and running as well as helping during the performance weekend.

Previous CYT Colorado Springs shows and this season's productions

2021 Season
Winter 2021- You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown- Dir. Carmen Brown & Jennifer Schooley
Spring 2021- Disney's Aladdin Jr.- Dir. Bree Mielke
Summer 2021- Disney's Jungle Book Kids (Show in a Week, ages 8-13)- Dir. Kyla Kay
Summer 2021- Godspell Jr. (Two Week Teen Master Camp)- Dir. Tyler Hutchinson

2021/2022 Season
Fall 2021- Willy Wonka- Dir. Kyla Kay & Heidi Isaac
Spring 2022- Disney's The Little Mermaid- Dir. Nancy Holaday
Summer 2022- Seussical Kids (Show in a Week, ages 8-13)- Dir. Anna Mesward & Sarah Carder
Summer 2022- Much Ado About Nothing  (Two Week Teen Master Camp)- Dir- Nancy Holaday

2022/2023 Season
Fall 2022- Frozen Kids: A CYT Lite Show (ages 8-13)- Dir. Ben & Sasha Mills
Fall 2022- White Christmas- Dir. Heidi Isaac
Winter 2023- Disney's The Lion King Jr.- Dir. Anna Mesward & Sarah Carder
Spring 2023- Fiddler on the Roof Jr.- Dir. Faith Harvey
Summer 2024- 101 Dalmations Kids (Show in a Week ages 8-13)- Dir. Reagan Smalley

2023/2024 Season
Fall 2023- High School Musical- Dir. Anna Mesward & Sarah Carder
Fall 2023- Aristocats Kids: A CYT Lite Show (ages 8-12)- Dir. Amelia Kirk & Becca Bishop
Winter 2024- Seussical- Dir. Faith Harvey
Spring 2024- Dear Edwina Jr.- Dir. Amelia Kirk 
Spring 2024- Les Miserables School Edition- Dir. Renee Davis 
Summer 2024- Finding Nemo Kids (Show in a Week: Ages 8-13)- Dir. Reagan Smalley
Summer 2024- The Spongebob Musical- Dir. Brent & Laura Kennedy

2024/2025 Season
Fall 2024- Jungle Book Kids: a CYT Lite Show (ages 8-13)- Dir. Amelia Kirk & Becca Bishop
Fall 2024- Beauty & the Beast- Dir. Faith Harvey
Winter 2025- Matilda- Dir. Anna Mesward & Sarah Carder
Spring 2025- Tuck Everlasting- Dir. Brenton Newell
Spring 2025- Descendants- Dir. Reagan Smalley


 

Our 2024/25 Season Fall- Beauty & the Beast Winter- Matilda Spring- Tuck Everlasting  Spring- Descendants the Musical Do you want to be in a show? Come join us! The information below is for our Mainstage productions.  Students ages 8-18 are eligible to Audition for our shows.   Details on eligibility age: Students must turn 8 years old by our last performance date to be eligible.  Students must be no older than 18 on the first day of class, but they can turn 19 during our session. (Beginning fall 2023, cast members must still be in high school, even if they are still 18 after they graduate) Each show has unique casting requirements.  We try to cast as many students as we can while still ensuring a good experience and quality stage time. Because of this, it is possible that not all students who audition will be cast in the show. Fall- Beauty & the Beast Winter- Matilda Spring- Tuck Everlasting & Descendants the Musical Students must be registered for a current session class to audition. Students who are registered for a CYT Lite Show performance class are not eligible to audition for the main stage production. After you register for a class, you will be able to sign up for an audition time in your family account on our website. Rehearsals may vary session to session due to artistic team availability, but are usually Fridays from 5:00-8:30 & Saturdays between 10:00-4:00.  Not all cast members will be called to all rehearsals or for the whole rehearsal. Tech week rehearsals are 4:00-9:00 Monday-Thursday the week before performances. If cast in our production, there is a production fee of $225.  Siblings' production fee is $200 (For the 2024/25 school year season, ages 16 and up will have a $150 production fee) See below for more information about auditions and parent involvement. Contact Kyla Kay with any questions. kyla@cytcoloradosprings.org

This is your minute to shine! Each student auditioning will sing a song of their choice from a Broadway musical or musical movie.  This vocal audition should be 60- 90 seconds or shorter and must be sung with an instrumental only backing track.  You will upload your backing track to our Airtable audition form before auditions and we will have it ready to go for you. We do not allow a capella auditions.  Students auditioning will sing their vocal auditions in groups of 10.
The second part of the audition is a dance audition. The dance audition will be held at the end of the audition night after all vocal auditions are complete. All auditioners are required to attend the dance audition. If you don't see yourself as a dancer, that's okay! The artistic team just needs to see how you move.
A monologue is not usually a part of our auditions.  This is because it is rare in a musical that you would perform a monologue and we want to see your acting skills while you sing and dance!  If a monologue is required, it will be  from a list of monologues taken from the show that would be provided to you after you sign up to audition.
After all the auditions are complete, the artistic team will meet to decide who they need to see more from.  Those students will then receive what is called a "callback". Students with a callback will return the next day at the time given to them so the artistic team can see them again.  They should be ready to sing, dance or perform scenes.  Students who audition can check late Friday night or Saturday morning in their family account to see if they have a callback or not.  If you do receive a callback, it could be for just a few minutes or for several hours. Count on getting to read or sing one time. Anything more than that is just a bonus. There will be actors called back who get to do more than others. Auditions are a time when everyone gets the same chance. Callbacks are different and it is not an equal opportunity time. Once the artistic team has seen what they need from you, then you are done even if others called for the same role are kept longer.
If you do not receive a callback, that does not mean you were not cast in the show.  It just means that the directors saw all they needed from you during the auditions.  Many roles are cast without needing a callback.
Callbacks are closed.  Parents are asked to drop their students off and leave the building. They will get a call when it is time to pick their student up.

If you have questions about your audition and want feedback, please wait one week before contacting the show coordinator to ask for feedback from the team. Auditions and casting bring out lots of emotions and it is good to give some time before getting feedback.

CYT runs our casting a bit differently than other theater companies.  We do not offer roles for cast members to accept or turn down.  We ask that you answer this question on the audition form: Will you accept any role? If you answer yes to this question we know that you are happy to play any role (including ensemble) if cast in the production.  We love to see that yes, because we realize the value of being a part of a cast in any and every role.  If you are not willing to be cast in any role, you need to let us know by checking no and then listing the roles you would be willing to play.
If the artistic team does not choose to cast you in any of those roles, then you will not be cast in the show.  Once the cast list is posted, we expect that those cast are committed to our production.
If you say you will accept any role, but then drop the show after casting anyway, this will affect your future casting and you will not be able to audition for the next main stage production.

The directing team needs to know what rehearsals you will be missing.  It is imperative that they have this information on the audition form.  Absences that come up after casting will not be excused.  There is no “magic number” of excused absences that will make or break getting cast, however, the more absences you have the more difficult chances of getting cast become. 

Any information is helpful. If you are unsure about a conflict, list it as “negotiable”.   If you list conflicts as “negotiable”, the artistic team may contact you during casting to ask if you are willing to remove the conflict all together. If you need to leave early or arrive late, that is still considered a conflict and we need to know what time you will be arriving or leaving. If you think you might go camping or if there might be a dance or other event you might want to go to, it needs to be on your conflict form.  If you don't have the dates, please just make note of it on the form so the team knows ahead of time about the possible conflict.  Again, no conflicts may be added after casting.

Rehearsal schedules may vary by show, but most shows rehearse on Friday evenings from 5:00-8:30pm and Saturdays between 10am-3pm or 12pm-5pm.

If you are unable to attend auditions because you have a conflict or are out of town, we do accept video audition submissions. If you are available to audition in person, we ask that you do.  It is always better to audition in person.  If you do need to submit a video audition, please work this out in advance with Rachel Jones, the show Coordinator. All video submissions must be submitted before the first night of auditions. rachel@cytcoloradosprings.org
Most of the time, in order to be considered for a lead, cast members will need to be available for callbacks.  Occasionally the artistic team can do a callback via video, but it is to your advantage to be at callbacks in person.

Families are a huge part of CYT. We could not put on our shows without our families' help on our production teams.  Each family is required to have at least one parent serve on a pre show team and a show team.  This commitment will be 20+ hours. If a parent is not able to make this time commitment, then they are able to ask a friend or family member who is at least 21 years old to step in and fulfill this commitment for their student. This person must be identified on the parent commitment form at auditions. Options for parent committees include, but are not limited to: costumes, props, sets, technical (sound lights, etc.), make-up/hair, concessions, greenroom, backstage, programs, photography, and box office/house management. Please don't let this parent commitment scare you. We are able to find ways to make things work for parents to help in creative ways when needed.  Most parents really enjoy getting to know the other families as part of parent teams.

Parents commit to attend two mandatory parent meetings.  One will be the first rehearsal weekend and the second will be the 7th rehearsal weekend.  

Parents are also committing to getting their student to every rehearsal that they are called to, and not adding any conflicts after auditions, including for birthday parties, dances, family trips, etc.  Anything that you know might come up should be listed on the conflict form at the time of auditions. No conflicts may be added after auditions.

Parents or other family members or friends on production teams or helping out with any volunteer area need to have a background check through CYT and complete the online child safety training.
 

There is no cost to audition for a CYT show, but if your child is cast in the production, there will be a $225 production fee ($200 for any siblings after the first) added to your account. For the 2024/25 season, students ages 16 and up will have a $150 production fee. The production fee covers a show t-shirt for the cast member.  Extra show shirts may be purchased by family members and friends.

Although most costumes are provided by CYT, items like socks, shoes and underdressing as needed will need to be purchased by the student. Some common items like leggings, sweatpants, or a t-shirt, may be requested to bring from home. 
 
Parents and other volunteers need a background check through CYT.  The cost for this is about $20. A new background check is not needed each show.

Each family is also responsible to sell at least 12 tickets to our production.  To help you with this, each family will have an online box office link that they can give to families and friends to purchase discounted tickets in their child's name. If the 12 tickets are not sold by the final performance, the discounted cost of the number of tickets not sold (from the 12) will be added to the family account and must be paid before the student can register for a future class session or camp.

On the back end, a child must be no older than 18 on the first night of class to participate & audition for the show. but can turn 19 during the session. A student age 7, must turn 8 by the final performance to participate in the production.  (Beginning fall 2023, cast members must still be in high school, even if they are still 18 after they graduate)

This is an excellent video where Dr. Heather LaForge discusses the CYT casting process. I encourage every parent and student to watch it!