The Brewster Theater Company holds auditions Jan. 9 and 10 for its upcoming production of Eric Coble’s “Bright Ideas.â€? Producers are looking for four men, in their 20s to 40s, and five women, in their 20s to 60s, at auditions at the Brewster Public Library on Main Street in Brewster. Tryouts will run from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. both nights.

Here’s how producers describe the show:

“How far would you go for your child?  For Genevra and Joshua Bradley, the question is no longer hypothetical.  Their three-year-old son, Mac, is next on the waiting list to get into the Bright Ideas Early Childhood Development Academy – and everyone knows once you’re in there, your life will unfold with glorious ease.  Josh and Gen have had to scramble all their lives to get this far … and now they are on fatal dinner party away from the ultimate success as parents:  The Right Pre-School.  You may never look at pre-school — or pesto — the same way again…â€?

Readings will be done from material provided, so there’s no need to prepare a monologue.

“Bright Ideas� is scheduled to be performed on March 8, 14, 15, and 22 at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, Federal Road, Brewster.

For further information, including cast descriptions and directions, go to www.brewstertheatercompany.org or send e-mail to rdietzen@gmail.com
or leave a message at: 845-598-1621.

Yorktown Stage will hold auditions Jan. 6 and 7 for its upcoming production of Disney’s “High School Musicalâ€? — by appointment only — at the theater at 1974 Commerce St. in Yorktown Heights.  Call 914-962-0606 or e-mail yorktownstage@aol.com for an appointment.

Auditions will be Sunday, Jan. 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday, Jan. 7 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Callbacks will be Tuesday, Jan. 15 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Performances are scheduled for April 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and April 6 and 13 at 1 p.m.

Rehearsals will begin March 2 and run weekdays 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends from noon to 6. All actors are not required every day.

Requirements:
• Bring sheet music in the appropriate key.
• Be prepared to sing 16 bars (possibly more). An accompanist is provided.
• Bring  headshot (or small non-returnable photograph).
• Bring resume or a list of experience.
• Non-professionals must be able to speak loudly and clearly.

Actors Conservatory Theatre announces auditions for its Junior Troupe production of the “Barnum,” the circus musical.

Open auditions are Sunday, Jan. 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and Thursday, Jan. 10 from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Auditioners must be in grades 5 through 12 and audition slots will be arranged in the order of arrival. Jennifer Langford will direct, with choreography by Janice Paganelli and musical direction by George Croom.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Phineas Taylor Barnum
Chairy Barnum (P.T. Barnum’s wife)
Joice Heth (The Oldest Woman Alive)
Tom Thumb (Smallest Man in the World)
Julius Goldschmidt (Jenny Lind’s manager)
Jenny Lind (Swedish Soprano)
Blues Singer (A black woman, same as Joice Heth)
James A. Bailey (Small Circus Owner)

Ringmaster (Circus performer, same as James A. Bailey)
Chester Lyman (Joice Heth’s manager)
Amos Scudder (Owner of the American Museum)
Sherwood Stratton (Tom Thumb’s father)
Mrs. Sherwood Stratton (Tom Thumb’s mother)
Wilton (Barnum’s assistant on the Jenny Lind tour)
Edgar Templeton (Political party boss)
Humbert Morrissey (Political party boss)

First Woman (“Women’s Emporium� Scene)
Second Woman (“Women’s Emporium� Scene)
Concertmaster (Jenny Lind concert scene)

Tumblers, Jugglers, Clowns, Aerialists, Acrobats, Gymnasts, Bricklayers, Passersby, Museum Patrons, Strongmen, Beefeaters, The “Mob� in general, The Bridgeport Pageant Choirs, and Bands of every size, shape and description.

Rehearsals will be Sundays at 4 p.m. and Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., with performances April 4 at 8 p.m., April 5 at 2 and 8 p.m. and April 6 at 2 p.m.

For more information, e-mail ACTShows2@aol.com or call 914.391.6558

Actors Conservatory Theatre is at 20 Buckingham Road in Yonkers. Directions to the theatre can be found at: www.actshows.org/directions.html

Yorktown Stage announces audition dates for next spring’s production of “Disney’s High School Musical.”

Tryouts are Sunday, Jan. 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday, Jan. 7 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Callbacks will be Tuesday, January 15, 2008, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Performances will be Saturdays, April 5 and 12 at 2 PM and 7 PM and Sundays, April 6 and 13 @ 1 PM

Rehearsals begin March 2: weekdays 7 – 10 pm, weekends 12 – 6 pm.
All actors are not required every day.

For the auditions:
• Bring sheet music in the appropriate key.
• Be prepared to sing 16 bars (possibly more). An accompanist is provided.
• Bring headshot (or small non-returnable photograph).
• Bring resume’ (list of experience is acceptable).
• Non-professionals must be able to speak loudly and clearly.

For more information:
Phone: 914/962.0606
website: www.yorktownstage.org

email: yorktownstage@aol.com.

I am a Christmas music freak.

I listen to Handel’s “Messiah” year-round. You should hear my 7-year-old son sing the “Hallelujah Chorus.” So I’m pleased to pass on the news that “Bending Towards the Light – Jazz Nativity” is coming to Nyack’s Riverspace on Dec. 21 at 8 p.m.

And even more pleased to tell you that Anne Phillips and Bob Kindred — the writer/producers of the piece — are looking for a boy soprano to sing the title song “Bending Towards the Light.”

On Monday, Nov. 19, they’ll audition for a 7- to 12-year-old male soprano to play the shepard boy who will sing the title song.   The rest of the cast for this wondrous mix of theatre and jazz will be top New York jazz cats and singers.

Auditions will be held at Riverspace, 119 Main St., Nyack on Nov. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Fort Hill Players is about to hold auditions for the Westchester premiere of
Steve Martin’s “The Underpants.â€?

Adapted from Carl Sternheim’s “Die Hose,â€? it’s the story of Louise Maske, a bureaucrat’s pretty but sexually neglected young wife, whose bloomers unaccountably slip to her ankles when she’s watching the king’s parade. When she rents out a room in her apartment, a flighty poet seeking his muse, and a Jewish dentist quickly answer the call. Upstairs neighbor, Gertrude, a voyeuristic busybody, fuels the frenzy, while boorish husband Theo is too consumed by the fear of social rammifications to see what is going on right under his nose.

Auditions are Nov. 27 and 29 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. at Rochambeau School, 28 Fisher Ave., White Plains. For directions, go to www.FortHillPlayers.com or call  914-946-5143.

Performance dates are March 14, 15, 21, 22.

YCP THeaterWorks will hold auditions for their production of Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchardâ€? on Nov. 26 and 29 at 7 p.m. at the Van Cortlandtville School Theater on Route 6 in Mohegan Lake, across from the Cortlandt Town Center.

Director Melinda O’Brien says there are 12 main roles open of various ages ranging from 16 to those in the 40’s, with some walk-on parts as well.

Performances will be in late January and early February.
For information call O’Brien at 914-962-3431 or e-mail her at
mmlibrarytheatre@hotmail.com

The newly minted White Plains Performing Arts Center is holding seasonal auditions on Saturday, for Equity and non-Equity actors and actresses, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Interested folks should bring a picture and resume and be prepared to sing 32 bars of a song.

Artistic director Jack W. Batman says they’ll be looking to fill the fully stage d”Man of La Mancha” cast (production dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 16) — and find talent for “Ragtime,” the concert version which will be staged Feb. 1-3.

Amadeus Conservatory of Music and Theater in Chappaqua will hold auditions for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Catsâ€? on Saturday, Oct. 13 from noon to 1 p.m. at 201 King Street, Chappaqua, N.Y.

Auditioners should bring a song of their choice and a short monologue. The show will be the culmination of a musical theater workshop directed by Lin Snider.

Rehearsals will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays in Chappaqua. Production dates are Feb. 2 and 3.

Interested? Call 914-238-0388 to schedule an audition time. For more information, visit www.amadeusconservatory.com.

With Labor Day weekend moments away, can “The Nutcracker� be far off?

Apparently, not. Local theater companies are looking toward the fall, with auditions set across the Lower Hudson Valley.

Here’s a sampling:

“All in the Timing�: David Ives, a master of clever, short plays, is on tap for YCP TheaterWorks, based at the Van Cortlandtville School in Mohegan Lake. Director Elaine Hartel holds auditions at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 and 5, with callbacks scheduled for Sept. 6. There are 16 roles available — ranging in age from 20s to 70s — in short skits with small casts of two to three actors. YCP is presenting this as an opportunity for “acting couples,� with skits that can be worked on by spouses, but Hartel says she’ll look at interested parties. The show dates are Nov. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 at Van Cortlandtville School Theater, Route 6 in Mohegan Lake, across from the Cortlandt Town Shopping Center. 914-762-6685.

“Big River�: Roger Miller’s gospel and bluegrass musical retelling of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn� will be performed by the Canterbury Theatre Ensemble in Cornwall-on-Hudson, certainly within easy range of Rocklanders and those in northern Westchester. Directed by Harold Heno, auditions will be Sept. 5 and 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre, 314 Mountain Road, Cornwall-on-Hudson, part of the Storm King center. Principal and chorus parts are available for all ages. Auditioners should arrive prepared to sing and read from the script. Call producer Anne Fulton at 845-534-9791.

“Blood Brothers�: Suffern’s Antrim Playhouse is looking for an actor — a baritone between 18 and 30 — to play the lead role of Eddie Lyons in Willy Russel’s “Blood Brothers.� In the rock musical “Prince and the Pauper� story, Eddie is the upper-crust son, raised in private schools, while his brother is raised in poverty. “Blood Brothers� starred David and Shaun Cassidy on Broadway and has been running in London for 20 years, with crowds leaping to their feet at the end, says director Claudia Stefany. Production dates are Oct. 26 to Nov. 18. Call Stefany at 914-329-7252 to set up an audition time. The group’s Web site is www.antrimplayhouse.com.

“Fiddler on the Roof�: Bedford Community Theatre will have auditions Sept. 5 and 6 at the Bedford Hills Community House. All roles are open. The first day of auditions, for adults and teens, will be from 6 to 9 p.m. The tryouts on Sept. 6 start at 4:30 p.m., for children 8 and older, teens and adults. Auditioners should be prepared to sing and be dressed to move. (Request a time slot via e-mail to catetesta@hotmail.com.) Laurie Lewis will direct, with musical direction by Kirk Ehrenreich and choreography by Karla Diamond. Performances are Nov. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18. Bedford Community Theatre is at www.bedfordcommunitytheatre.org.

“Fiddler on the Roof�: Actors Conservatory Theater has done nearly all the casting for its production of “Fiddler,� but director Arlene Wendt is still looking to fill some key roles. Still open are Motel the Tailor, several dancers (for the bottle dance), actors to play young Russians, and two boys age 10 to 13. Rehearsals — Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights — begin Wednesday, at 20 Buckingham Road in Yonkers, just off Lockwood Avenue. Performances are Oct. 25, 26, 27, 28, Nov. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Wendt is also looking for sound and lighting technicians. 914-391-6558.

“The Sound of Music�: Yorktown Stage will hold auditions Sept. 9 and 10 for its production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music.� Auditions are by appointment only on Sept. 9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sept. 10, from 7 to 10 p.m., with callbacks Sept. 17, from 7 to 10 p.m. All roles are open. Auditions will be at Yorktown Stage, 1974 Commerce St., Yorktown Heights. Rehearsals are Oct. 7 through Nov. 8 at the theater, weeknights from 7 to 10:30 p.m., and weekends from noon to 6 p.m. Performances are Nov. 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25. Auditioners should bring a headshot, resume and sheet music in the appropriate key and be prepared to sing 16 bars, possibly more. To arrange an audition time, call 914-962-0606 or e-mail yorktownstage@aol.com.

“Wonder of the World�: Pound Ridge Theatre Company is looking for an actor in his 40s to play Capt. Mike, described as “the droll captain of the Maid of the Mist,� in their production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Wonder of the World.� Director John Thompson says rehearsals are weekday nights beginning next week and that Mike won’t be required at all rehearsals. Performances are Nov. 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17. Contact Thompson at hootdad@yahoo.com.

Westchester Choral Society: The 65-year-old Westchester Choral Society is looking to add to its ranks. Music director Frank Nemhauser plans auditions tonight and next Thursday and Sept. 20 at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Ave., White Plains. Nemhauser is “looking for quality of voice and the ability to read music and learn music,� adding “I would like to stress that the audition procedure will be short and I am extremely kind during auditions.� On the society’s schedule are concerts Dec. 2 and May 18 and a Dec. 9 sing-in of Handel’s “Messiah.� Rehearsals are Tuesdays from 7:30-10 p.m., starting Sept. 11. To schedule a “singer-friendly� audition, call 914-761-3900 ext. 103 or www.westchesterchoralsociety.org.

“The Nutcracker�: Purchase College Conservatory of Dance is looking for children 5-13 to play “soldiers, mice, angels, Santa mints, village children, party guests, and the featured roles of Clara and her brother, Fritz,� in their holiday production of “Nutcracker ’07.� Auditions are Sept. 8 in Studio E of the Dance Building at Purchase College. Children should have some dance experience and be no taller than five feet. Dance attire or sweat pants should be worn to audition. Boys are encouraged to audition. Rehearsals begin Oct. 1, and will vary from one to three rehearsals per week, depending upon the role. Performances are Nov. 27-Dec. 2. Call the Nutcracker ’07 Hotline at 914-251-6803.

“Joy to the World�: Ballet Arts in Pelham is casting its “original holiday musical fantasy revue� — about the overnight goings-on in a toymaker’s shop — with auditions for singers and dancers from age 6 to adult on Sept. 29 and 30. Performances are scheduled for Dec. 14-16. The director is Sheran Daniele. Auditions will be at Ballet Arts, 504 Fifth Ave., Pelham. 914-738-8300.

YCP TheaterWorks is holding open auditions for the comedy “All in the Timing� by David Ives to be directed by Elaine Hartel.

Ives is known for crackling dialogue and actor-challenging stories that are a real hoot.

The audition dates are Sept. 4 and 5 at Van Cortlandtville School Theater on Route 6 in Mohegan Lake, across from the Cortlandt Town Shopping Center.

Callbacks will be Sept. 6.

There are 16 roles for males and females — ranging in age from 20 to 70.

Performances are Nov. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11.

Call 914-762-6685.

Mt. Pleasant Community Theater will hold auditions for “Thoroughly Modern Millie� tonight, June 5 and tomorrow, June 6, at 8 p.m. for vocal, dance and acting. (Production staff should show up from 7 to 8.)

Callbacks will be June 7.

All auditions at the Hawthorne American Legion Hall, 56 Broad Street, Hawthorne.

Performances are last weekend of July and first weekend of August.

For more information call 914-769-7077.