AUDITION INFORMATION FOR

Book and Lyrics by Grammy-winning storyteller Bill Harley
Music by Stanford University Professor Paul Phillips

Auditions, by appointment only, October 18 to 26
Performances tentatively March 21 to March 29, 2026

Click HERE for a synopsis of the opera with music and a detailed description of the solo roles
Click HERE for videos from our 2018 production
Download an auditions flyer HERE.
To receive future audition and performance notices, sign up on the NCFO mailing list HERE.

Everyone age 7 or older who wishes to perform is accepted*, but...
We need to hear you sing for casting and voice part assignments, so...

Please schedule a time to sing for us, as follows:
EITHER email auditions26@familyopera.org
OR call 617-835-3162.

Your audition will take 30-60 minutes and will include:

• a vocal evaluation,
• completing and confirming information you will have filled out online, and
• having your picture taken.

​​* Please note that children under 10 require a participating adult.

AUDITION SUMMARY

• Location: 23 Norris Street, Cambridge
  • 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, October 18-19, 25-26, 2025 (Saturday and Sunday), by appointment
  • If you have been exposed or have symptoms, please take a COVID rapid test before in-person auditions, or wear a mask at your audition. Thank you! 
    We will have additional tests and masks available.
• Before you come, you will be asked to fill in an online Google Form for your contact information and volunteer interests.
• Everyone should come prepared to
  • be photographed
  • sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
  • sing the Harmony Audition material provided below IF you're interested in a more challenging close harmony ensemble
  • sing the Harmony Audition AND the Solo Audition material provided below IF you're interested in a lead role
• Adults should also come prepared to
  • discuss your family's schedule from November through March, so that we can flag potential conflicts
  • discuss the online information and volunteer forms you filled out prior to your audition
  • make a voluntary contribution to NCFO if you like (your contribution won't affect our casting decisions)
• Online auditions via Zoom can be arranged, by appointment, October 20-24, 2025, if you are unable to come during either of the audition weekends

AUDITION DETAILS​​

WHO CAN AUDITION

• Anyone currently 7 or older can participate, from children to adults, inexperienced to classically trained. There is no maximum age. Everyone gets in!
• We REQUIRE that:
  • an adult perform onstage with all children currently younger than 10
  • an adult attend rehearsals with all children currently younger than 12
• We may also ask that an adult perform or attend rehearsals with some children above these age limits, on a case-by-case basis.
• The aforementioned adult needn't be the child's parent, and can be responsible for more than one child if they like.

FAMILY PARTICIPATION AND VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS

• We ENCOURAGE participation in our productions by multiple family members, both onstage and offstage.
• We REQUIRE that all cast member families contribute a minimum of 8 hours of work on tasks that support the production (set construction, painting, rehearsal cleanup, concession table, sewing costumes, ushering, makeup, backstage, etc.)
• We are ALWAYS LOOKING for
  • people with an organizational flair to assume leadership roles making the opera company function (e.g., publicity and marketing, logistics, fundraising and development, etc.) and
  • people with a creative flair to help bring this production to life (singing, stage direction, sets and scenery design, props, lighting, costumes, etc.)

We will ask you to sign up for a job at auditions. You can download a description of all available jobs HERE. Please come with more than one job in mind. If you have strong preferences for a particular job, let Emilija know when you schedule your audition.

DONATION AND FEES

NCFO is a self-supporting non-profit organization. We do not charge a fee for participating in our production, nor do we charge admission to our performances. We gratefully accept voluntary, tax-deductible donations to help cover our production costs. Please consider donating to North Cambridge Family Opera, in any amount ($200 to $250 per family is typical), if you enjoy being part of our production or attending our performances.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

• NOVEMBER 9 (Sunday) - first rehearsal and organizational meeting (tentatively at 3:30pm). VERY IMPORTANT for everyone in the cast to attend, including at least one responsible adult from every family.
• NOVEMBER 16 through MARCH 1 - regular rehearsals every Sunday 12:30-6:30*** EXCEPT:
  • just after Thanksgiving (Sunday, November 30)
  • around Christmas and New Year's (Sundays, December 28 and January 4)
  • Presidents Day weekend (Sunday, February 15)
• We WILL be rehearsing on Martin Luther King Day weekend (Sunday, January 18), as well as the second Sunday of school vacation week (Sunday, February 22).
• March 7, 8, 14, and 15 - Runthrough rehearsals and dress rehearsals (MANDATORY - each cast member scheduled for about 4 hours each day)
• March 21, 22, 28, and 29 - Performances (two each day, with each cast member scheduled for one performance on each day)

***The entire company rehearses from about 4:00 to 6:30. Those who are in small choruses will occasionally be called between 2:30 and 4:00. Lead soloists may be scheduled to rehearse at any time between 12:30 and 6:30, and minor soloists will also be called early at one or two rehearsals. Precise schedule depends on who is available and what needs work and is announced a few days before each Sunday rehearsal.

Check your family's schedule before accepting a role in this show. Your availability may affect our ability to cast you.

PREPARING FOR THE VOCAL AUDITION

Ordinarily, all family members who want to perform in our show audition at the same time. The vocal audition will consist of:

• a set of vocalization exercises to warm you up
• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in a number of different keys (or some other song if your prefer), and
• maybe also Row, Row, Row Your Boat, sung as a round.
• Those not aspiring to a large solo don't need to prepare anything to sing.
• If you want to be considered for one of the larger solo roles, you must also prepare the music provided below, including:
  • the harmony audition (please try, even if it's hard for you); and
  • one the four solo songs below. It doesn't matter which one, just choose one you're most comfortable singing (your choice won't affect our casting decisions).
  • It is VERY important to practice with all of the MP3s, for both the harmony and solo passages.
• You can also prepare the harmony audition if you're not interested in a large solo role, but want to show off your ability to sing harmony. That will help us place you in an appropriate part, even if it is not a solo role.

We will evaluate you on all aspects of the song you sing in audition, including intonation, rhythmic precision, dramatic presentation of the character, and ability to sing harmony, so please work on each of these aspects. We will make an audio recording of a portion of your audition and sometimes a video to help us with casting.

AUDITION MATERIALS, including PDFs and MP3s, will be posted here by late August or early September.

A NOTE ON CASTING

We put a great deal of thought into casting the opera. Usually we double cast each role, so each soloist sings in four of the eight performances. So far we have been able to give everyone who wants one a solo in each of our productions, and we hope to continue this tradition, but cannot guarantee it. There is always a lot of singing to do in the chorus and in smaller ensembles, though.

Because our shows are double cast, we must divide participants into two casts before final role assignments can be made. It will be a month or two before you find out your solo assignment, so please be patient.

We endeavor to assign solos that will challenge you but not overwhelm you. We consider not only ability to sing, act and dance the role, but also age, number of years participating in the opera, and roles sung in previous NCFO operas. We will not assign you a solo role that requires you to sing harmony unless you have demonstrated the ability to do so in audition (to do otherwise would not be fair to the other ensemble members).

Click HERE for our current COVID/illness policy for rehearsals and performances.