Who Can Be in Our Productions?

Anyone 7 or older can participate in our family operas, from children to adults, inexperienced to classically trained. Anyone 5 or older can participate in our science oratorios. There is no maximum age.

We hold auditions prior to casting our operas to evaluate each participant's vocal and movement abilities, so that we can provide challenging but realizable singing and dancing assignments for as many interested participants as we can accommodate. Our casts and crews consist of both children and adults. We encourage multiple family members to participate. We also welcome adults without children, those with children too young to participate, and empty nesters who would like the experience of performing with children. We require that an adult perform onstage with all children younger than 10 at the time of auditions.

If your children want to sing, but we can't convince you to sing with them, you can be in the crew or help in some other aspect of the production. However, parents should not view NCFO as an after-school activity, dropping their kids off at rehearsal and just coming to watch the show.

Solo and chorus roles in our family operas are assigned to both children and adults. Solo roles for each production are either double cast or triple cast (i.e., two or three singers are assigned to each solo role and alternate performances). This redundancy allows us to provide ample solo opportunities, so that most participants who are interested in and capable of singing a solo role can be given a chance to do so. Solo roles of various difficulty are assigned based on the range, ability and experience of the singer. There are also opportunities for dance solos, which are assigned based on dance experience and ability. All shows include a substantial part for the chorus, providing a vehicle for everyone in the cast to do plenty of singing, whether or not they have a solo role. Everyone sings, and everyone dances!