ALIZA Original Musical Auditions

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The Minerva Arts Center is proud to announce auditions for ALIZA, a musical theatre piece written by and starring Los Angeles-based artist Ali Mandelbaum. Auditions will take place Tuesday, August 3rd and Wednesday, August 4th from 11:30AM to 2 PM and 6 to 10PM at 1288 Massachusetts Avenue in North Adams, MA.

All who audition are expected to prepare a solo to sing and a short dramatic monologue, in addition to performing cold readings from the script. Rehearsals for the show will take place on weekday evenings, with performance dates scheduled for September 2nd through 5th. This process-oriented production of ALIZA will be directed by Minerva Artistic Director Kathleen O'Mara, musically directed by New York-based Charles Sanchez, and will be one of the first shows to run in the newly opened Minerva Arts Center. For questions or concerns, please contact Eric K. Auld at (518) 610-2574 or erickauld@gmail.com.

ALIZA takes place during the course of a Friday Night Shabbat Service. It is the story of Ali, an alternative Jewish Girl whose punk/goth views don't sitwell with the mainstream Jewish community at her shul—a lackadaisicalcongregation that takes very little seriously, especially Ali's passion for Judaism. Ali asks for guidance and is immediately beset with her ancestors from a diasporic family tree—including Cuban and Israeli Jews, Sephardics and Ashkenazics, and the direct link to the famed "Mandelbaum Gate" in Jerusalem.

They help her on a journey of self-discovery, of connection to family, and eventually a road to the Rabbinate. Ali's ancestors build her confidence in this process, dealing with mentors who do not support her quest, and help quell her fears regarding circumstances she doesn't know if she 's prepared to handle. Above all else, ALIZA is a story about finding family and finding faith.