Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative to hold auditions for 2023 fall musicals

LACONIA — As rehearsals for Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative’s big summer show, The Sound of Music, are getting underway, the producers are already preparing for end-of-June auditions for the two fall musicals the group is producing.

Powerhouse is a program of the Belknap Mill and the resident theater company of the Colonial Theatre, and this fall will be presenting a unique and challenging musical in each location.

Auditioning on Sunday, June 25, at 1 p.m., at the Colonial is "Captains Courageous, the Musical." This all-male musical calls for 16 singing men, one boy between 10 and 12 and one teen between 16 and 20, to come aboard for the premiere of this musical based on Rudyard Kipling’s novel and the 1930s MGM film starring Spencer Tracey. Set on a Gloucester fishing schooner, the show blends touching ballads and rousing sea chanteys in this story that celebrates New England’s fishing traditions and the tools and trials that fathers pass to their sons.

"Captains Courageous" will be directed by Bryan Halperin, who previously directed multi-award-winning productions of it in Massachusetts in 2001 and 2003. Performances will be Friday to Sunday, Oct. 20-22, at the Colonial.

On Monday, June 26, and Wednesday, June 28, at 6:30 p.m., at the Belknap Mill, the group will be auditioning for "Quilters," an all-female musical that looks at the joys and sadness of pioneer women told through the lens of an aging mother and her daughters making a final quilt together. The Belknap Mill Quilters Guild will be actively involved in this production, teaching quilting skills to the cast and sharing their expertise.

The director, Lauren-Shelby Douglas, is looking to cast between seven to 14 singing women of all ages to bring these stories to life.

For those who are interested in auditioning for these hidden musical gems, but can’t make the audition dates, video submissions will also be accepted.

Learn how to register and prepare for auditions at belknapmill.org/powerhouse-auditions, or email powerhouse@belknapmill.org.

There is a $25 participation fee if cast, but nobody will be turned away if this presents a hardship.