Elsewhere in entertainment and the arts:
TODAY
Magi benefit
The North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce's 19th annual "A Night at the Rep" benefit, today at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock, starts at 5 p.m. with a silent auction -- more than 150 items including sports memorabilia, tickets to sporting and cultural events, vacation packages, artwork, jewelry, electronic devices and gift certificates -- and then a 7 p.m. performance of the musical The Gift of the Magi. Tickets, $45, include admission, heavy hors d'oeuvres and adult beverages. Proceeds support scholarships and the chamber's educational programs, including Arkansas Scholars and Leadership Renaissance. Call (501) 372-5959, email nlrchamber@nlrchamber.org or visit the website, nlrchamber.org.
AUDITIONS
Mamma Mia!
The Arkansas Repertory Theatre will hold auditions in Little Rock for adults (18 and older, union and nonunion, for its forthcoming production of the musical Mamma Mia! (inspired by and featuring the songs of ABBA, book by Catherine Johnson), by appointment, morning and afternoon of Dec. 9 at the theater, 601 Main St., Little Rock.
Provide a headshot and resume. Prepare 32 bars -- also provide the sheet music -- of a song either from or in the style of the show. There is a preliminary morning dance call. Performers called back following the dance call will be required to sing and possibly read from the script. A list of available roles and additional details are available at therep.org/work-with-us. The director is John Miller-Stephany. Music director is Andrew Cooke; Joe Chvala is the choreographer.
First rehearsal is Feb. 20; production dates are March 16-April 22. To obtain an audition appointment, email Company Manager/Resident Casting Director Peter Mensky at pmensky@therep.org. Put "Mamma Mia Local Request" in the subject line and include your role(s) of interest.
Two-play tryouts
The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock, will hold open auditions, involving cold readings from the scripts, 10 a.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday for two plays -- call (501) 374-3761, email info@weekendtheater.org or visit weekendtheater.org.
• Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. Director Byron Taylor will be casting approximately 30 people of all ages (including two boys and one girl; doubling of parts is a possibility) to play the residents of a small Tennessee town (plus two high-powered nationally famous lawyers and one cynical Baltimore journalist) involved in the trial of a high school teacher accused of teaching evolution to his students. Production dates are Feb. 23-24, March 2-4, and 8-10.
• Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond. Director Candrice Jones will be seeking to cast three men and three women to play members of an affluent black family whose gathering at their Martha's Vineyard home results in tensions over race and privilege. Production dates are May 11-12, 18-20 and 24-26.
ETC.
Stagecraft scholars
The University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College and the Argenta Community Theater are jointly offering "PACT Scholarships" that give Pulaski Tech students college credit for working and learning about set design, stage management and audio and technical work through hands-on, real-life experience within a production environment. Four students -- Lizzy Walkup, Quincy Thurston, Naomi Gower and Lagradia Nelson -- are working on the theater's Dec. 13-23 production of A Christmas Carol.
Up to four students each year will receive $1,000 per semester, equally funded between the theater and the Pulaski Tech Foundation. Qualifications for the scholarship and application details for the spring 2018 semester are available online at tinyurl.com/yb2muq66. Call (501) 812-2830 or email sglasscock@uaptc.edu.
Preservation grants
Feb. 2 is the deadline to apply to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program for its County Courthouse Restoration or Historic Preservation Restoration grant programs. The sub-grants, financed through Real Estate Transfer Tax funds distributed by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, for rehabilitation of historic county courthouses across the state. Find online applications at the website, tinyurl.com/js95c93.
And March 9 is the deadline to apply for Historic Preservation Restoration Grants to rehabilitate buildings listed on the Arkansas or National Registers of Historic Places and owned by local governments or nonprofit organizations or for cemetery preservation. Visit the website, tinyurl.com/y7l37gf2.
Style on 11/28/2017