05/23/00 - Temecula, CA

What: Auditions for Jane Eyre, The Musical
When: Saturday, May 27, 2000, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Where: Temescal Canyon High School Performing Arts Complex
28755 El Toro Road, Lake Elsinore

This Saturday when actors and singers audition for Jane Eyre, The Musical, it will be a beginning and an end for co-writer Kari Skousen of Murrieta. The beginning of the world premiere production of Jane Eyre, The Musical, and the end of five years of development work that included a reading at Mt. San Jacinto College, play excerpts produced in Seattle and Wenatchee, Washington, and a demo music CD produced through a grant from Artists Trust.

With the generous sponsorship of Lake Elsinore Unified School District and a grant from RITA (Responsibility in the Arts) Foundation, Skousen and her sister, Rebecca Thompson are seeing their dream come to fruition. “The nature of this show is so vast that it could not be done properly on a small scale,” Skousen said. “It needed an ample enough budget and professional people to pull it off. We have been adamant about getting it done on a level that would justly serve the music and the message.”

Scott King of Theatre Royale Productions will be handling technical direction, stage design and choreography with his partner, Craig Duke, currently a theatre doctoral candidate at New York University, handling the directing. Both men are well-known in the area, Duke having served as drama teacher at Lake Elsinore High School for eight years before departing for further studies four years ago.

“The Lake Elsinore valley area has no real performance venue or performance group for professional or semi-professional work,” King said. “There are many community groups doing excellent work and for a long time we have wondered what would happen if the best of the community theatre groups came together. What would you end up with and what show would you do? Kari’s script gives us a vehicle to attempt something.”

King said both he and Duke did a lot of research before agreeing to commit to the project. They believe they are creating a show with all the elements to legitimately play at professional venues such as Los Angeles’ Pantages or Shubert Theatres. “We are looking to cast 50 to 60 people,” King said. “There is room for top-notch performers and beginners. It will be run professionally. Bill [Kilpatrick] has written an amazing musical score that could be on Broadway, no problem. We are looking at set design where we never turn out the lights and the scenery moves mechanically.”

Craig Duke, director, brings the experience of over 50 productions. “We hope we can give it a really excellent first production and a forum so people can see it and judge for themselves. The music is great and the characters of Jane and Rochester are really well written and fully realized on the stage. That is what really got me interested in the show to begin with.”

Bill Kilpatrick, Temecula resident and owner of Quarternote Productions makes his living doing musical arranging, playing keyboard with a blues band and doing classical guitar jobs, as well as getting checks from international airplay of his work. As musical arranger and composer for the project, he also felt the strength of the characters through the lyrics written by Skousen and Thompson. “The lyrics are as good as any lyrics I’ve ever read. The lyrics already had the music in them. Some of the songs just jumped off the page – they were already there, I just had to write them down.”

Kilpatrick came to the project excited for the challenge to do something bigger than he had ever worked on before. He too feels all the elements are there to send his career cosmic, “If it takes off like we all hope it does – well, I’ve been writing for a hundred years, but something like this validates you, and then you are being sought out by
other people.”

WhiteRose Productions has succeeded in pulling in the professionals needed to produce what Skousen calls a “musical epic”.

“It took a long time to lay the ground work,” Skousen said. “Now we have a show. Now we can do it. That’s what scares me. I know I can rely on myself. But it is also so exciting when you get the right people and they catch the vision. Everyone brings their own talents to it and you start seeing giant leaps!”

To audition for performances to be held August 17-19 and 24-26, come prepared to sing, with sheet music or accompaniment on CD or cassette, and to perform a short monologue. You may also be asked to read. Needed are men and women of all ages and girls and boys, ages 10-14 years old. There is a $50.00 cast participation fee required. For more information, you can contact Kari Shousen at 696-3975.