The British Theatre Academy, the production company for young artists behind productions of ‘Once On This Island’ (starring Sam Tutty immediately before he was cast in ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ in the West End), ‘Bring It On’, ‘Dogfight’ and ‘The Color Purple’ are bringing Jason Robert Brown’s ‘13’ to London’s Cadogan Hall on August 31, 2021.
Today they launch a search for disabled actors aged 12-17 to play the role of Archie, a 13-year-old boy with muscular dystrophy. The company would love to consider young artists with this condition, wheelchair users or other actors of disability.
Director Dean Johnson said: “Visibility is important in theatre, and The British Theatre Academy and the creative team for ‘13’ want to do what we can to find someone for the role of Archie who has a lived experience of some of the themes explored with him in the show. It can really make a difference, and we want to help build a future where disabled actors feel included in that process.”
If you fit the brief, or know someone who does, the link to register is
https://btatheatricals.wufoo.com/forms/13-auditions-archie/
‘13’ tells the story of 13-year-old Evan, a young Jewish geek whoss parents divorce, forcing a move from New York to small town Indiana, where he has to make enough friends just in time for his Bar Mitzvah. The musical, which famously launched the performing career of Ariana Grande, and is currently being adapted for Netflix as a movie, is making its first return to London since BTA’s five-star production at the Ambassadors Theatre in 2017.
Creative team: Director Dean Johnson (‘BKLYN’, ‘First Date’), with Chris Ma (‘Dear Evan Hansen’, ‘Once On This Island’) as Musical Director and Corin Miller (‘G2K’ ‘Footloose’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’) to choreograph.
The British Theatre Academy, led by producer Matthew Chandler-Garcia, provides free performing opportunities for young artists each summer to “limit barriers to training and ensure the future of UK theatre is diverse in all demographics and world leading in terms of quality”.
