Blue Elephant Theatre, Camberwell

When a young child called Dami doesn't listen and breaks something precious once again, they feel they're only fit for Santa's Naughty List. But Mrs Claus and her right-hand Elf have other ideas and invite Dami on a mission to capture the magic needed to make reindeer fly at Christmas - and build their self-esteem in the meantime.

Mrs Claus’ List is a new show for families and children by Blue Elephant Theatre. Suitable for ages 3+, it will be fun and interactive, with a positive message about self-esteem for young people. Our Christmas shows are a highlight of our year, usually selling out completely and always receiving positive feedback, as well as being an offwestend.com finalist in 2021. This year, we are also working with local children with SEN to make the production more accessible.

All actors should have bold physicality and enjoy being silly onstage. They may have to multi-role at times. They should be comfortable singing onstage and leading Christmas carols. Ideal applicants will have experience in children’s theatre and the ability to react quickly and ad-lib in response to audience interaction.

Blue Elephant Theatre welcomes applications from all sections of the community regardless of race, color, ethnic or national origins, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or religious beliefs. With our children’s shows especially, however, we always aim for our casting to reflect our multi-ethnic local community.

Character breakdown:

Dami
Dami is a South East London school child. Dami is caring and creative but also boisterous and silly. We are seeking a Black actor of any gender who can portray an energetic 9-year-old. The actor should be over 18 so we are not seeking someone with a realistic playing age of 9!
Dami speaks with a South East London accent.
Blue Elephant Theatre is especially interested in applications from neurodivergent actors for the role of Dami.

Elf
Elf is something of a fussy character who worries about health & safety and breaking rules and can be quite cutting but is brave, loyal, and encouraging.
Elf can be played by an actor of any gender, age, or ethnicity, but we especially encourage applications from people from the Global Majority (especially from Black, Latin American, and South East Asian backgrounds) and/or working-class backgrounds to better represent the world of the young people who will be watching.

Mrs Claus/Headteacher/Dragon
Mrs Claus is an energetic character who uses a scooter to get around her workshop. The actor should be comfortable with playing multiple roles and have strong physicality for the non-speaking dragon role.
We are seeking an actor of any ethnicity who is cast as female and has a playing age of 30+.

Dates:
Workshop & Costume fitting: Pencilled for Friday, November 15th
Rehearsals: Monday 25th November – Friday 29th November, 9am –6pm
Monday 2nd December & Tuesday 3rd December, 9am – 6pm

Tech & Dress Rehearsal: Thursday 5th December
Performance Days:Friday 6th Dec - Sunday 22nd December with days off on 9th December, 13th December & 20th December. Performances are generally morning and afternoon but there is an evening performance on Saturday 14th December.

Total Payment: £2710 including holiday pay

How to apply: Please apply via our audition notice on Spotlight or by emailing submissions@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk by 10 am on Thursday, October 24th with a CV/spotlight link and a short cover note outlining your suitability for the project. You are welcome to send the cover note as a video or voice note. If emailing, please entitle the email ‘Mrs Claus’ List’ and address it to Aaron Blackledge and indicate which character you are applying for. It would be helpful if you could indicate if you have had a DBS check within the last three years and if you have any special skills.

We will review applications as soon as possible after submission and will request self-tapes as the next step. For the self-tapes, we will send you a short piece to read and ask you to sing 16 bars of a song.

We will then hold callbacks on November 1st.

In person auditions, rehearsals, and performances will be at Blue Elephant Theatre, 59a Bethwin Road, SE5 0XT.

Please note that our performance space is on the ground floor, where there is also an accessible bathroom, and is accessible for wheelchair users but our upstairs bar is not.