Posted by Doctor Bird Productions
Meridian Arts Centre – Studio Theatre – March 28/29 2025
Non-Equity and Non-Paying
About the Show: Gazpacho, anyone? A musical adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar’s beloved film of the same name, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is the brainchild of the talented team behind Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Preserving the unusual and exhilarating tone and style of the Oscar-nominated film, Women on the Verge will delight both fans of the film and newcomers to the raucous tale. Both touching and hilarious, Women on the Verge is a story about women and the men who pursue them… finding them, losing them, needing them and rejecting them. At the center is Pepa, whose friends and lovers are blazing a trail through 1980s Madrid. Along with Pepa, there’s her missing (possibly philandering) lover, Ivan; his ex-wife of questionable sanity, Lucia; their son, Carlos; Pepa’s friend, Candela and her terrorist boyfriend; a power-suited lawyer; and a taxi driver who dispenses tissues, mints and advice in equal proportion. Mayhem and comic madness abound, balanced by the empathy and heart that are trademarks of Almodóvar’s work.
Show Dates: March 28/29 2025, 7:30pm
Performance Location: Meridian Arts Centre, Studio Theatre
Rehearsal Location: St. Luke’s United Church, 353 Sherbourne St, Toronto ON
Artistic Director: Manuele Adrian Mizzi
Music Director: Ethan Rotenberg
Choreographer: Emilia Ballester
Rehearsal Dates: January 8, 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10, 18, 24 (6:30pm to 10pm) and March 3, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 2025 (6:30pm-10:30pm), 28 (11- 4 tech rehearsal)
Submissions
Submissions: Will be accepted below on our audition form until August 15th 2024.
Callbacks: Dance and Singing callbacks will be held in Downtown Toronto on August 26th, 2024. 12pm for Dancers and 5pm to 9pm for Singers.
Actors/Singers: Two (2) video excerpts from two contrasting songs (up to 3 mins each) sung to accompaniment tracks, along with your headshot and resume.
Dancers: Please submit your dance reel, one (1) singing excerpt that best showcases your voice, headshot and resume.
Any questions can be submitted by email to doctorbirdproductions@gmail.com.
Please fill out this submission form: https://forms.gle/XujR715hWnSEjnYQ8
Doctor Bird Productions Inc. is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. As such, we encourage performers of all races and ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, abilities, and ages, as well as d/Deaf, to submit auditions for all roles.
*** While everyone is encouraged to audition, we are prioritizing performers of Hispanic and Latinx ethnicities for the principal roles in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Character Breakdown
16-20 person ensemble
5 person dance core (All genders)
Pepa
A working actress. Warm, funny, sardonic, down to earth, emotional, motherly and naturally sexy (i.e., not working it.)
Vocal range top: Ab5
Vocal range bottom: F3
Ivan
Handsome and smooth. Pretty much a haircut and a voice, it would be possible to mistake him for a bounder, but the truth is he falls in love with every woman he meets.
Vocal range top: F4
Vocal range bottom: A2
Lucia
Ivan’s ex-wife. She has just been released from a mental institution after 20 years. Both comic and scary with a heartbreaking vulnerability underneath it all.
Vocal range top: C5
Vocal range bottom: F#3
Carlos
Ivan’s and Lucia’s son. Shy and studious looking, handsome behind glasses. Struggling to break out of his shell.
Vocal range top: C5
Vocal range bottom: C3
Marisa
Carlos’ fiance. Very matter-of-fact and no-nonsense. Firmly holding onto her virginity, but with a passion and freedom struggling to break free.
Vocal range top: C5
Vocal range bottom: C4
Candela
Pepa’s best friend. A working model. Very pretty with a small town innocence underneath her cosmopolitan sexiness, she is easily distracted – usually by love.
Vocal range top: C5
Vocal range bottom: F3
Paulina
A lawyer, a 1987 feminist. Despite her cold demeanor, we must also believe she can be swept off her feet.
Vocal range top: Ab4
Vocal range bottom: Ab3
Taxi Driver
Off-center, talkative and big hearted. He takes on the problems of any of his passengers. Still grounded in reality, he is the spirit and energy of Madrid.
Vocal range top: E4
Vocal range bottom: B2
Pepa’s Concierge
Religious and a little loopy.
Vocal range top: A#4
Vocal range bottom: G3
Ivan’s Concierge
The self appointed ruler of her apartment building.
Vocal range top: A#4
Vocal range bottom: G3
Cristina
A receptionist and a busy body.
Hector
The director and owner of the dubbing studio where Pepa works.
Rosalia
A voice-over actress. Very attractive.
Doctor
A doctor.
Chief Inspector
A tough, no-nonsense police detective.
Detective
The Chief Inspector’s assistant. A bit bumbling.
Telephone Repairman
Handsome.
Ambite
A guy on a motorcycle (or Vespa.)
Two Security Guards
News Reader On TV
Three Magistrates
Young Lucia
A dancer.
Young Ivan
A dancer.
Dance ensemble
Applicants should have a strong background in Jazz. Partnering and background in Spanish dance styles (flamenco, paso doble) is a plus.