Auditions for RENT

Name: Auditions for RENT
Start: 2025-09-28T12:30:00-04:00
Location: The Florida Ballet

Schedule

Sun, 28 Sep, 2025 at 12:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

The Florida Ballet | Jacksonville, FL

We'll be hosting an open casting call for our upcoming production RENT!

IN-PERSON AUDITIONS: Sunday, September 28, 2025
— Registration is from 12:00pm - 12:30pm
— Audition begins promptly at 12:30pm
This audition is NOT by appointment — all interested performers should arrive before 12:30pm.

– AUDITION LOCATION –
The Florida Ballet
10131 Atlantic Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

– PRE-REGISTRATION –
Save time by pre-registering for this audition! Fill out the form (https://forms.gle/h5P7YFwMVvSbzGYNA) ahead of the audition date to secure your place in line.
• Pre-registration closes at 10:30am on September 28, 2025.
• Filling out this form prior to the audition date is STRONGLY encouraged but not required.
• Performers will be seen in order of registration.

– PREPARATIONS –
• Please prepare 16-32 bars of a song in the style of music found in Rent.
• An accompanist will be provided. A bluetooth speaker will be available for instrumental tracks. No acapella auditions.
• Please be prepared to participate in a movement/dance call.
• You may be asked to read selections from the script, depending on time.
• Please bring a headshot and resume. (If you pre-register, we will have your headshot and resume at the audition.)
• Please bring ALL known conflicts between September 29 - December 21, 2025.

– VIDEO SUBMISSIONS –
Can't make the in-person audition? Video submissions will be accepted for instances where performers cannot attend the in-person audition only.
• Performers should submit a video per the vocal audition requirements below.
• The deadline for video submissions will be Saturday, September 28th at 12:30pm. Videos submitted after this deadline may not be considered.
Video Registration & Submission: https://forms.gle/82mPLdkU6NinjicBA

— REHEARSAL INFORMATION —
• Although the schedules are currently not set, productions typically rehearse *select* weeknights (Monday – Friday, anywhere between 6:30pm – 10:00pm.) Occasional weekend rehearsals may occur depending on the conflicts and needs of the production.
• While we are displaced from our facility, we will be rehearsing in offsite locations. These will be communicated when the rehearsal schedule is provided!

– ABOUT RENT –
RENT is the landmark rock musical that shook Broadway and still pulses with urgency today. Loosely inspired by Puccini’s La Bohème, Jonathan Larson’s Tony- and Pulitzer Prize–winning phenomenon follows a year in the lives of young artists and friends in New York City’s East Village at the height of the 1990s. Struggling to create and survive under the shadow of HIV/AIDS, they navigate fractured relationships, fragile health, and the lure of compromise, yet discover unexpected love and a community strong enough to carry them through. With unforgettable songs like “Seasons of Love” and “La Vie Bohème,” RENT remains both a gritty portrait of survival and a soaring celebration of living for today.
Directed by Bradley Akers
Music Direction by Anthony Felton
Choreography by Theresa Pazanowski
Sponsored by David & Cecilia Cristol

– PRODUCTION DATES –
December 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 2025

– PRODUCTION VENUE –
PBTS Mainstage

– AVAILABLE ROLES –
* Non-equity only *
* Due to the nature of the material, we will not be casting performers under the age of 18 *
MARK COHEN
Age 20-30 | Vocal range A2 - G4
A filmmaker. He connects deeply with his roommate Roger and longs for the days when his group of friends were closer. In his struggles to find his place in the world, he often finds himself on the outside looking in. Mark comes from privilege but desires to understand his responsibility to himself and his community.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a man. Open to actors of any racial identity.
ROGER DAVIS
Age 20-30 | Vocal range F2 - A4
A musician/singer-songwriter recovering from drug addiction and living with HIV. Roger has mourned members of his community and is grieving the loss of his deceased former girlfriend. He longs for connection and meaning through his music. He is roommates with Mark in an abandoned loft.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a man. Open to actors of any racial identity.
TOM COLLINS
Age 25 - 35 | Vocal range F#2 - A4
A professor of technology at NYU, grounded in anarchy and liberation. Tom is smart, caring, and the backbone of his friend group. His chosen family is lifted by his positive and nurturing spirit. His warmth and empathic presence allows him to invite his friends to examine personal accountability. Tom used to be a roommate in the loft with Mark and Roger. He is also living with HIV.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a man. Historically played by an actor of color.
BENJAMIN COFFIN III
Age 25 - 35 | Vocal range Bb2 - F#4
Mark and Roger’s landlord and former roommate. Benny struggles to find connection with his former chosen family. He is constantly battling being a friend while pleasing his new white in-laws. Despite being seen as a sellout, Benny longs to know who he is and where he fits in his community.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a man. Historically played by an actor of color.
JOANNE JEFFERSON
Age 25 - 40 | Vocal range G3 to E5
A public interest lawyer who fights for the underdog. Joanne comes from a conservative upper-class black family. As an out and proud lesbian, she demands her own liberation. She is smart, purposeful, and grounded. She is dating Maureen, and that connection brings her into an established chosen family where she discovers the power of being celebrated in your own community.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a woman. Historically played by an actor of color.
ANGEL DUMOTT SCHUNARD
Age 20 - 30 | Vocal range C3 to A4
A vibrant street musician who radiates light. Angel moves through the world as a gender nonconforming human also living with HIV. Angel has an incredible spirit with a gift for inspiring human connection all while being a street fashion icon. Magnetic and rooted in living for the moment, Angel meets and swiftly becomes Tom Collins’s partner, a connection that brings Angel into the chosen family group. Must be a confident mover and willing to learn percussion.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are strongly encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies/moves within multiple gender representations. Historically played by an actor of color.
MIMI MARQUEZ
Age 18 - 25 | Vocal range C4 - F5
A dancer determined to live in the moment. She is an addict who is living with HIV. A young woman on a journey to find who she is and what she is fighting for. Mimi’s addiction and intentions are often at odds. She desperately tries to make the best of life in whatever way she can. Mimi meets the chosen family through her unexpected romantic connection to Roger and is forever changed. Must be a confident mover.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a woman. Played by a Latine actor.
MAUREEN JOHNSON
Age 20 - 35 | Vocal range C4 - F5
A performance artist full of well-intended passion and anarchist energies of which she pours into her art no matter the medium. She’s a former roommate of Roger, Mark, Collins, and Benny. She completes the chosen family rounding out the space with intoxicating energy dripping with sexualized vigor. Maureen is queer and openly dating Joanne after recently breaking up with Mark. Bursting with confidence and a vivacious spirit, Maureen navigates how to be a less self-centered human who is accountable for their actions. Artistically speaking, she is a radical arts advocate.
*Gender-Nonconforming/Non-Binary Actors are welcomed and encouraged to submit for this role with the understanding that the character identifies as a woman. Open to actors of any racial identity.
ENSEMBLE:
Ages 20 - 40 | Varying vocal ranges
The Ensemble of this world is critical and incredibly valuable to provide the foundation and full structure that holds and supports the stories RENT must share. Ensemble roles include MARK’S MOM, MR. JEFFERSON (Joanne’s dad), MRS. JEFFERSON (Joanne’s mom), PASTOR, WOMAN WITH BAGS, GORDAN, MR. GREY, STEVE, MAN WITH SQUEEGEE, WAITER, PAUL, ALEXI DARLING, ROGER’S MOM, and OTHERS. Ensemble tracks and role combinations will be developed upon final casting.