Woodstock Arts Opens Auditions for 'Spring Awakening' and 'Come From Away' to Launch New Season

Woodstock Arts is looking for its next cast, and the opening two shows of its new season set a high bar. The organization is holding open auditions for "Spring Awakening" and "Come From Away" on May 18 and 19 from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Performers who can't make it in person are welcome to submit a video audition instead.

Both productions are open to actors ages 18 and older. Those called back for "Spring Awakening" will be contacted for a session on May 30; "Come From Away" callbacks follow on June 13. Audition slots, full requirements, and virtual submission instructions are available at woodstockarts.org/auditions.

The two shows couldn't be more different in tone, which may be exactly the point. "Spring Awakening", with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on Frank Wedekind's 1891 play, is a raw, electric rock musical set in 19th-century Germany that wrestles with adolescence, sexuality, and repression. When it reached Broadway, it swept the 2007 Tony Awards, taking home eight prizes including Best Musical. Its combination of urgent contemporary rock and genuinely difficult subject matter makes it a production that demands something from both its cast and its audience.

"Come From Away" operates on an entirely different frequency. The musical tells the true story of the roughly 7,000 airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, after U.S. airspace closed on Sept. 11, 2001, and the small Canadian town that opened its homes, schools, and churches to absorb them overnight. The show won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2017 and has resonated with audiences worldwide precisely because its story isn't really about a crisis. It's about what people do for strangers when the world goes sideways. For a community like Woodstock, where that kind of neighborly instinct runs deep, the material lands close to home.

Together, the two productions signal the kind of season Woodstock Arts has built its reputation on, work that draws from the same pool of acclaimed Broadway titles that Atlanta's professional stages pursue, performed by local and regional talent who bring their own investment to the material. The organization serves as the City of Woodstock's official cultural arts organization, presenting theater, visual arts, and community programming throughout the year, and its productions regularly attract performers and audiences from across Cherokee County and the broader north Atlanta region.

For anyone who has ever thought about stepping onto that stage, the audition window is short. Visit woodstockarts.org/auditions for slot availability and everything else you need to know.