Venice Theatre auditions are open to the community.
- We are always seeking volunteer actors, singers and dancers to perform with us.
- Actors of all races, ethnicities, cultures, shapes, and sizes are encouraged to audition.
- If you are not available to attend an audition in person, WE ACCEPT SELF-TAPED VIDEO AUDITIONS. Submissions for specific shows must be received no later than the first day of scheduled auditions. You may send a general audition submission at any time via a Youtube link or a link from your cloud to auditions@venicetheatre.net.
Audition Requirements for Nunsense and The Rocky Horror Show
- Please familiarize yourself with the show(s) you are interested in before auditioning.
Nunsense Characters Rocky Horror Characters
- Monologues are required for all auditions. They may be memorized or read. You will have a maximum of two minutes total to present your monologue. Presenting two contrasting monologues (dramatic/comedic) within the two-minute time limit is fine. Presenting less than two minutes of material is okay.
- For musicals, please prepare 16-24 bars or one minute of a song. Please bring sheet music in your key for the accompanist. Come dressed (or prepared to change quickly) for a dance audition.
- PLEASE COME to your appointment EARLY.
Murray Chase
Director, NUNSENSE
Murray Chase served as Venice Theatre’s Executive Director since 1995. As of June 2023, he is now focused on overseeing the restoration of the theatre after it sustained severe damage from Hurricane Ian.
He has been an active participant — and former board member — of Florida Theatre Conference and Southeastern Theatre Conference. He has served as President of the American Association of Community Theatre, and currently works with the organization as a member of the national Festival Commission. He has been a frequent grant review panelist for both the Florida Arts Council and the Mississippi Arts Commission. Recently he represented the United States as a delegation member to the World Congress of the International Amateur Theatre Association. Under his leadership, Venice Theatre has hosted the international theatre festival, actWORLDFEST, four consecutive times. Chase is also a former chair of the CEC for Sarasota County Arts Council and a former president of Venice MainStreet.
Actor/Director Credits: Besides the daily aspects of his job here, directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Mary Poppins, Our Town and the award-winning productions of The Pillowman, The School For Wives, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Tartuffe and Fool For Love. He has also played a few roles on the VT stage, including Johnny in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Stuart in the Award-winning Boom Town, and George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? all with wife Lori
Vanessa Russo *
Choreographer, NUNSENSE
VANESSA RUSSO has been having an exciting professional Musical Theatre career as a Choreographer, Dancer and Performer. Born and raised in Sarasota, FL, some professional credits include: BILLY ELLIOT (First National Tour), BILLY ELLIOT (Amsterdam), WEST SIDE STORY (Asian/European Tour), OKLAHOMA! (First National Tour), Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Feature Film: (Across The Universe), among others. She has choreographed for the following: St. Pete Opera, MPAC, Sarasota Players, CANDance, and Sarasota Academy of the Arts.
Donna Smith
Music Director, NUNSENSE
Donna is the Music Director for Nunsense, A Musical Comedy.
Brad Wages
Director/Choreographer, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
An award-winning actor, director and choreographer, Brad’s work has been seen across the United States and Canada. He holds a B.F.A. from the University of Oklahoma and served as assistant director to Broadway directors Fran Soeder and Joe Layton. He has been seen in a number of national theatre tours and national commercials. He is thrilled to call Venice Theatre “home” and to have the privilege of guiding the next generation of young actors to the stage.
Michelle Kasanofsky
Music Director, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
Michelle Kasanofsky has been playing piano for almost 56 years and is a professional musician as well as a music educator. Michelle received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston and studied jazz piano there as well as classical at Boston University. She has a B.A. cum laude from Dowling College, a Master of Science in Music Education from C. W. Post Long Island University and an Education Leadership Specialist degree from Nova Southeastern University.
Michelle is originally from New York and spent most of her life on Long Island. While in New York she music directed many off-Broadway productions which included Always, Patsy Cline and has performed all over the world in Europe, Japan and Korea. Since moving down to Florida in 1998, Michelle has taught chorus, drama and dual enrollment music classes. In 2014, she was selected as Charlotte County’s Teacher of the Year. Since 2000 Michelle has performed and music directed at Venice Theatre. Her productions have included Hair, Mamma Mia, Cabaret, Toxic Avenger and Dreamgirls to name a few. She has also Music Directed at Sarasota Players, Manatee Players, Charlotte Players and the Dingbat Theatre Project.
Michelle has played for national touring companies at venues such as Barbara B Mann and Ruth Eckerd Hall for shows including A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde and West Side Story as well as accompanying artists such as Bernadette Peters and The Irish Tenors. In 2021 Michelle became the resident music director at Venice Theatre.
* indicates member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
‡ indicates member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)