Phoenix Festival Theatre Presents: RENT
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. Based loosely on Puccini's
La Boheme, Jonathan Larson's
Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Rent is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
www.mitshows.com
Co -Directors and Choreographers: Bambi Johnson and Eyvo Johnson.
Music Director Dave Tramontana.
The rest of the production team will be announced later.
* * THIS PRODUCTION CONTAINS SENSTIVE CONTENT INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES * *
Actors must be 18+
Auditions begin at 7 PM Monday March 16 and March 18, 2026, at 401 Thomas Run Road, Bel Air, MD 21015, Darlington Hall Room 202. Callbacks may be held and are by invitation.If requested, all invited actors must attend in-person callbacks to be considered for casting. Callbacks will be held 7 pm
March 19, 2026, at 401 Thomas Run Road, Bel Air, MD 21015, Susquehanna Center Room 212.
Rent will be performed live at the Chesapeake Welcome Centers Theater, June 5-14, 2026. Performances take place Fridays @ 7:30 PM, Saturdays @ 3 PM & 7:30 PM and Sundays @ 3 PM.
Rehearsals will start in April. Rehearsals will be held tentatively on Monday & Wednesday evenings and another day to be determined.Not all cast will be called to all rehearsals.
Not receiving a callback does not automatically mean you have not been cast. Casting will be completed on or before March 23, 2026. You will be notified either way.
All roles are unpaid and non-equity. No roles are precast, all roles are available.
If you have any questions, please contact bwhaley@harford.edu.
AUDITION DETAILS
Audition forms should be completed prior to audition. If unable to complete the form prior, arrive early to complete it. A picture of you will be taken that evening to help with casting.
Sign up for your audition slot: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944ACAB23A3FCC43-62593512-rent
Prepare 16-32 bars (about 1 minute) of a song in the style of the show, or a song from the show.
Please bring a backing track and we will have a device to play your accompaniment. An accompanist will NOT be provided.
Please dress comfortably and be ready to learn and perform a basic dance combination.
You may be asked to read a side from the script. It will be provided at the audition.
If you receive an offer for a role, you will have 48 hours to accept.We will assume you are not interested if we do not hear from you after 48 hours.
Rehearsals will begin in April starting with an introductory meeting and read through.
Conflicts: Please list on the Audition Form all conflicts, including Saturdays and Sundays, as some rehearsals closer to performance dates may be held on these days. If you are involved in another show at the same time, please note that on your conflict sheet.
Tech Week will begin on Saturday May 30, 2026.No absences are allowed as of this date. A rehearsal schedule will be provided in April.
Video Submissions:
Video submissions are welcome. However, in-person auditionees allow for better assessment of, "chemistry," "redirection," or "presence. They must be received by 7pm March 16, 2026.Send to bwhaley@harford.edu. Late submissions and auditionees without a complete audition form will not be reviewed.
Performances:
Friday, June 5, 6, & 12, 2026 - 7:30 PM.
Saturday Matinees, June 13, 2026 – 3 PM.
Sunday Matinees, June 7 & 14, 2026 – 3 PM.
PFT provides costumes: Actors are required to provide the following:
Tattoo covering.
Shoes – unless show specific.
Belts, socks, hosiery, undergarments.
Theatre blacks – black pants, shirt long sleeve – no midriff.
Make-up and hair products unless show specific, i.e. hair clips, bobby pins, hair spray, make up remover, etc.
Potentially provide everyday items such as jeans, water bottle/water/snacks.
*THERE IS ALWAYS A POSSIBLITY HAZE CAN BE USED IN PFT PRODUCTIONS*
CHARACTERS:
All roles are open to all races, ethnicities and gender (Gender can be dictated through licensing)
Roger Davis - Gender: male
A struggling musician and former drug addict. He is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Roommates with Mark in the loft and battles with being HIV-positive.
Mark Cohen - Gender: male
Filmmaker and video artist. Knee deep in his own soul-searching, Mark is the typical young artist. He and Roger are roommates in the loft. A bit of a nerd.
Tom Collins - Gender: male
A computer genius and liberal professor. He is a nurturer with a smooth and relaxed disposition. Used to be a roommate in the loft and is HIV-positive.
Benjamin Coffin Iii - Gender: male
The landlord of Mark and Roger's apartment building. A former roommate in the loft, Benny traded in his personal morals for power and wealth.
Joanne Jefferson - Gender: female
A public interest lawyer and headstrong lesbian. She is smart and purposeful in all her decisions. Carries on a tumultuous relationship with Maureen.
Angel Dumott Schunard - Gender: male
The eccentric HIV-positive street drummer. A drag queen with an incredible gift of dance and a magnetic personality. He becomes Tom's lover.
Mimi Marquez - Gender: female
An HIV-positive stripper with drug addictions. Slender and sickly, she conceals it all at her job in the local strip club. She lives in the same building as the loft.
Maureen Johnson - Gender: female
An unpredictably zany performance artist. Maureen oozes sexuality and used to live in the loft. She has recently dumped Mark for Joanne.
Ensemble
Homeless Men & Women; Junkies, Parents (Mrs. Cohen, Mr. & Mrs. Jefferson); Support Group (Steve, Gordon)