The University Players announced Friday on Instagram that they will premiere the musical “Footloose” Aug. 20-21, during Welcome Week. The show will be co-directed by juniors Spencer Lawson and Jolie Rubinchik.
University Players is an undergraduate run theater company on campus. “Footloose” will be the organization’s first ever summer show, said sophomore and UP Artistic Director Kate Glaser. She said UP sees this summer musical as a way to provide opportunities to students who wouldn't be able to perform this summer due to the pandemic.
“I think “Footloose” is going to be a really great experience,” Glaser said. “It's a brand new slot that we're doing, so it's something new that people can be a part of. We’d have lots of people involved.”
Auditions for the musical are open until April 11 on the UP website. Glaser said anyone can audition, and callbacks will be between April 14-18.
Cast members of the musical will need to be in Bloomington for rehearsals, Glaser said. Rehearsals will be in-person and begin mid-July and will be Monday through Friday evenings.
Junior and production manager Jorie Miller said UP has been doing in-person shows throughout the school year and will continue COVID-19 safety guidelines for “Footloose.” She said this includes wearing masks, staying socially distanced, rehearsing outside or in open spaces and checking temperatures before rehearsals.
To ensure safety, UP hopes IU will continue to do weekly mitigation tests over the summer and that cast and crew members will be able to be vaccinated by then, Miller said.
Glaser said she hopes this show will keep people active in theatre over the summer and give UP exposure to incoming freshmen.
“Coming into Welcome Week, the goal with this show is to open up University Players to a lot of people who might not know about us, especially the freshmen coming into IU,” Glaser said. “So we thought this familiar title would hopefully attract a lot of people, and also it's a blast to be in and we want it to be a fun experience for everyone involved.”
