Into the woods - Acting Auditions

Look at audition sides for all acting scenes we will be reading.

Snow White - Understudy: read any female section from this list.

Sleeping Beauty - Understudy - Granny: read any female section from this list.

Jack and Mysterious Man

Jack: Quiet. Silence everywhere, Milky-White. Not to my liking…

Mysterious Man: Hello, Jack.

Jack: (frightened) How did you know my name?

Mysterious Man: When first I appear, I seem mysterious. But when explained, I am nothing serious.

Jack: Say that again.

Mysterious Man: On your way to market? You might have been there long time ago. Taking your time, Jack?

Jack: No, sir.

Mysterious Man: Is that the truth?

Jack: Well, you see now I'm resting--

Mysterious Man: How much are you asking for the animal?

Jack: No less than five pounds, sir.

Mysterious Man: Oh now, Jack. Why such a sum?

Jack: My mother told me--

Mysterious Man: Your mother? A boy your age? Why you'd be lucky to exchange her for a sack of beans.

Jack: Well, I– (before JACK can respond, the MYSTERIOUS MAN has disappeared)... Come along, Milky-White. There

are spirits here..

Witch (You will speak sing the singing part) Just like on the recording sound tracks.

Witch: In the past, when you were no more than a babe, your father brought his young wife and you to this cottage. They were a handsome couple, but not handsome neighbors. You see, your mother was with child and had developed an unusual appetite.

She took one look at my beautiful garden and told your father what she wanted more than anything in the world was…Greens, greens, and nothing but greens: Parsley, peppers, cabbages, and celery, Asparagus and watercress and Fiddleferns and

lettuce-! He said, "All right," But it wasn't, quite, 'Cause I caught him in the autumn In my

garden one night! He was robbing me, ravaging me, Rooting through my rutabaga, Raiding my arugula and my rampion (My champion! My favorite!)- I should

have laid a spell on him Right there, Could have turned him into a stone Or a dog or a chair, Or a sn- (Drifts off into a momentary trance)...But I let him have the rampion- I'd lots to spare. In return, however, I said, "Fair is fair: You can let me have the baby that your wife will bear. And we'll call it square."

Wolf & Little Red Riding Hood

Wolf: Good day, young lady.

Little Red Ridinghood: Good day, Mr. Wolf.

Wolf: Whither away so hurriedly?

Little Red Ridinghood: To my Grandmother's.

Wolf: And what might be in your basket? (sniffs basket, then her torso)

Little Red Ridinghood: Bread and wine, so Grandmother will have something good to make her strong.

Wolf: And where might your grandmother live?

Little Red Ridinghood: A good quarter of a league further in the woods; her house stands under three large oak trees.

(WOLF grunts lasciviously to himself as he watches LITTLE RED RIDINGHOOD skip off)

Little Red Ridinghood: (to herself) Oh dear. How uneasy I feel. Perhaps it's all the sweets. (towards the bed) Good

day, Grandmother. (moves to the bed) My, Grandmother, you're looking very strange. What

big ears you have!

Wolf: The better to hear you with, my dear.

Little Red Ridinghood: But Grandmother, what big eyes you have!

Wolf: The better to see you with, my dear.

Little Red Ridinghood: But Grandmother, what large hands you have!

Wolf: The better to hug you with, my dear.

Little Red Ridinghood: Oh, Grandmother. What a terrible, big, wet mouth you have!

Wolf: The better to eat you with!

(bloodcurdling scream from LITTLE RED RIDINGHOOD who disappears)

Baker, Baker’s Wife, & Jack

Baker: Hello there, young man.

Jack: (looks at BAKER, scared) Hello, sir.

Baker: What might you be doing with a cow in the middle of the forest?

Jack: I was heading to market--but I seem to have lost my way.

Baker's Wife: (coaching the BAKER) And what are you planning to do there--?

Baker: And what are you planning to do there?

Jack: Sell my cow, sir. No less than five pounds.

Baker: Five pounds! (to WIFE) Where am I to get five pounds?

Baker's Wife: She must be generous of milk to fetch five pounds?

Jack: (hesitant) Yes Ma'am.

Baker's Wife: And if you can't fetch that sum? Then what are you to do?

Jack: I hadn't thought of that. I suppose my mother and I will have no food to eat.

(BAKER has emptied his pockets. He has a few coins and the beans in hand)

Baker: (to WIFE) This is the sum total.

Baker's Wife: (loudly) BEANS! We mustn't give up our beans! Well...if you feel we must.

Baker: Huh?

Baker's Wife: (to JACK) Beans will bring you food, son.

Jack: Beans in exchange for my cow?

Baker's Wife: Oh, these are no ordinary beans, son. These beans carry magic.

Jack: Magic? What kind of magic?

Baker's Wife: (to BAKER) Tell him.

Baker: (nervous) Magic that defies description.

Jack: How many beans?

Baker: Six.

Baker's Wife: Five! We can't part with all of them.We must leave one for ourselves. Besides I'd say they're worth a pound each, at the very least.

Jack: Could I buy my cow back someday?

Baker: (Uneasy) Well...possibly.

Cinderella & Baker’s Wife

Baker's Wife: Are you alright, miss?

Cinderella: (breathless) Yes. I just need to catch my breath.

Baker's Wife: What a beautiful gown you are wearing. Were you at the King's Festival?

Cinderella: (preoccupied) Yes.

Baker's Wife: Aren't you the lucky one. Why ever are you in the woods at this hour?If a prince were looking for me, I certainly wouldn't hide.

Cinderella: What brings you here--and with a cow?

Baker's Wife: Oh, my husband's somewhere in the woods. (proud) He is undoing a spell.

Cinderella: (impressed) Oh?

Baker's Wife: Oh, yes. Now, the Prince, what was he like? Are you to return to the festival tomorrow eve?

Cinderella: Perhaps.

Baker's Wife: Perhaps? Oh, to be pursued by a Prince. All that pursues me is tomorrow's bread. What I wouldn't give to be in your shoes.

Cinderella: Will you look over there…An enormous vine growing next to that little cottage.

Baker's Wife: (looking down at Cinderella's feet) ...I mean slippers.

Cinderella: It looks like a giant beanstalk rising into the sky.

Baker's Wife: As pure as gold?

Cinderella: I must get home.(she begins to leave)

Baker's Wife: Wait! (CINDERELLA exits) I need your shoes!

Cinderella’s Prince & Rapunzel’s Prince

Rapunzel's Prince: Ah, there you are, good brother. Father and I had wondered where you had gone.

Cinderella's Prince: I have been looking all night for her.

Rapunzel's Prince: Who?

Cinderella's Prince: The beautiful one I danced the evening with.

Rapunzel's Prince: Where did she go?

Cinderella's Prince: Disappeared, like the fine morning mist.

Rapunzel's Prince: She was lovely.

Cinderella's Prince: The loveliest.

Rapunzel's Prince: I am not certain of that! I must confess, I too have found a lovely maiden. She lives here in the woods.

Cinderella's Prince: The woods?

Rapunzel's Prince: Yes. In the top of a tall tower that has no door or stairs.

Cinderella's Prince: Where?

Rapunzel's Prince: Two leagues from here, due east just beyond the mossy knoll.

Cinderella's Prince: And how do you manage a visit?

Rapunzel's Prince: I stand beneath her tower and say "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me." And she lowers the longest, most beautiful head of hair - yellow as corn - which I climb to her.

Cinderella's Prince: (starts laughing hysterically) Rapunzel, Rapunzel! What kind of name is that? You jest! I have never heard of such a thing.

Rapunzel's Prince: (defensive) I speak the truth. She is as true as your maiden. A maiden running from a prince? None would run from us.

Cinderella's Prince: (sober) Yet one has.

Cinderella’s Prince, Steward, Jack’s Mother, Baker,

Cinderella's Prince: What was that noise?

Steward: Just a bolt of lightning in a far-off kingdom.

Cinderella's Prince: (to STEWARD) How dare you go off in search without me!

Steward: My apologies, sir. I thought that I might--

Cinderella's Prince: Enough of what you thought! I employed a ruse and had the entire staircase smeared with pitch. And there,when she ran down, remained the maiden's slipper.

Steward: Brilliant!

Jack's Mother: (Entering, hysterical; she bows to the prince) There's a dead giant in my backyard! I heard Jack coming down the beanstalk, calling for his axe. And when he raced to the bottom, he took it and began hacking down the stalk. Suddenly, with a crash, the beanstalk fell, but there was no Jack. For all I know, he's been crushed by the ogre. (She cries)

Cinderella's Prince: Worrying will do you no good. If he's safe, then he's safe. If he's been crushed, well, then there's nothing any of us can do about that, now is there?(to STEWARD) We must be off. I need my rest before tomorrow's search is to commence. (CINDERELLA'S PRINCE and STEWARD begin to exit)

(CINDERELLA'S PRINCE exits with STEWARD.)

(WITCH appears, frantic; looks up to the sky)

Witch, Baker, Baker’s Wife

Witch: (unpleasant) The third midnight is near. I see a cow. I see a slipper.

Baker: (pulling items from his bag) And the cape as red as blood.

Baker's Wife: And the hair as yellow as corn.

Witch: (amazed) You've all the objects?

Baker's Wife: Yes. (she brings the cow forth)

Witch: That cow doesn’t look as white as milk to me.

Baker’s Wife: Oh, she is.

Witch: This cow has been covered with flower!

Baker: Well we did have a cow as white as milk.

Witch: Then where is she?

Baker’s Wife: She’s dead.

Baker: We thought you’d prefer a live cow.

Witch: Of course I’d prefer a live cow, so bring me the dead cow and I’ll bring them back to life!

Baker's Wife, Baker: You could do that?

Witch: Now!

Narrator:

Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, there lay a humble woodcutter and his wife. She, with a child on the way, they had their wish, but wishes come with consequences, don't they? (He pauses, as if reminiscing on his own experiences.) For every wish granted, there's a price to pay. Some say the cost is too steep, but who are we to question fate? We're all just players in this grand tapestry, each thread woven with purpose. (He fixes a piercing gaze on the audience, hinting at secrets beyond mortal understanding.) But beware, dear travelers, for the woods hold secrets untold. Paths diverge, destinies entwine, and what you seek may not be what you find. Trust not in appearances, for all is not as it seems. (His voice carries a haunting melody, echoing the mysteries of the forest.) So venture forth with caution, heed my words, for in the heart of the woods lies the truth you seek, but whether you're ready to face it... well, that's another story altogether.

Jack, Jack’s Mother:

Jack’s Mother: I’m going off to market Jack.

Jack: Goodbye Mother.

Jack’s Mother: Now I want you to stay inside.

Jack: I haven’t been outside all day!

Jack’s Mother: Jack, listen to me. I don’t want you out when there may be a giant on the loose.

Jack: But I know how to kill a giant!

Jack’s Mother: Please! We have had our fill of giants.

Jack: But Mother, what if I could help?

Jack’s Mother: Enough. Please promise me, son, that you won’t leave your surroundings.

Jack: But Mother, I’m a man now.

Jack’s Mother: You’re still a little boy in your mother’s eyes. I want you to promise. Promise. Promise!

Jack: I promise.

Stepmother, Lucinda, Florinda

LUCINDA

Nonsense, Florinda. I have the superior foot. If you recall, I danced the entire night. You mostly stood near the refreshments, criticizing the pastries.

FLORINDA

I was merely ensuring they didn't clash with my complexion!

STEPMOTHER

Enough! You sound like common fishwives. Ambition, girls, is a delicate art. It requires silence and poise. Now, you will both try on the slipper, and you will both do so gracefully. For the Prince... is watching.

FLORINDA

Me first!

LUCINDA

No, me!

STEPMOTHER

Lucinda, you are closest to my heart today. Begin.

LUCINDA

(Takes a breath, then winces as she pretends to force her foot into the slipper.)

It... it is a tight fit. The leather must have shrunk! All that running on the palace steps. It’s quite ruined!

STEPMOTHER

(Whispering urgently, almost a hiss) Don’t be an idiot, Lucinda! A crown requires sacrifice! Push!

LUCINDA

I am pushing! There’s not enough room! Oh, my little toe! It's pinching the bone!

STEPMOTHER

Little toes are overrated, darling. They’re rarely visible in a ballgown. Now, Florinda, your turn. Perhaps you've inherited my more refined ankle.

FLORINDA

(After struggling, she pulls her foot out with a gasp.)

It’s no use. Honestly, what kind of life would I have with a man who prefers a shoe the size of a thimble? It’s simply not worth the effort!

STEPMOTHER

...unless we found another way to make the foot fit. A more... permanent adjustment. Fetch me the carving knife, girls. We must be practical. After all, what good is a heel, if it doesn't lead to a throne?