Barter Theatre’s 2026 Production of ELF: The Musical
We are pleased to announce auditions for young actors for Barter Theatre’s 2026 production of Elf! After you have read the following carefully, please sign up for your audition using the instructions below.
SEEKING:
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2 youth male actors, doubled, for Michael Hobbs. Actors must be between 10-14 years of age and under 5’ 5” tall
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6 youth actors, doubled, for Ensemble. Actors must be between 6-14 years of age and under 5’ 2” tall
HOW TO PREPARE:
For the singing portion of the audition, all youth actors should prepare the provided short section of “Just Sing a Christmas Song.” If you would like to be considered for the role of Michael, please prepare the provided short section of “I’ll Believe in You” as well. When you sign up for an audition, practice piano tracks, vocal demos, and sheet music will be sent to you with the exact section to sing. Auditionees will sing individually. We will review all music with Barter’s Music Director at the audition. Some auditionees will be asked to stay for the dance portion of auditions and read a selection from the script.
REHEARSALS:
Rehearsals for Elf begin on September 29th, and the show begins previews on November 14th and runs through December 27, 2026.
These roles will be double cast, so young actors will not be called for every performance. Rehearsals for the youth cast will mostly take place after school during the week, and at various times on Saturdays and Sundays. Youth actors may be needed during school hours on November 4-6th. Technical rehearsals are all day on November 10-13th, and youth actors will need to be at the entirety of each tech day.
There is a place to include any conflicts you have on the audition forms; we ask that you come ready to list all conflicts at the audition so we can take them into consideration while casting. The date and time of each performance is on our website at www.bartertheatre.com. Each child is paid a stipend for every week that they rehearse or perform the show.
SIGNING UP TO AUDITION:
The audition will take place at Barter Theatre’s Rehearsal Halls (201 Trigg Street, Abingdon) on Saturday, July 18, 2026 from 10:00am-2:00pm. We ask that you arrive at 9:45am with a parent or guardian to fill out paperwork with contact information and all conflicts that you have between September 29th and December 27, 2026.
Please RSVP to casting@bartertheatre.com so we can know how many are attending the audition and send you the sheet music to prepare.
