LTA Audition Guidelines

LTA is a membership organization. Although membership is not required to audition or to be cast, actors who are cast are required to become either a “performing member” or regular member within two weeks of accepting a role. Membership benefits include a free ticket to one or more shows of the current season, depending on the level of membership chosen.

OUR CURRENT COVID VACCINATION POLICY as of September 2024
LTA highly encourages all participants in productions and educational activities to stay up to date with COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations according to CDC and Virginia Department of Health recommendations. Vaccines are one tool to help protect volunteers, cast, and crew in the LTA community from illness, and to prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 or flu from disrupting productions. Questions? Contact us at AskLTA@thelittletheatre.com.

If you have a headshot and acting résumé, you may bring them with you.
(you may still be asked to have their picture taken by the LTA photographer)

Please bring an accurate list of rehearsal conflicts with you to the audition.

Call For Directors With Show Proposals
For LTA’s 91^st Season (2026-2027)

The Little Theatre of Alexandria seeks open submissions for slots in its 91^st season (2026-2027). We are also seeking directors for our 2026 summer musical, Catch Me If You Can, and for our holiday fundraiser, A Christmas Carol.

What We Are Looking For

LTA does a six-show mainstage subscription season in addition to our holiday fundraiser, A Christmas Carol. In past seasons, we have staged 2-3 musicals and three plays, with one of the six plays being a family-friendly show. Think G or PG. Examples of shows we have produced or considered – Annie, Matilda, Shrek, Once on This Island, Spongebob Square Pants. The family-friendly show may include roles for children. We also produce non-mainstage programming such as staged readings and cabarets and would love to receive your proposals for such programming.

We are looking for proposals to support diversity in our programming including classic works and contemporary plays and those that expand the voices and stories of underrepresented communities.

Proposals should be for shows with a minimum cast of four. Applicants may submit no more than two proposals.

The tentative performance schedule for the 2026-2027 season is:

Show #1: July/August 2026: Catch Me If You Can (rights approved)

Show #2: September 2026 (play)

Show #3: October/November 2026 (play or musical)

Show 4: December 2026 Christmas Carol (Holiday Fundraiser)

Show #5: February/March 2027 (family-friendly play or musical)

Show #6: April/May 2027 (play)

Show #7: June 2027 (play or musical)

Summer Musical 2027 (first show of the 92^nd Season)

What Not to Submit

Do not submit proposals for plays or musicals produced at LTA within the last five years. A listing of previous productions can be found here.

Do not submit proposals for plays or musicals produced in the metro-DC area within the last two years.

Do not submit proposals for shows for which nonprofessional rights are unavailable (e.g., Shucked, Six, Hamilton, Come From Away, etc.).

Do not submit proposals for original scripts without a production history at professional and/or community theaters.

Do Submit by April 14, 2025:

• A letter of introduction noting why you would like to direct at LTA and a basic concept for your show. The concept should include: 1) your overall vision for the show including why you want to direct it, what you will bring to this show as director and what you hope audiences will take away from performances of your production, 2) technical aspects such as set, sound, lights, props, and special effects – schematic of the LTA stage can be found here, 3) what you see as challenges in directing this show at LTA and how you propose to meet those challenges, and 4) your show is available for licensing. You do not need to include designers or production staff in your proposal because if your show is approved, LTA will appoint a producer who will work with you to create your production team.
• All known, and potential, schedule conflicts for the timeframes of interest. In general, productions audition approximately 8 weeks for a play, 10 weeks for a musical, prior to tech week. LTA shows traditionally hold auditions Saturday afternoons, Sunday evenings, with callbacks the following Tuesday. Take into consideration that rehearsals are to be held weeknights (up until 10 pm), Saturdays during the day and/or Sunday afternoons and evenings.
• A current resume that includes all productions directed – including theatre, location, and year. Other relevant theatre experiences may be included as well as current contact information (phone and email address mandatory). Do not submit reviews/photos of previous productions.
• Contact details (email and phone number) for three references.

Directors interested in applying for A Christmas Carol should note the production should run 60-75 minutes, and we prefer concepts that will include casting of children in the show. Interested in reading adaptations used at LTA, contact us ltaseaonsalplanning@gmail.com.

Directors interested in submitting a show for a staged reading should note why and how the director thinks the script would work as a reading rather than a full production. Note: staged readings are slotted in January when the theatre is dark, rehearse primarily online with only an in-person dress rehearsal before the performance. The performance is in the Greenroom.

Directors interested in submitting a proposal for a cabaret should submit a theme and a sample of songs (full set list is not needed) you would like to include. Cabarets are presented in the Greenroom.

Please submit as one PDF your proposal/resume/references to our Director Selection Committee at ltaseasonalplanning@gmail.com. If submitting more than one proposal, they should be submitted separately. Have questions, reach out to us at ltaseasonalplanning@gmail.com.

What Happens Next?

If your proposal is a good fit for LTA, you will be invited to interview with the committee in person in April 2025.  The slate of directors submitted to the LTA board for approval will be based on the combination of the proposal, how well the show fits with LTA’s programming needs, appeal to LTA audiences, technical requirements and the director’s clear understanding of how their show might work on LTA’s stage, and the interview. Note, the LTA Board of Governors makes the final decision on directors.