Rocktown Improv, a Harrisonburg comedy troupe, wants to add a few actors. The group will hold auditions at 6 p.m. Monday at Court Square Theater. Doors for the audition will open Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Britney Mongold, 41, a current cast member, said the group, which now has seven members, is looking to add one or two more.
“One of our members last year moved away, and we would like to have that spot filled up again. We do a show every month on the first Friday at Court Square, and, with seven members, sometimes, it might not work for one person, someone may get sick, so it’s helpful for us to have eight to nine members, just so we can put on a good show and give the folks a little variety, and we’ve had a lot of requests for joining the group, and how to go about that, and, now that our number is down a little bit, we are opening it so that those folks who are interested can audition,” Mongold said.
Mongold said the audition should be both unconventional and fun.
“It’s going to be kind of not your traditional acting audition. We’re going to be playing some improv games, so this is how we’ll see if they’re a good fit, if folks have a good sense of what improv entails or have some promise to be able to learn a little bit more,” Mongold said. “So we’ll be playing games at the audition. If we have a lot of people auditioning, we’ll break up into groups. So it’s going to be a fun audition. We want folks to come and have fun and play.”
Mongold said she joined the group in the summer of 2022. Founders Bethany Popelish and Steve McClay had been a part of another comedy troupe before the pandemic. After that group disbanded, Popelish and McClay founded Rocktown Improv.
In addition to Popelish, McClay, and Mongold, other current cast members include Ashton Pease, Stephanie Sorge, John Huffman, and Jonathan Stewart.
In 2025, the group will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Court Square Theater on the first Friday of every month, said Mongold, who is also operations manager at the theater. Mongold noted a $5 per person donation is suggested.
Mongold said she is happy that the troupe has a regular venue for the new year.
“With the new theater management, we had the opportunity to write a contract and secure the first Fridays for the whole year, so we’ll be here the whole year dependably through 2025, so we’re excited about that,” Mongold said.
Mongold said that the group also sometimes performs elsewhere and is open to doing other performances.
“We are available if anyone wants to book us for a private event or a birthday or anything like that,” Mongold said. “We do some open workshops and things as well.”
Potential cast members must be at least 18 years old. Mongold said they also need to be available on the first Friday night of every month for performances and on the Monday evening before that for rehearsals.
Mongold says she enjoys performing with the group.
“There’s a lot of therapy in getting to make things up on the fly,” she said. “It’s kind of like a theater sport in a weird way.”
Mongold said that audience suggestions supply the content of each show, so it varies from performance to performance.
“You’re never going to see the same show twice,” Mongold said.
Those interested in auditioning are asked to register by filling out an online Google form.
The registration link can also be accessed by scanning a QR code at https://courtsquaretheater.org/event/rocktown-improv-open-auditions/.