​Auditions in May for beginning of ‘26-27 Southwest Shakespeare season

Southwest Shakespeare auditions are May 30 at Mesa Arts Center for Whispers In The Dark, Richard III and Amadeus.

They will be held on the second floor at 1 E. Main St. in Mesa, according to www.swshakespeare.org/auditions. Signups are through a Google document link at the website.

Those interested are to prepare a one-minute classical monologue. They may also prepare a bonus one-minute modern monologue but it is not required, it states.

Rehearsals for Whispers in The Dark — the show features Edgar Allen Poe taking us on a journey through his stories — start in September and the production performs in the Nesbitt-Elliott Playhouse and runs in Repertory with Richard III. Public performances are Oct. 18 and 25 with weekday student matinees at 10 a.m. Oct. 14, 15, 20 and 23, it states.

Rehearsals begin Sept. 7 for Richard III — A classical play by Shakespeare featuring a would-be King murdering his way to the top — and the production performs in the Nesbitt-Elliott Playhouse and runs in repertory with Whispers In The Dark. Public performances are Oct. 10-24 with weekday matinees at 10 a.m. Oct. 13, 16 and 21, it states.

Rehearsals of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer begin in October and the production performs in the Farnsworth Studio. Public performances are Nov. 14-29 with possible matinees at 10 a.m. Nov. 17-20 and 24-25. In the court of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, Antonio Salieri is the established composer.

"Enter the greatest musical genius of all time: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Salieri has given himself to God so that he might realize his sole ambition, to be a great composer. Mozart is a foul-mouthed, graceless oaf who has that which is beyond Salieri’s envious grasp: genius," it says about Amadeus.

Southwest Shakespeare is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.​ For information, email info@swshakespeare.org