Role: Petruchio
Project: 'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Virginia Shakespeare Festival
Jens Rasmussen won the role of the egotistical, mercurial Petruchio in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew -- running June 25-July 6 as part of the Virginia Shakespeare Festival at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg -- without ever auditioning in person. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a part sight unseen. The Wisconsin-born actor has had success by submitting video auditions and reels when he can't be physically present at the casting call.
Being out of town is common for the New York City-based Rasmussen, who has a good deal of experience in regional theatre. Among other projects up and down the Eastern seaboard, he's done plays at the Springer Opera House in Georgia, Mill Mountain Theatre in Virginia, and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. He never got a degree in acting or theatre, deciding after high school and a short, unsatisfying stint in the theatre department at the University of Wisconsin that he'd get more experience and challenges out of internships and apprenticeships at professional theatres. "I've sought out learning in various places," he says. "The most important thing was I just auditioned a lot...and then through people I met, I just started getting involved."
When Rasmussen found the BackStage.com casting notice for The Taming of the Shrew, he was performing in To Kill a Mockingbird at the Springer Opera House, but he was undaunted that the auditions were being held in New York and Washington, D.C. He had a strong film reel and had been cast as Father Flynn in a production of Doubt, also at the Springer Opera House, after recording his audition, posting it on YouTube, and sending the casting director a link. There aren't any special tricks to video auditioning, Rasmussen says. He uses a simple webcam attached to his Mac to record his monologues.
Rasmussen's video audition reminded The Taming of the Shrew's director, Christopher Owens, that he'd seen the actor audition twice before, for Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet in 2007 and for Orsino in Twelfth Night the year before that. Rasmussen wasn't cast in either role, but his diligence made an impression. "It wasn't his video audition that totally prompted his casting," says Owens. "His video audition reminded me of him. His two other auditions...impressed me a great deal, kept him in my mind -- his persistence and not being discouraged."
Rather than getting burned out from all his travel and time away from home, Rasmussen says his experience in diverse venues has only increased his passion for and dedication to the process of putting on a play. "Being in the rehearsal room collaborating with other artists is almost as gratifying as sharing that with the audience and taking them on that journey, being a storyteller," he says. "It's been creatively fulfilling. When I have something better in New York, then I'll stay there. But I'd rather be out of town doing what I love than sitting in New York waiting for the phone to ring."
By Anna Bengel for BackStage.com
