AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Civic Theatre is calling all actors — and aspiring actors — over 50 years old for BOOM!, a new theatrical company enabling older members of the community to perform in professional productions.

BOOM! said it is following in the footsteps of the Civic Theatre’s lineup of the All-City Musical for high school students and the theater’s Millennial Theatre Project for millennials. 

Like the Civic’s other companies, actors do not need experience to participate in BOOM!, said Val Renner, associate director of programming.

“You don’t have to know what blocking is. You don’t have to know harmonies,” Renner said. “It’s basically taking your talents, whatever they may be, and seeing how they fit into productions.”

BOOM! will stage musicals, comedies and dramas with older casts and creative teams, but the performances will be geared toward everyone, Renner said.

Back-of-house crew, such as set, sound and lighting designers, are members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union, offering performers an opportunity to work with pros, she said. 

“Cabaret” will be BOOM! Theater’s premier production, with six public performances spread over three weekends, Sept. 24 and 25 and Oct. 1, 2, 8 and 9.

BOOM! performances will be held at the new John, James and Clara Knight Stage, a 200-plus seat venue in the historic Whitelaw Building next door to the Civic Theatre.

The newly constructed Knight stage is part of the Civic’s $9 million Staging the Future capital campaign, which renovated, restored and expanded the Civic. Known as “The Jewel on Main,” the Civic is one of the last venues in the country with an atmospheric ceiling, in which stars and clouds move across the “sky” in the main auditorium during performances.

Renner and the Civic’s development director, Lisa Martinez, conceptualized BOOM! last year during the pandemic.

Renner, a former performer, was interested in production outlets for older people, as many people over 50 are starting to have more time for personal interests, she said.

“You can go to other theater companies and play a role but most of it is geared toward young Broadway, you know, ‘Newsies,’ ‘Cinderella,’ she said. “Everything is geared toward the youths. But what about people like me?”

Renner and Martinez began to research and learned there are more than 800 venues specifically for older performers in the country, but none exist among the more than 25 performance venues in Summit County, despite northeast Ohio’s dense population, she said.

“So it was very eye opening,” she said. “And when we figured out that we would be unique, here in this area — how can we not do this? I mean, it's a win-win — for us and for people in our age group.”

The timing is right, because many people who might not have had interest in performing live pre-pandemic, could be more inclined to do so now, she said.

Renner has already heard that sentiment from an actor who told her the pandemic made him realize it was time to return to the arts.

“I think that this has been a game changer for a lot of people,” she said. “We'll see a lot more people bungee jumping. They're going to take that moment and live it.”

For “Cabaret,” the production team is looking for performers over age 50 to schedule an audition by sending an email to boomtheaterakron@gmail.com or calling the Civic Theatre at 330-535-3179 Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Auditions will take place Monday, July 26 from 7-10 p.m. at the Knight Stage, 182. S. Main St. in downtown Akron. Those auditioning should prepare two, 16-bar songs of their choice in the style of the show. The songs will be performed acapella.

“Cabaret” will be produced by Renner and Martinez, and directed by Sharon Alberson, the former musical director at Weathervane Playhouse in Akron.