Audition/interview | lamc-stage

Audition or interview for Zoot Suit

LA Mission College Theatre Arts will present Luis Valdez’s classic musical, Zoot Suit, as its Spring 2026 production.

Auditions were held in December and the show is cast.

We are seeking students for all design and production roles in areas of scenic, lighting, costumes, painting, props, and stage management. Interviews for these positions will be held in the second week of the Spring 2026 semester.

To get an interview slot, you must first fill out the form below. Once submitted, you will be contacted by our Production Manager, Aaron Blokker, via email with interview information.

Zoot Suit tells the true story of Henry Reyna and 21 Chicanos who were tried in court as a group for the Sleepy Lagoon murder in Los Angeles. Discriminated against for their zoot suit-wearing Chicano identity, twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang are placed on trial for the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in San Quentin prison. Through the efforts of lawyers and activists, the boys win their court appeal and are freed. But the trauma of bigotry and incarceration dooms Henry and his young friends to compromised futures.

Luis Valdez’s groundbreaking musical, Zoot Suit, premiered in 1978 in Los Angeles, bringing the unfiltered Chicano experience to the community from which it was born. Valdez uses the mythological figure, El Pachuco, the music of Lalo Guerrero and Duke Ellington, and swing and mambo dancing to bring this undeniably American tale to life. The LA Mission College production will draw parallels between Los Angeles of the 1940s and the streets of the Northeast San Fernando Valley of 2025.

Zoot Suit will be directed by Robert Cucuzza. It will play for May 15-31, 2026 in the LA Mission College AMP Theater, with scenic design by Dorothy Hoover, costume design by Lena Sands, and lighting design by Bri Pattillo.

If you'd like to know more about the play, Zoot Suit, click this link for an excellent study guide.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Before auditioning or interviewing, it's important to read all of the following information and then fill out the info form linked here:

ZOOT SUIT INFO FORM

If you are interested in auditioning for an acting role or participating behind the scenes, you need to first fill out the info form. After filling it out, you will be contacted prior to the audition or interview day at the email you provide with a link to sign up for a time slot. To be considered you MUST fill out the info form before your audition or interview, AND sign-up for an audition or interview time slot.

Read through all the information below
Fill out the info form
Expect to receive an email with audition and/or interview slots
Sign up for your slot/s
Audition or interview

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING...

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS

To participate in this production you must be enrolled as a student at LA Mission College and have no academic holds or over-enrollments. You can be a full- or part-time student, or even only be enrolled the one class required for the production.

Actors and stage managers

If you are cast in a role or a stage manager, you will need to enroll in the course Rehearsals and Performances TH291 (1 unit), Rehearsals and Performances TH292 (2 units), or Rehearsals and Performances TH293 (3 units), depending upon the amount of time you will be required to work each week. Generally, actors and stage managers are enrolled in Rehearsals and Performances 293 (3 unit) and are required to commit to around 15 hours of rehearsal a week.

Design and production team members

If you are added to the design and production team, you will need to enroll in the course Technical Stage Production TECTHTR 342 (2 units)

Rehearsals and production schedule

Rehearsals and production begins in the third week of February 2026. We try to maintain a consistent schedule through the rehearsal process, which will be determined once the show is cast. Once the show goes into technical rehearsals, around the beginning of May, the schedule changes and the amount of time required increases.

Tech and dress rehearsal schedule

All company members must to be available for full technical rehearsals in the week leading up to opening. In the info form, you will see the production schedule.

FOR ACTING ROLES

AUDITION INFORMATION FOR ACTORS

Zoot Suit is cast and we are no longer holding auditions.

FOR DESIGN AND PRODUCTION POSITIONS

To be considered for a design or production position you must first fill out an info form here.

We are seeking students to join the company in the following positions:

Stage management — assist with the running of rehearsals and performances

Production assistance — general assistance in all areas

Sound operator — assist in rehearsals with sound design and operation

Scenic design and construction — assist with building, fabricating, and organization of scenic elements

Props design and construction — assist with building, fabricating, and organization of props

Projection design — assist with creating video projections

Lighting —assist with hanging, cabling, focusing, and programming lights

Costumes — assist in the shopping for and construction and organization of costumes

INTERVIEW INFORMATION

After filling out the info form, you will be contacted at the email you provided in prior to the interview day.

To be considered you MUST fill out the info form before your interview and sign up for an interview time slot.

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

If you are assigned a position in stage management, you will be required to attend all rehearsals.

All other design and production team members will fulfill their hours during "shop hours," which will be determined.

These days and times are all tentative and any positions in the company should be prepared to fulfill their responsibilities at other times that they are available.

LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE THEATRE ARTS