Auditions for A Christmas Story

Directed by Tom Schaller

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center announces auditions for A Christmas Story to be held Thursday, September 24, 2026. Auditions are open to all ages.

The Audition

Auditions will take place on Thursday, September 24, 2026, from 4:00pm-8:30pm in Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center’s Rehearsal Studio. Please enter through the 10th Street Entrance.

  • Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to your scheduled audition time to check in and fill out any necessary paperwork.

  • Please prepare a one-minute dramatic or comedic monologue.

  • Please bring a current picture and resume.

Callbacks

Callbacks will be scheduled by invitation only on Friday, September 25, 2026, from 4:00pm to 8:30pm in Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center’s Rehearsal Studio.

  • Please enter through the 10th Street Entrance.

Current Lincoln Park students under the age of 18 must download and complete the following Application for Minors in Performances form and bring with them to auditions.

Students under the age of 18 who do not attend Lincoln Park, please download and complete this full version of the form and bring to your audition.

To sign up for an audition time slot, please complete the online form.
** You will receive a confirmation email with your time after completing the form. 

Synopsis

Humorist Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the Midwest in the 1940s follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun under the tree for Christmas. Ralphie pleads his case before his mother, his teacher and even Santa Claus himself at Goldblatt's Department Store. The consistent response: "You'll shoot your eye out!" All the elements from the beloved motion picture are here, including the family's temperamental exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys' experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; Ralphie's father winning a lamp shaped like a woman's leg in a net stocking; Ralphie's fantasy scenarios and more. 

Character Breakdown

Ralph, Cowboy, Tree Lot Owner, Delivery Man, Voice of a Neighbor: On stage, he is a warm, charismatic and engaging storyteller; omniscient but not overpowering. Throughout the show, the actor playing this role acts as a narrator, interacts with the actor playing Ralphie, and appears in scenes as different minor characters. This actor must be very comfortable with audiences, and must be able to "read the crowd" and tell the story at the same time.

Ralphie Parker: A bright, winsome, mischievous 5th grade boy... Not a smart-aleck or overly precocious, Ralphie's imagination drives several scenes.

Mother:  She is the secret engine that runs the family, keeping the household together with a smile--despite bickering children, limited funds, an x- rated lamp in the living room window, a cranky furnace and a crankier husband. Vibrant, warm, affable--but not a pushover--she is always busy, especially anytime she is in the kitchen, and even more so at Christmastime!

The Old Man: Gruff and grumbling on the exterior, Ralphie's Dad has a good heart. He doesn't overtly show it, but he 100% loves his family. A blue- collar guy, he usually expects the worst out of most situations.  

Randy : Ralphie's younger brother, he is cute, lovable and a bit whiny.

Miss Shields, Schwartz’s Mother’s Voice: Ralphie's 5th grade teacher, a seemingly stereotypical 1940s educator--prim and proper, stern when necessary--though warm and even humorous when the situation merits it.

Flick: One of Ralphie’s classmates and best buddies; Flick is the guinea pig in the flagpole licking experiment. 

Schwartz: One of Ralphie’s classmates and best buddies; Schwartz becomes the scapegoat when Ralphie utters an unmentionable word. 

Esther Jane Alberry: Ralpie’s classmate.

Helen Weathers: Ralphie’s classmate.

Scut Farkas: A textbook example of a schoolyard bully, Scut is loud, obnoxious and intimidating. This truant is a year or two older than Ralphie and his friends, and wears a perpetual scowl. He always appears at the most inopportune time to harass his victims

Ensemble: Which will includes Santa Claus, Black Bart and his Desperados, Parents and Ralpie’s Classmates.

Schedule

Rehearsal

  • Monday, November 2, 2026 - Thursday, November 5, 2026, 4-8:30PM

  • Sunday, November 8, 2026, 1-5:00PM

  • Tuesday, November 9, 2026 - Thursday, November 12, 2026, 4-8:30PM

  • Sunday, November 15, 2026, 1-5:00PM

  • Monday, November 16, 2026 - Thursday, November 19, 2026, 4-8:30PM

  • Sunday, November 22, 2026, 1-5:00PM

Run Through (Mandatory)

  • Monday, November 23, 2026, 4-9:00PM (Designer Run)

Tech Rehearsal (Mandatory)

  • Tuesday, November 24, 2026, 4-9:00PM (Spacing)

  • Sunday, November 29, 2026, 1:00-9:00PM

  • Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 4-9:00PM

  • Wednesday, December 2, 2026, 4-9:00PM

  • Thursday, December 3, 2026, 4-9:00PM

Performances (Mandatory)

  • Friday, December 4, 2026, 7:30PM

  • Saturday, December 5, 2026, 2:00PM  

  • Saturday, December 5, 2026, 7:30PM  

  • Sunday, December 6, 2026, 2:00PM

  • Thursday, December 10, 2026, 7:30PM  

  • Friday, December 11, 2026, 7:30PM

  • Saturday, December 12, 2026, 2:00PM  

  • Saturday, December 12, 2026, 7:30PM  

  • Sunday, December 13, 2026, 2:00PM  

  • Thursday, December 17, 2026, 7:30PM

  • Friday, December 18, 2026, 7:30PM

  • Saturday, December 19, 2026, 2:00PM  

  • Saturday, December 19, 2026, 7:30PM

  • Sunday, December 20, 2026, 2:00PM  

Seeking strong actors; all genders, types, and ethnicities encouraged to audition. 

Performers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities and expressions, and performers living with disabilities are encouraged to audition.