Setting the stage at Silverwood

DALTON GARDENS - Even though Angela Barry has played background roles in several TV show episodes and films, she still gets butterflies when she auditions for a part.

"I'm always nervous for auditions, it doesn't matter what it's for," said Barry, of Coeur d'Alene. "When you want to go for something and you want it that badly, it makes you nervous for it."

Barry was among about 25 hopeful groups and individuals that auditioned Saturday for roles as stunt performers or specialty acts during Silverwood Theme Park's 2015 season. The auditions were held in a studio of the Northern Dance Academy in Dalton Gardens, where aspiring actors and musicians read scripts, performed fight sequences and sang their hearts out, looking for the chance to be a part of Silverwood's colorful cast of characters.

"We've had some really fun surprises," said auditions coordinator Chris Tortora, who plays "Marshal Jack" on Silverwood's historic Engine No. 7 steam train. Tortora is also a writer, director and stunt coordinator for the theme park - he has an extensive background in acting, stunt work, safety coordination and directing for live performances as well as TV and film.

As people auditioned, Tortora critiqued their work, gave them ideas and feedback and encouraged them to try different things with the characters they presented. The park was in search of performers, athletes, gymnasts, dancers, musicians, Western bandits and saloon girls.

"They're bouncing on their toes," Tortora said. "They just want the job so bad. We try and make it a very positive experience. We've been told this is not like most auditions in that we give them some direction, some feedback, because we want them to go away with, if they didn't get the job, at least it was a learning experience."

Anna Hampton, 17, of Hayden, attended the auditions hoping to be selected as the High Moon Saloon's piano player, a position she worked the last two seasons. She's known as "High Moon Hannah" around the saloon, and her Victorian-era hairstyle and costume make her seem as though she walked right from a page in a history book.

"It's lots of fun," she said. "I'm really into old-time stuff, and I love Main Street. It's my favorite part of Silverwood."

Kat Lafurgey of Hayden worked registration and welcomed people to the studio. She went through the audition process last season and was cast as her character, Lily Lafayette, a French train robber with a bad attitude. She said she was hoping to return this season to do something similar.

"I just did it on a whim, I saw (the advertisement) and it was, 'Oh, this looks fun, a fun summer job,'" she said. "(Tortora) liked what I did. I brought a different bandit, it was a French bandit, sort of like Cajun French, so I had a French accent."

Silverwood's Wild West setting lends itself to bluegrass music and twanging banjos, so longtime theme park employee Anton Jiracek encouraged his friends of the country-bluegrass group the Jolly Swagmen to audition. He also serves as their manager.

"I saw the ad that Marshal Jack posted online and was like, 'You guys have to do this,'" said Jiracek, of Coeur d'Alene.

The band entered the studio late in the afternoon, many wearing plaid shirts, suspenders and old-fashioned hats. They first performed an original, high-energy song that kept those in attendance clapping their hands and tapping their feet.

"You guys are almost like Muppets," Tortora happily told them after they finished their first song. The room filled with laughter as Tortora gave them a few directions and had them play the song again. Between songs, the group told jokes and stories that added to their bluegrass-country persona.

"It would be great to play in the saloon or wherever they want us to play," said Jolly Swagmen frontman Byron Flood of Sandpoint. "We've played in many different scenarios, probably every scenario there is."

Elisa Brinton of Post Falls also helped with registration. She played Deputy Katie on the Silverwood train last season and worked closely with Tortora's character. She said one of the best ways to know if an actor belongs in the park is if they do well with the fight choreography.

"It's always one of my favorite things to see," she said. "We had some pretty decent fights this time around. I'm really excited to see how people will turn out."

Silverwood opens for the season the first weekend in May and Boulder Beach Water Park opens June 6.

Info: www.silverwoodthemepark.com