Whitby Courthouse Theatre is excited to invite applications for the artistic team of our August 2026 production of CHESS in concert. We are looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to collaborate on creating a memorable theatrical experience for our community. Whether you have years of experience or are a newcomer eager to contribute, we welcome your skills and creative energy!

In this concert version of the groundbreaking rock musical, the ancient game of chess serves as a high-stakes metaphor for romantic rivalries, competitive gamesmanship, and the cold-blooded nature of superpower politics. From Bangkok to Budapest, the lives of players, lovers, politicians, and spies intersect as they manipulate—and are manipulated by—one another in a web of international intrigue. This stripped-back presentation of CHESS focuses on the power of the monumental score, featuring iconic hits like "One Night in Bangkok" and "Heaven Help My Heart," to tell a timeless story where individuals are often treated as mere pawns in a much larger game.

Key Dates:

• Show Dates: August 13-15, 20-22

• Auditions: April 2026

• Rehearsals: Sunday/Monday/Wednesday beginning in May

Available Roles:

• Producer ($1000 Honorarium)

• Director ($1000 Honorarium)

• Music Director ($1000 Honorarium)

• Stage Manager ($1000 Honorarium)

Apply at: whitbytheatre.ca/chess

The collaborators on Chess are giants of rock music and rock musicals, and they have created a complex rock opera that played to full Broadway houses and standing ovations. Here, the ancient game becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, competitive gamesmanship, superpower politics and international intrigues. The pawns in this drama form a love triangle: the loutish American chess star, the earnest Russian champion and a Hungarian American female assistant who arrives at the international chess match in Bangkok with the American but falls for the Russian. From Bangkok to Budapest, the players, lovers, politicians, and spies manipulate and are manipulated to the pulse of a monumental rock score that includes One Night in Bangkok and "Heaven Help My Heart.