Declaration of Independence Reader Audition Description & Guidelines

Declaration of Independence: Reader Audition Description & Guidelines 

Become part of Evansville Museum history by auditioning to be a reader of the Declaration of Independence. 

This year marks a historic milestone—the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. To honor our nation’s semiquincentennial, the Evansville Museum is presenting Pieces of the Past: America at 250 Years. We invite community members to become part of this moment by serving as readers for a Declaration of Independence video that will be featured in the exhibition. Auditions will be judged based on reading performance and audio/visual quality. Museum staff will select finalists and anticipate a selection of up to ten finalists. The deadline to submit an audition is March 31, 2026, and below are the full details on how to submit your audition. ‍

How to Submit an Audition 

1. Residents of the Indiana/Illinois/Kentucky Tri-State Region may submit an audition. The Indiana/Illinois/Kentucky Tri-State region is defined as the following counties:
   
   1. Illinois: Clay, Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Lawrence, Richland, Saline, Wabash, Wayne, and White. 
   2. Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Martin, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick 
   3. Kentucky: Breckinridge, Crittenden, Daviess, Grayson, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, and Webster 
2. Participants younger than 18 years of age must have their guardian's permission. 
3. Participants may only submit one audition. 
4. Auditions must be for one person; group submissions will not be accepted. ‍
5. Recording your audition: Make sure your head and shoulders are in the frame.
   
   1. At the beginning of the video, use this script: "Hi, my name is [insert your first name] and this is my audition for the Declaration of Independence reading. If my audition is selected, I will be a part of the Evansville Museum's "Pieces of the Past: America at 250 Years" exhibition. 
   2. Read from the Declaration of Independence as cited by the National Archives and provided below. You may read directly from a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and do NOT have to recite it from memory. 
      
      
      1. English translation: “In Congress, July 4, 1776, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 
         We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” ‍
      2. Spanish translación of té Declaración of Independence: “Cuando en el curso de los acontecimientos humanos se hace necesario para un pueblo disolver los vínculos políticos que lo han ligado a otro y tomar entre las naciones de la tierra el puesto separado e igual a que las leyes de la naturaleza y el Dios de esa naturaleza le dan derecho, un justo respeto al juicio de la humanidad exige que declare las causas que lo impulsan a la separación. Sostenemos como evidentes estas verdades: que todos los hombres son creados iguales; que son dotados por su Creador de ciertos derechos inalienables; que entre éstos están la vida, la libertad y la búsqueda de la felicidad; que paragara ntizar estos derechos se instituyen entre los hombres los gobiernos, que derivan sus poderes legítimos del consentimiento de los gobernados; que cuando quiera que una forma de gobierno se haga destructora de estos principios, el pueblo tiene el derec ho a reformarla o abolirla e instituir un nuevo gobierno que se funde en dichos principios, y a organizar sus poderes en la forma que a su juicio ofrecerá las mayores probabilidades de alcanzar su seguridad y felicidad. La prudencia, claro está, aconsejará que no se cambie por motivos leves y transitorios gobiernos de antiguo establecidos; y, en efecto, toda la experiencia ha demostrado que la humanidad está más dispuesta a padecer, mientras los males sean tolerables, que a hacers e justicia aboliendo las formas a que está acostumbrada. Pero cuando una larga serie de abusos y usurpaciones, dirigida invariablemente al mismo objetivo, demuestra el designio de someter al pueblo a un despotismo absoluto, es su derecho, es su deber , derrocar ese gobierno y establecer nuevos resguardos para su futura seguridad. Tal ha sido el paciente sufrimiento de estas colonias; tal es ahora la necesidad que las obliga a reformar su anterior sistema de gobierno La historia del actual Rey de la Gran Bretaña es una historia de repetidos agravios y usurpaciones, encaminados todos directamente hacia el establecimiento de una tiranía absoluta sobre estos estados.” 

To view the full Declaration of Independence, visit the National Archives online at: 

English version: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript 

Spanish version: https://www.archives.gov/espanol/la-declaracion-de-independencia.html ‍

6. ‍Submit your audition: When you are happy with your audition video, post it to Facebook, Instagram and/or TikTok with these hashtags: #EMAHS250 and #DeclarationContest. Using these hashtags signifies that you are submitting your audition video to the Evansville Museum. By submitting your audition video, you give the Evansville Museum consent to the use of your video, likeness and image for marketing purposes. 
7. All auditions must be posted to social media by March 31, 2026. 
   
8. Judging & Selection: Auditions will be judged based on reading performance and audio/visual quality. Museum staff will select finalists and anticipate a selection of up to ten finalists. 

Selected Auditions - Final Video Participants 

1. Finalists will be notified via social media direct messenger during the week of April 16, 2026. 
2. Finalists must confirm their acceptance to participate in the exhibition video by April 20, 2026. 
3. Finalists, or their guardians, will be provided with a written authorization form to complete. Written authorization must be completed for finalists to be included in the exhibition video and to receive an Evansville Museum membership award. 
4. Finalists will be provided with filming instructions to participate in the exhibition video.