Auditions for the last three dramas of the 2014-15 season will be on Saturday, January 24 at 10 a.m. and Sunday, January 25th at 6 p.m. at The Weekend Theater (1001 W. 7th St., Little Rock, AR 72201, on the corner of 7th and Chester St. across from Vino’s). You only have to attend one of the times. We will read from each play, in the order they fall in the season, for one half hour each and then repeat the entire process again. The scripts will not be available before the auditions.
DIRECTORS, CAST SUMMARY, SHOW REHEARSALS & PERFORMANCES:
1– Last Summer at Bluefish Cove
By Jane Chambers
Director: Lana Hallmark, lanahallmark@yahoo.com
Rehearsals: 1st week of February – March 12
Performances: Mar 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, 2015
8 Women. No ethnicity restrictions.
2– Karski’s Message
By Phillip McMath
Director: Matthew Mentgen, matthew@mentgenlawfirm.com
Rehearsals: Late February – April 9
Performances: Apr 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 2015
6-8 Caucasian men.
2 Caucasian women.
3 Caucasian children. 2 boys, 1 girl.
3– The Member of the Wedding
By Carson McCullers
Director: Margaret Pierson Bates, map2bates@gmail.com
Rehearsals: Late March – May 14
Performances: May 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, 2015
2 African American women.
2 African American men.
2 Caucasian teen girls.
1 Caucasian teen boy.
1 Caucasian child. Boy, playing 6-7 yrs old.
3-5 Caucasian men.
2 Caucasian women.
All shows will perform on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. It is possible that we will add Thursday night performances if the shows sell very well. If you cannot attend all dress rehearsals, brush-ups, and performances, please respect your fellow actors and tell us, so you will not be cast. But you are still welcome to audition, as it is always good to practice auditioning!
ROLES & ACTORS NEEDED:
If you have any questions, please feel free to email the correct director.
LAST SUMMER AT BLUEFISH COVE
Cast of 8 women:
– One (Donna) should be in her twenties; all others can range from thirties to early fifties.
– No specific race or ethnicity required for any of them.
– The most important aspect of this group is that they bond quickly and sincerely, as if they have had a very close relationship for many years and care deeply for each other.
Lil
– Female
– Strong in character, but in the situation in which we find her, she requires great strength. As strong women do, when she falls for Eva, she falls hard, finding happiness a little too late.
Eva
– Female
– Described in the script as ‘naïve’, but really as game as anyone else. Her naivete does provide some comic relief early in the story. She, more than any of the others, grows as a person from having experienced the events of the story.
Annie
– Female
– A sculptor and serious artist, but doesn’t take herself too seriously in that way. Has shared a 9-year devoted relationship with Rae.
Rae
– Female
– Funny and in some ways sarcastic, Rae has two children whom she loves dearly but with whom her relationship is difficult due to her current situation. She is possessive of Annie, but in a good way,
Kitty
– Female
– A doctor and writer famous for her militant books on feminism whose career would ironically be in jeopardy if her lesbianism was revealed to the public. The script describes her as rich, famous, arrogant, and brilliant.
Rita
– Female
– Kitty’s assistant and partner of many years, despite Kitty’s tendency toward unfaithfulness. Rita overlooks all of Kitty’s flaws.
Sue
– Female
– Probably the oldest of the women, she comes from ‘old money’ but doesn’t show it outwardly, choosing instead to present herself as plain and down to earth. She recognizes her relationship with Donna for what it is, and finds it refreshing that Donna is honest about being attracted to her wealth.
Donna
– Female
– Definitely the youngest of the group, and quite the little ‘hottie’. She flaunts her youth and beauty (to the point that she spends a large part of her stage time in a bikini) and is quite self-absorbed. The script describes her as a flirt and a social climber. She does, however, have a sincere fondness for Sue and their odd relationship must seem sincere.
KARSKI’S MESSAGE
Hauptsturmfurher Heinrich Hamann
– Caucasian male; About thirty
– SS Captain
Oberstrumfuhrer Sepp Specht
– Caucasian male; Early-twenties
– SS 1st Lt., subordinate of Hamann
Marian Borecki
– Caucasian male; Middle-aged
– Former minister of the Interior, now leader in the Polish Underground
Jan Karski
– Caucasian male; Early-twenties
– Nom de guerre of Jan Kozielewski, former Polish Army officer and diplomatic corps, now member of the Polish Underground
Countess Rene Olzanski
– Caucasian female; Early-twenties
– Very attractive mistress of Strum and also lover of Karski, now member of the Polish Underground
Yitzhak
– Caucasian male; About 10 yrs
– One of three Jewish “sewer children”
Jacob
– Caucasian male; About 8 yrs
– One of three Jewish “sewer children”
Sarah
– Caucasian female; About 7 yrs
– One of three Jewish “sewer children”
Leon Feiner
– Caucasian male; Middle-aged
– Leader of the Jewish Socialist Bund and the Jewish Underground
Oberst Hans Strum
– Caucasian male
– Colonel, German Army of the Occupation
Sister Sonia
– Caucasian female
– Nun/nurse
Gestapo Guard & Thugs
– Caucasian males
THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING
Berenice Sadie Brown
– African American female; Mid-thirties to mid-forties
– The Addams housekeeper and surrogate mother to Frankie
Frankie Addams (this role is pre-cast)
– Caucasian female; 12-15 yrs
– Motherless, tomboyish, prepubescent in the throes of adolescence
John Henry West
– Caucasian male; 6-7 yrs (or with the size and ability to play the appropriate age)
– Pesky active younger cousin to Frankie-lives next door but spends much time at the Addams’ household
Jarvis Addams
– Caucasian male; Early- to mid-twenties
– Frankie’s brother, World War II soldier, engaged to Janice Evans
Janice Evans
– Caucasian female; Early- to mid-twenties
– Fiancé’ of Jarvis Addams
Royal Addams
– Caucasian male; Early- to mid-forties
– Frankie’s and Jarvis’ widowed father, a quiet, stern man, he is a jeweler
Mrs. (Aunt Pet) West
– Caucasian female; Late-thirties to early-forties
– Frankie’s aunt, John Henry’s mother, lives next door, a circumspect, haughty woman
Helen Fletcher – and Doris
– Two Caucasian females; Early-teens
– Both are Neighborhood “mean girls” who refuse to associate with Frankie
Sis Laura
– African American female; Mature enough to play late-seventies
– Street peddler, sells vegetables door to door in the neighborhood)
T.T. Williams
– African American male; Early-forties to early-fifties
– A deacon at Berenice’s church and Berenice’s latest suitor, sometimes works as domestic servant
Honey Camden Brown
– African American male; Mid- to late-twenties
– Berenice’s beloved step-brother, a defiant, marijuana, smoking, trumpet player
Barnie MacKean
– Caucasian male; 13-15 yrs
– Neighborhood heart-throb to most of the girls, including Frankie)
Incidental walk-ons without lines
– Two Caucasian males; Mid-thirties
WHAT TO BRING:
* Please bring the attached Audition Form with you to the auditions. Please print and fill out the form before you arrive: TWT Audition Form Shows 9-11 2014-15 Season If you do not have access to a printer, copies will be available at auditions, as well.
* If you do not have a recent photo on file at TWT, please bring a black & white or color, medium- or head-shot with you. It should be no larger than 4in x 4in.
PLAY DESCRIPTIONS:
Here are descriptions of the shows:
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove
By Jane Chambers
March 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, 2015
Directed by Lana Hallmark
Winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and seven Hollywood Drama-Logue Awards, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove is the story of a dissatisfied straight woman who leaves her husband to spend some quiet time by herself and who unwittingly and naively wanders into the midst of a group of seven lesbians at the beginning of their annual beachside vacation. She falls in love with the charming leading character who, unknown to her, is dying of cancer. The friendships, the laughter, the love, the fears of being outed, the difficulties of being gay and how it affects relationships with family, children, parents and careers, the demonstrations of what the painful price could be for a gay life 30 years ago in everyday America, had never before been told with such respect. Chambers’ comedic dialogue, sensitivity to human nature and tender treatment of her characters help the play transcend preconceptions and show the universality of these women’s journeys, whether straight or gay.
Karski’s Message
By Phillip McMath
April 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 2015
Directed by Matthew Mentgen
A World Premier of local playwright, lawyer and historian Phillip McMath’s well-crafted story of how no one listened or helped when the genocide of the Jews was happening, Karski’s Message is the story of Jan Karski, a Polish World War II resistance movement fighter and later professor at Georgetown University. In 1942 and 1943, Karski reported to the Polish government in exile and the Western Allies, Britain and the United States, on the situation in German-occupied Poland, especially the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, and the secretive German-Nazi extermination camps. Karski personally met with President Roosevelt in the Oval Office, telling him about the situation in Poland and becoming the first eyewitness to tell him about the Jewish Holocaust. During their meeting Roosevelt asked about the condition of horses in Poland. Roosevelt did not ask one question about the Jews.
The Member of the Wedding
By Carson McCullers
May 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, 2015
Directed by Margaret Pierson Bates
Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Donaldson Award in 1950 for best play,The Member of the Wedding is based on the Carson McCullers multi-award winning novel by the same name. The play set during World War II takes place over a few days in late August, 1944. It tells the poignant story of 12-year-old tomboy, Frankie Addams, who, like many pre-pubescents, feels disconnected from everything in the world; in her words, an “unjoined person.” Frankie’s mother has died in childbirth, and her widowed father is a distant, vacuous figure who has no idea of the anxiety his daughter is experiencing. Her closest companions in her small racially divided hometown are the family’s African American housekeeper and surrogate mother to Frankie, Berenice Sadie Brown, and her six-year-old pesky cousin, John Henry West. She has no other friends in her deeply southern birthplace and dreams of going away with her soldier brother and his bride-to-be on their honeymoon in the Alaskan wilderness. Frankie Addams desperately wants to become “joined” with the newlyweds in The Member of the Wedding.
THANK YOU!
We are a theater which features plays of social significance, and we strive to treat each other with kindness, empathy and respect. Auditioning with us is designed to be a sharing and learning experience, not a competitive trauma, so please come join our Weekend Theater family!
