Beowulf Alley Theatre
2008-2009 Season Auditions
When: Sunday, April 20, 2008
2:00-4:00p with callbacks to follow till 5:30p
(no appointment required)
Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre
11 South 6th Avenue
(520) 622-4460
Who: Actors of various ages (see details below), non-Equity and
Equity
Special notes: 1.) Online audition form is available at www.beowulfalley.org under “Audition
Information. Please submit the online audition form ONLY if you intend to audition for the 2008-2009 season. You may also submit your headshot and resume via e-mail (theatre@beowulfalley.org) in advance of the auditions.
2.) Please prepare two (2) contrasting monologues, comedic/dramatic, each one minute in duration.
3.) Perusal copies of the scripts will be available at the office beginning on April 14. They may be checked out overnight and must be returned by noon. To arrange to borrow a copy, please call the office.
Play Synopses, Character Descriptions and Approximate Schedules
WORKSHOP: Noche de los Muertos by Tucson’s Own, Gavin Kayner
Drama (Historical/Cultural), Full Length
Workshop rehearsals begin around July 7 with weekly staged reading for audiences including feedback sessions through mid August.
Cast: 3 M, 3 F, 1 M or F (3 other M or F as crowd, limited use)
TOMAS – a middle-aged, robust Hispanic male of considerable physical presence. He’s gregarious, dynamic and haunted.
PRIEST – a middle-aged Hispanic male whose faith is the bedrock from which his dignity, moral conviction and strength of character are empowered.
IRMA – a Hispanic female not beyond her 40’s who after having fought in too many battles is war-weary and looking to escape to America.
RUBEN – a Hispanic man not beyond his 30’s. He’s quick and keen and sharp as a knife.
CATARINA – a Hispanic female in her 20’s. CATARINA is vivacious, independent and well educated.
LA GENTE – a mature Hispanic woman. She’s a villager well steeped in the intricacies of faith and the mysteries of superstitions.
BONEMAN is a character dressed as a skeleton. He’s a mime.
Three other characters that are either male or female play the crowd and have no lines.
(for play description, see below)
September 26-October 12, 2008 TUCSON PREMIER!
Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott
Directed by Dave Sewell
Mystery/Drama, Full Length
A Classic Thriller—a story of empowerment and discovery
Approximate schedule: Rehearsals begin August 12, Build begins Sept. 8, On-stage runs/tech begins Sept. 19, Preview September 25
Cast: 6 men, 1 woman, 1 girl: 8 total
The parts of Susy Hendrix and Harry Roat, Jr., will be somewhat physically demanding, especially for Susy who is completely blind. Actors of diverse ethnicities are encouraged to audition.
Note: The play will be set in the mid-1960s, with appropriate hair and clothing styles.
Mike Talman: thirties, clean-cut; con artist, recently paroled.
Sgt. Carlino: thirties, could be heavy-set; thug, streetwise but not bright, recently paroled.
Harry Roat, Jr.: 25 to 40, a player in the drug trade, an intelligent sociopath with class and cool demeanor.
Susy Hendrix: late twenties, intelligent and sensitive, housewife, recently blinded in an automobile accident.
Sam Hendrix: thirties, clean-cut; photographer, former marine. (Small part)
Gloria: pre-teen girl, 9-12; clever, a little streetwise, but very sensitive; has just started to wear glasses.
Police Officers (2): Male or female, ages may be 20 to 60. (Small parts)
A drug-filled doll has found its way into the life of Susy Hendrix. Susy is blind, and has nothing to do with drug smuggling. The people who do -- and, who of course want the doll -- are the nefarious Harry Roat and his accomplices, Talman and Carlino. They cook up a scheme to get the doll. When it doesn't quite pan out, and when Susy conjures up a few tricks of her own, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues.
In the 1966 Broadway hit Robert Duvall starred as a psychopathic drug dealer and Lee Remick starred as the blind Susy Hendrix. A year later, Alan Arkin and Audrey Hepburn portrayed these characters in the film adaptation. Four decades later, it is still fresh, relevant and thrilling!
"WAIT UNTIL DARK is a tense thriller." —NY World-Telegram & Sun
“...a solid evening of entertainment not to be missed.” —Craig Nolan Highley, theatrelouisville.com
“...a first rate shocker...the suspense drama we’ve long awaited eagerly.” — The New York Post
October 31-November 16, 2008 WORLD PREMIER!
Noche de los Muertos by Tucson’s Own, Gavin Kayner
Directed by TBA
Drama (Historical/Cultural), Full Length
Approximate schedule: Rehearsals begin September 19, Build begins October 13, On-stage runs/tech begins October 24, Preview October 30.
Cast: 3 M, 3 F, 1 M or F (3 other M or F as crowd, limited use)
TOMAS – a middle-aged, robust Hispanic male of considerable physical presence. He’s gregarious, dynamic and haunted.
PRIEST – a middle-aged Hispanic male whose faith is the bedrock from which his dignity, moral conviction and strength of character are empowered.
IRMA – a Hispanic female not beyond her 40’s who after having fought in too many battles is war-weary and looking to escape to America.
RUBEN – a Hispanic man not beyond his 30’s. He’s quick and keen and sharp as a knife.
CATARINA – a Hispanic female in her 20’s. CATARINA is vivacious, independent and well educated.
LA GENTE – a mature Hispanic woman. She’s a villager well steeped in the intricacies of faith and the mysteries of superstitions.
BONEMAN is a character dressed as a skeleton. He’s a mime.
Three other characters that are either male or female play the crowd and have no lines.
SPECIAL NOTE: THIS PLAY WILL BE WORKSHOPPED IN JULY/AUGUST 2008 IN PREPARATION FOR MAINSTAGE IN THE FALL. ACTORS WILL BE AUDITIONED FOR BOTH. WE WILL BE CASTING FOR BOTH. CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE CAST IN THE WORKSHOP FOR THE MAINSTAGE IN THE FALL BUT WILL NOT GUARANTEE THE ROLE.
A top ten selection for the Reva Shiner award, a semi-finalist for the Ashland New Play Festival and winner of third prize in the Latino/Chicano Literary Competition - University of California Irvine.
A compelling historical tale with contemporary themes of the power of government and religion. Noche de los Muertos is a highly theatrical, classically based, culturally appropriate drama. Set in a provincial village in the Sonoran Desert in the 1920’s, Noche explores the power of rites and rituals that influence thought to the point of irrationality and how passionate individuals deal with devastating conflicts.
A fitting play to present during Halloween and Dia de los Muertos and an essential cultural, spiritual and historical happening by a local, award-winning playwright. Its relevance to over a century of a local Hispanic family living in Tucson makes this World Premier essential, must-see theatre.
January 9-25, 2009 TUCSON PREMIER!
Dinner with Friends by Donald Marguiles
Directed by Susan Arnold
Comedy/Drama, Full Length
Approximate schedule: Rehearsals begin December 1, Build begins December 22, On-stage runs/tech begins January 2, 2009, Preview January 9, 2009
Cast: 2 men, 2 women: 4 total
All characters are late thirties to mid forties and have known each other for years.
Gabe—a food critic, married to Karen
Karen—a gourmet chef, married to Gabe,
Beth—separating and ultimately divorcing Tom for his philandering
Tom—married to and ultimately divorced from Beth—who blames her since she was the first to drift
Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, and a Drama Desk Award nomination.
A funny, yet bittersweet, examination of the married lives of two couples who have been extremely close for dozens of years. Gabe and Karen, a happily married middle-aged couple, have been friends with Tom and Beth, another married couple, for many years. In fact, it was Gabe and Karen who fixed up their friends in the first place. While having dinner at Gabe and Karen's home one night, Beth tearfully reveals that she is getting a divorce from Tom, who has been unfaithful. Tom, who had been away on business, finds out that Beth has told their friends about the looming divorce, and hastens to Gabe and Karen's home. Tom and Beth had planned to tell their friends about their breakup together, but Tom now believes that Beth has unfairly presented herself as the wronged party, and feels he must present his own side of the story. Over the course of the play, we see both couples at different ages and stages of their lives, and we witness the effects of Tom and Beth's breakup on Gabe and Karen, who first feel compelled to choose sides, and then begin to question the strength of their own seemingly tranquil marriage.
"Dinner with Friends is entertainment as succulent as it is sobering." —John Simon, New York Magazine
February 13-March 1, 2009 ARIZONA PREMIER!
3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff by Edward Crosby Wells
Directed by Cynthia Jeffery
Comedy, Full Length
Approximate schedule: Rehearsals begin January 5, Build begins January 26, On-stage runs/tech begins February 2, 2009, Preview February 12, 2009
Cast: 3 men (in drag) Total
Age range 30-70 yrs , willing to wear women’s clothing in a flashy, over-the-top way.
2000-2001 Winner of the Spotlight On Best Play Award for Excellence in Off-Off Broadway Theatre
Diva, Lillian, and Tink (three men in drag) are having a yard sale to raise funds for a Faberge egg in which to place the ashes of Diva's dead husband. Diva bosses Lillian, whose principal expertise is making punch with ingredients that could fuel a rocket. Tink is confined to a wheelchair, mostly comatose, but when she does try to make herself heard, the others invariably misunderstand, causing dire consequences. The miscommunications of this misfit trio cause a friend to be run over by a pickup truck while trying to cross the street with her walker. We meet an entire neighborhood of characters through the eyes of the "ladies" during the course of their yard sale, including Diva's mother who has the yard wired with eavesdropping devices and is listening in from her room in a nursing home across the street. Finally, in an explosive climax, the day's shenanigans result in a police shootout when someone plays with a starter pistol filled with blanks. This is a raucous, raunchy, gut-busting, more than a laugh-a-minute play.
“This play does what Beckkett was trying to do but Beckett was too squeamish to face the decline of the West. Wells faces them with hilarious completeness, and therefore is able to be both funnier and more tragic thank Becket ever was.” —Robert Patrick, Playwright
April 10-26, 2009
Proof by David Auburn
Directed by Sheldon Metz
Drama, Full Length
Approximate schedule: Rehearsals begin February 23, Build begins March 23, On-stage runs/tech begins March 30, 2009, Preview April 9, 2009
Cast: 2 men, 2 women: 4 total
Catherine – 25 - Extreme range for an actress. At once, she’d full of inner strength and self-doubt. There’s an easy slovenliness & careless about her. She’s casual about food, her clothing, and her hair. She is afraid she has her father’s illness.
Robert – 55 – A brilliant schizophrenic mathematician, aware of his illness.
Claire – 29 – Well-meaning in a manipulative manner.
Hal - 28 - Handsome in a bookish sort of way
2001 Tony Award, 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Joseph Kesselring Prize, the Drama Desk Award
A comic drama, Proof is about Catherine, a young woman who has spent years caring for her father, Robert, a brilliant mathematician in his youth but who was later unable to function without her help. His death has brought into her midst both her sister, Claire, who wants to take Catherine back to New York with her, and Hal, a former student of Catherine's father who hopes to find some hint of Robert's genius among his incoherent scribbling. The passion that Hal feels for math both moves and angers Catherine, who, in her exhaustion, is torn between missing her father and resenting the great sacrifices she made for him. For Catherine has inherited at least a part of her father's brilliance -- and perhaps some of his instability as well. As she and Hal become attracted to each other, they push at the edges of each other's knowledge, considering not only the unpredictability of genius but also the human instinct toward love and trust.
"(A)n exciting new drama (.....) This play by David Auburn combines elements of mystery and surprise with old-fashioned storytelling to provide a compelling evening of theater." — David Kaufman, Daily News
"But my relief that David Auburn's Proof is less about its ballyhooed higher mathematics than the fragility of life and love was matched by my delight in his fine and tender play. (...) Proof surprises us with its aliveness and intelligent modesty, and we have not met these characters before." — John Heilpern, The New York Observer
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