THE DINING ROOM by A.R. Gurney
Directed by David Roth
Audition Dates:
- Wednesday & Thursday, September 28th & 29th 7:00pm
Bell Tower Art Pavilion – 3270 Glendale Milford Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45241
Auditions to consist of cold readings from the script.
Cast requirements: 3 M / 3 F (may expand to 8 cast members at Director’s discretion)
Each character plays multiple roles so the age requirement is open to anyone over 18.
The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is comprised of a mosaic of interrelated scenes – some funny, some touching, some rueful – which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP.
The actors change roles, personalities and ages with virtuoso skill as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events; a father lectures his son on grammar and politics; a boy returns from boarding school to discover his mother’s infidelity; a senile grandmother doesn’t recognize her own sons at Christmas dinner; a daughter, her marriage a shambles, pleads futilely to return home, etc. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes coalesce, ultimately, into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor and abundant humanity.
Performance Dates: December 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, & 11
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 