Directed by Mark Lunsford.
Auditions will be held at the Fairfield Community Arts Center from 6:30-8:30pm, Monday and Tuesday December 11th and 12th. Located in the classroom on the second floor.
Auditionees should prepare a 1 minute comedic monologue and come prepared to be asked to read from the script if deemed necessary. Auditionees should come prepared with a headshot, resume, and complete list of conflicts from January 1st through February 25th.
Rehearsal Info –
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays – 6:30pm-9:00pm
Potential for some Monday rehearsals later in the process.
Production Dates –
February 23rd & 24th @ 7:30pm
February 24th & 25th @ 2:00pm
Roles –
(There is potential for some doubling of roles)
Penelope Sycamore (F) (40+) – Usually goes by Penny, Penelope is the mother of Essie and Alice, wife of Paul and daughter of Martin. She writes plays and paints as hobbies because it makes her happy, but is terrible at both. Penny is a loving mother and wife who is constantly concerned with the welfare of her family. Her main goal is to make sure that everyone is happy, particularly her daughter Alice.
Essie Carmichael (F) (24-30) – Wife of Ed, daughter of Penny and Paul Sycamore, Granddaughter of Martin, sister of Alice. She is child-like. As a hobby she makes candy that Ed sells. Essie dreams of being a ballerina. She has spent 8 years studying with Boris Kohlenkhov, but is a terrible dancer.
Rheba (F) (24-40) – The maid and cook to the Sycamore family. She is treated like a part of the family. She is dating Donald.
Alice Sycamore (F) (18-28) – Fiance of Tony Kirby, daughter of Paul and Penny, Granddaughter of Martin, sister of Essie. She seems to be the only “normal” family member. She has an office job, and is rather embarrassed by the eccentricities of her family, yet she still loves them. She tends to be a pessimist.
Miriam Kirby (F) (45+) – Wife of Mr. Kirby, mother of Tony. She is an extremely prim and proper woman and is horrified by the goings-on in the Sycamore household. Her hobby is spiritualism.
The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina (F) (40+) – She was one of the Grand Duchesses of Russia before the Revolution, another being her sister, the Grand Duchess Natasha. Since then she has been forced to flee to America where she has found work as a waitress in Childs Restaurant. The rest of her family has had a similar fate, such as her Uncle Sergei, the Grand Duke, who is now an elevator man. She loves to cook as a hobby. This character will appear later in the play, and the actress needs to be able to be a bit over-the-top, but not overdo it.
Gay Wellington (F) (25+) – An actress whom Mrs. Sycamore meets on a bus and invites home to read one of her plays. She is an alcoholic, gets very drunk and passes out shortly after arriving at the Sycamore’s home.
Martin Vanderhof (M) (60+) – Referred to mostly as grandpa in the play. Father-in-law to Paul, father of Penny, grandfather of Alice and Essie. He is an eccentric happy old man who has never paid his income tax because he doesn’t believe in it, as he feels that the government wouldn’t know what to do with the money if he paid it. Once a very successful businessman, he left his job 35 years prior for no reason other than to just relax. He lives his life by the philosophy “don’t do anything that you’re not going to enjoy doing”. He goes to circuses, commencements, throws darts, and collects stamps.
Paul Sycamore (M) (40+) – Father of Essie and Alice, husband of Penny, son-in-law of Martin. He is a tinkerer who manufactures fireworks in the basement with the help of his assistant Mr. De Pinna. His hobby is playing with erector sets.
Tony Kirby (M) (18-28) – Fiancé of Alice, Son of Mr. and Mrs. Kirby. He sees how, even though the Sycamores appear odd, they are really the perfect family because they love and care about each other. His own family is very proper and has many issues none of them will admit. He is vice president of Kirby and Co.
Ed Carmicheal (M) (24-30) – Husband of Essie, son-in-law of Paul and Penny. He is a xylophone player, and distributes Essie’s candies. Ed is an amatuer printer who prints anything that sounds “catchy” to him. He prints up dinner menus for his family and communist pamphlets that he places in the boxes of Essie’s candy. He also likes to make masks.
Mr. De Pinna (M) (30+) – The ice man who came inside to speak to Paul eight years before and never left. He helps Mr. Sycamore build fireworks, and moonlights as a model in Mrs. Sycamore’s paintings. **Could be Mrs. De Pinna
Anthony Kirby (M) (45+) – Husband of Mrs. Kirby, father of Tony. He is a very proper man who is president of Kirby and Co. and secretly despises his job. His hobby is raising expensive orchids. He is also a member of the Harvard Society, the Union Club, the National Geographic Society, and the Racquet Club.
Donald (M) (24-40) – The boyfriend of Rheba, who seems to serve as volunteer handyman for the Sycamores.
Boris Kohlenkhov (M) (30+) – A Russian who escaped to America shortly before the Russian Revolution. He is very concerned with world politics, and the deterioration of Russia. He is the ballet instructor of Essie, aware that she is untalented at dancing, but knows that she enjoys dancing so he keeps working with her. He likes the Greeks and the Romans, questions society, and is interested in world affairs. He is opinionated and often loudly declares that something “stinks”!
Wilbur Henderson (M) (25+) – An employee of the IRS. He comes to collect the tax money owed by Grandpa, and can’t understand why the latter won’t pay income tax.
G-Man 1 “The Man” (M) (18+) , G-Man 2 “Jim” (M/F) (18+), G-Man 3 “Mac” (M/F) (18+) – Three agents who come to investigate Ed because of the communist things he prints up, such as “God is the State – the State is God”.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 