Fairfield Footlighters is excited to hold auditions for 12 ANGRY JURORS
Director – Chase Engel
Producer – Nicholas and Anna Brown
Audition Dates: September 1st and 2nd
There will be slots for audition times at 6:00, 7:00, and 8:00 respectively. Please sign up using the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/…/8050F4AABAB2AAAF49…
Callbacks, if needed, will be September 3rd. Callback times will be determined after auditions.
Auditions and callbacks will be held at the Fairfield Community Arts Center – 411 Wessel Dr. Fairfield, OH, 45014.
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Please arrive early as you will need to fill out an audition form prior to your audition time. Headshot and resume are appreciated but not required. Please prepare to list any scheduling conflicts between September 28 – November 15th. Please also list any foreign accents that you are comfortable performing in.
Online submissions will be considered. Please prepare a monologue of no more than five minutes in length and email the file to caengel0615@gmail.com. Subject Line: “First Name Last Name 12 Angry Jurors Audition.”
REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will begin September 28th, and will be held Monday-Thursday evenings at the Fairfield Community Arts Center from 6:30 – 9:00. This show is unique as many of the characters are on stage for the entirety of the script. Even though a character may not have many lines, there is staging and blocking to be considered. Most, if not all, rehearsals will have every actor called each night. As such, availability will be a larger factor than usual when determining casting. Please list any scheduling conflicts accurately so that as many actors as possible can be present for staging rehearsals. NO rehearsals can be missed beginning November 2nd.
While no “tech” rehearsals will occur on the weekends leading up to the show, volunteer work for set construction on weekends as we approach the show would be appreciated. Volunteer work may or may not be needed for this production depending on other activities and programs that the Community Arts Center have scheduled. This will be determined as we approach the production dates.
SHOWS
- November 13th 7:30 PM
- November 14th 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
- November 15th 2:00
A mandatory strike of the set will be required at the conclusion of the November 15th show.
ABOUT THE SHOW:
In the mid-1950s, a 19-year-old man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” mutters the guard as the 12 jurors are taken into the bleak jury room. It looks like an open-and-shut case—until one of the jurors begins opening the others’ eyes to the facts. “This is a remarkable thing about democracy,” says the foreign-born juror, “that we are notified by mail to come down to this place—and decide on the guilt or innocence of a person; of a man or woman we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing.” But personal it is, with each juror revealing his or her own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder is re-enacted and a new murder threat is born before their eyes! Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and the jurors become 12 angry men. The jurors’ final verdict and how they reach it—intense scenes that will electrify your audience and keep them on the edge of their seats—add up to a fine, mature piece of dramatic literature, an experience you’ll be proud to present.
CHARACTERS:
(Note that any role may be played by any gender expression common in the mid 1950s)
- FOREMAN: He is a small, petty man who is impressed with the authority he has and handles himself quite formally. He is not overly bright, but dogged.
- JUROR NO. TWO: He is a meek, hesitant man who finds it difficult to maintain any opinions of his own. He is easily swayed and usually adopts the opinion of the last person to whom has spoken.
- JUROR NO. THREE: He is a very strong, very forceful, extremely opinionated man, within whom can be detected a streak of sadism. Also, he is a humorless man who is intolerant of opinions other than his own and accustomed to forcing his wishes and views upon others.
- JUROR NO. FOUR: He seems to be a man of wealth and position, and a practiced speaker who always presents himself well. He seems to feel a little bit above the rest of the jurors. His only concern is with the facts in this case, and he is appalled with the behavior of the others.
- JUROR NO. FIVE: He is a naïve, very frightened young man who takes his obligations in this case very seriously, but who finds it difficult to speak up when his elders have the floor.
- JUROR NO. SIX: He is an honest but dull-witted man who comes upon his decisions slowly and carefully. He is a man who finds it difficult to create positive opinions, but will listen to, digest, and accept opinions offered by others who appeal to him most.
- JUROR NO. SEVEN: He is a loud, flashy, glad-handed salesman type who has more important things to do than to sit on a jury. He is quick to show temper and equally quick to form opinions on things about which he knows nothing. He is a bully, and, of course, a coward.
- JUROR NO. EIGHT: He is a quiet, thoughtful, gentle man – a man who sees all sides of every question and constantly seeks the truth. He is a man of strength tempered with compassion. Above all, he is a man who wants justice to be done and will fight to see that it is.
- JUROR NO. NINE: He is a mild, gentle old man, long since defeated by life, and merely waiting to die. He recognizes himself for what he is and mourns the days when it would have been possible to be courageous without shielding himself behind his many years.
- JUROR NO. TEN: He is an angry, bitter man – a man who antagonizes almost at sight. He is also a bigot who places no values on any human life save his own. Here is a man who has been nowhere and is going nowhere knows it deep within him.
- JUROR NO. ELEVEN: He is a refugee from a foreign country. He speaks with an accent and is ashamed, humble, almost subservient to the people around him. He will honestly seek justice because he has suffered through so much injustice.
- JUROR NO. TWELVE: He is a slick, bright advertising man who thinks of human beings in terms of percentages, graphs, and polls, and has no real understanding of people. He is a superficial slob. But trying to be a good fellow.
Other offstage and bit parts will be assigned as needed.
Please email any questions to the following contacts:
Chase Engel: caengel0615@gmail.com
Anna Brown: annaraebrown@gmail.com
Nicholas Brown: nicholasanthonybrown1@gmail.com
Those who wish to audition must complete an audition form and sign up for an audition timeslot. If you are unable to or no longer wish to audition, please be considerate and cancel (or reschedule) your audition timeslot.
