Tag Archives: Dayton Playhouse

AUDITIONS FOR THE HOLY RUG

THE HOLY RUG will be a one performance, staged reading.

Story and Book by Ray Gambrel
Music by Terry O’Brien
Lyrics by Jeff Sams and Terry O’Brien
Director: Annie Pesch
Music Director: Brennan Paulin

Auditions will be held on Sunday, May 3 rd from 1:00 – 3:00 PM at the Dayton Playhouse.

Annie Pesch, Ray Gambrel, and Accompanist, Charles Larkowski, will be attending.

NEEDED

• Please provide a 32-bar cut. Bring your own sheet music. (a Bluetooth speaker will be provided for accompaniment on audio files if you choose)
• You will be asked to read sides. Please note: Audition songs may be recorded for the musical director.
  If callbacks are needed, they will be held on May 4th or 5th .

If you have any questions or are unable to attend and would like to submit an audition video (YouTube or Vimeo link), please send an email to: theholyrugmusical@gmail.com

Performance Date: June 6th, 2026

Place: Dayton Playhouse
Time: 7:30 PM

There will be about 10 rehearsals from May 18th to June 5th .

Synopsis

The Holy Rug is a musical about a young man, Harlan, that was raised in a Pentecostal church and realizes that he’s gay. He confides in the pastor but
is betrayed when the church attempts to exorcise the “demon of homosexuality” out of him. Harlan leaves the church and goes on a personal and spiritual journey that consists of loss, pain, and acceptance.

Cast

• HARLAN: Mid 20s to early 30s, on a spiritual and personal journey (Baritone/Tenor A2 – Ab4)
• DAD: Early 40s to early 50s, Harlan’s father, stern Evangelical (Bass/Baritone A2 -Ab4)
• SISSY: Mid 20s to early 30s, Harlan’s sister, rebel later in life (Mezzo Soprano E3 – C5)
• PASTOR RAY: Late 40s to Early 50s, Evangelical pastor / preacher (Baritone/Tenor A2 – G4)
• SISTER PAULINE: Late 40s to late 50s, Pastor Ray’s wife (Mezzo/Alto G3 – A4)
• SKIP: 20s to early 30s, the Pastor’s son, Harlan’s best friend (Baritone A3 – E4)
• SISTER OVA: Mid 50s to late 60s, Traveling evangelical preacher, energetic and quite the character (Mezzo/Alto A3 – A4)
• BROTHER BRICE: Mid 50s to late 60s, evangelical church member, very self-centered (non-singing)
• EDITH DAVENPORT: Mid 30s to late 40s, drag queen and gay club owner, extremely over the top, lots of fun, diva (Baritone D3 – F4)
• ELDER THOMAS: 20s to early 30s, Mormon missionary (Baritone F3 – F4)
• SHIRLEY MACLAINE: Around 55, singer, dancer, actress, DIVA (Mezzo/Soprano B3 – B4)

Facebook event |

Auditions for FutureFest 2026

Open auditions for FutureFest 2026 will be held Tuesday, May 26 and Wednesday, May 27, 2026 starting at 7:00 pm each evening. Auditioners are encouraged to arrive early in order to complete the audition form before auditions begin. All five scripts will be auditioned each evening.

The festival will run July 17 through July 19, with each script performed once over the weekend. All scripts will be presented as Staged Readings, meaning all actors will carry their scripts with them, and will be “on book.” Directors will have the freedom to use lighting, sound, costuming, props, and blocking to present as full a production as possible within the festival framework.

Questions about these auditions or FutureFest generally may be directed to Matt Lindsay, FutureFest 2026 Chair at box.office.dayton.playhouse@gmail.com.

Below are synopses and cast descriptions from the five finalist scripts. The scripts are listed in alphabetical order.

AT THE BROKEN PLACES
Director: TBD
Worried that his son Devon–who is on the neurodiversity spectrum–might be harboring suicidal thoughts, Mike reaches out as a last resort to his half-brother Jimmy–the man responsible for the death of Devon’s mother five years earlier. But the men face a challenge they never expected; a challenge made more desperate because of secrets that could destroy their fragile bonds–or be the underpinnings of mercy. When are broken relationships worth mending no matter the cost? And when must they be discarded because the price of truth is too high? When a desire to heal eventually pits brother against brother and father against son, there is a road out. But is anyone willing to walk that road?

Characters:

• Mike Father, 48; Widower, crusty, life weary Jimmy Mike’s half-brother, 41; Lost soul
  Devon Mike’s son, 21; neuro-divergent, smart
  Franny Mike and Jimmy’s aunt, 68: firecracker
  Karl Franny’s love interest, 72: a gentleman

CHAGUTOK
Director: TBD
Four Americans each make a solitary pilgrimage to a remote, unpopulated Alaskan island, hoping to witness a mysterious atmospheric phenomenon known as the Chagutok Lights, which occurs only once every 17 years. These people-skills-challenged individuals find themselves stuck in each other’s company, but they manage…until a dead body appears. And it’s just the first. Alone on this barren island, these four loners must work together to solve the mysteries of the dead, the Lights, and each other.

Characters:

• TASHA: woman in her early 20s, white, American-born granddaughter of Russian Jewish immigrants; her natural-fiber, crunchy-granola aesthetic clashes with her prickly personality.
• REX : man in his late 30s, white. Ideally of meaty build, scruffy or bearded. Conversationally and emotionally guarded, if not downright secretive. A photographer.
• MARY JO: woman in her early-to-mid 50s, white; a redneck in sound and vibe, but smart and well-educated. Witty, cantankerous, and a loner — but also a talker.
• DANIEL: man in his early 30s, Black, an American-born son of South African immigrants. A science nerd. Smart, insightful, a little excitable but emotionally grounded.

None of these people have a lot of friends.

dress
Director: TBD
Martin’s surprising fashion choice sets his friend group of Brooklyn hipsters into a tailspin, reopening old wounds and leading them to question the very basis of what holds them together. A dark social comedy about liberal blindspots and the messy minefield that is gender in the 21st century.

• chuck: male, mid-thirties, white, a writer, straight
• ted: male, mid-thirties, white, a bartender, straight
• clem: female, almost halfway to twenty-five, white, actress, pan
• danielle: female, mid-thirties, jamaican-american, a lawyer, straight
• elijah: male, mid-thirties, black, a fashion designer, gay
• martin: mid-thirties, white, a cook

POCKETS
Director: TBD
After putting her career on hold to raise her son and support her husband’s rise in the US Attorney’s office, Mona finds herself divorced, alone, and in a low paying job that barely covers her debt and her rent at an age when most women are thinking about retirement. While she is struggling to put her life together, Mona not only discovers she has a very special talent, but risks everything for the joy of using it.

Characters:

• Mona Middleway Female, late 50’s early 60’s
• Mike Middleway Male, late 50’s early 60’s
• Lilith Fortuna Female, late 40’s
• Max Duffy Male, 60’s
• Judge Griswold Female, 50’s
  All roles are racially neutral.

VICHY
Director: TBD
When a young man returns Elyce’s lost ration book in Nazi-occupied Vichy, France, she’s torn between trust and suspicion. Her friend Emma, a Jewish mother, begs for help hiding her daughter. As danger grows, Elyce relies more on the man Emma fears is the enemy—until a final reckoning reveals the truth.

Characters:

• ELYCE Mid-thirties.
• PHILIPPE SCHILLER Mid twenties.
• CAMILLE GOLDSTEIN Fourteen years old.
• EMMA GOLDSTEIN Mid-thirties, CAMILLE’S mother.

Official event |