Tag Archives: Dayton Theatre Guild

HOW IT FEELS TO FALL FROM THE SKY, by Dominic Finocchiaro, is a serious, but darkly comic play about five strangers in New York who are brought together because they randomly witness a woman falling to her death from a tall building. In their makeshift support group, we gradually learn about the traumas and fears that each of them carry, and on reflection, that we all carry. Above all, this play explores the value of human connection, sometimes found in the most unexpected places.

Production Dates: December 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 & 13, 2026

Director: Marjorie Strader
Producer: Rhea Smith
Stage Manager: Kathryn Sykes

Audition Dates: Monday October 12 and Tuesday October 13 at 7 PM at the Dayton Theatre Guild; 430 Wayne Ave; Dayton

Auditions:

• Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.
• A resume and headshot are not required but are encouraged.
• Please bring ALL scheduling conflicts between October 14 and December 13, 2026

Character Descriptions:

• Marjory (80s) The person who organizes the group. A widow who never had children, she terribly misses her husband of over 60 years. She is unpretentious with a wry sense of humor and provides a motherly/grandmotherly sort of support to the group.
• Kathryn (30s-40s) Tightly strung lawyer struggling to raise her 10-year-old autistic son alone after her husband left her for a much younger woman. She is angry about almost everything. She is blunt and frank to a fault and has little room for sentiment in herself or anyone else.
• Birch (20s) A young actress trying to make it in New York with very little luck or progress so far. She is outgoing, but carries a lot of self-doubt, fear and depression.
• Leonard (40’s, although could be played older) A reclusive mystery novelist of some renown. He has not written in the last five years since the suicide of his wife, and in fact has become an extreme germaphobe, terrified to leave his apartment.
• Luis (19) a Latino food delivery worker, grinding it out in a gig economy. He appears to be extremely carefree and gregarious, but hides the fact that he is an alcoholic, trying to recover with uneven success.

Luis is the only character whose ethnicity is a central part of the script. All the other characters could be any race or ethnicity.

For further information, please contact Marjorie Strader (mstraderia@gmail.com)

Hilda: A woman marked by profound loss and grief. She works answering phones at a store, but spends her time studying Linda’s abilities in hopes of contacting her beloved grandmother and mysteriously vanished mother. Hilda acts as the play’s unreliable narrator, seemingly innocent but hiding a much darker, manipulative side as reality frays. This part is female presenting, age 30+, must be ready to memorize a lot of lines and have little or no conflicts for the rehearsal period. Hilda is a storyteller, so come with a 1-2 minute story to tell!

Linda: An experienced medium originally from rural England who relocated to the U.S.. She claims to have the ability to communicate with the dead, existing in “the thin place”.Matter-of-fact and pragmatic, she is unafraid to blur the lines between genuine spirituality and performance, even admitting that at times her abilities are a trick. This part is female presenting, able to do an English accent, must be able to memorize a lot of lines and have little or no conflicts for the rehearsal process. age 60+

Sylvia: Linda’s wealthy, somewhat elitist friend and patron. She frequently engages in dinner-party debates with the others. Bringing a level of sharp-edged, upper-class skepticism and social manipulation to the group. This part is female presenting, age 40+.