Tag Archives: The Drama Workshop

AUDITIONS for The Drama Workshop’s production of NATURAL CAUSES. Written by Eric Chappell. Directed by Ray Lebowski. Produced by Ray Persing

Auditions will be April 30 and May 1, 2017, at The Glenmore Playhouse, 3716 Glenmore Ave, Cheviot, OH 45211. Doors will open at 6:30pm, and auditions will begin promptly at 7pm. Actors are asked to bring a resume and headshot, and will audition in groups. Auditions will run no later than 9 pm, and may end earlier. Callbacks, if necessary, will be on May 3, 2017. Updates will be posted on the TDW Facebook page. Show dates are October 6, 2017 through October 22, 2017. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm, Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. Call time is 1 ½ hours before curtain, unless other arrangements are made with the stage manager. Rehearsals will begin in mid-August.

The director is seeking five actors. Needed: 3 men (40-60) and 2 women (one 40s, one 20s). Performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to audition.

ABOUT THE SHOW: Natural Causes is black comedy at its blackest and best. Walter Bryce contacts Vincent, a travelling salesman who trades in a potion designed to help people commit suicide and move painlessly into the next world. He arrives at Walter’s English country house and mistakenly assumes that the potion is for Walter’s consumption. It becomes clear that the client is Celia, Walter’s wife − or is she? Why are all her suicide letters typed and unsigned? After several thwarted attempts to poison various characters (resulting in the multiple poisonings of a rubber plant), will anyone manage to drink the potion?

Vincent (age 35-55) – Undereducated but intelligent. Makes a modest living working for Exodus, dispensing a colorless, odorless, tasteless all-natural liquid which produces a quick (but not instant), painless death. Very professional in his work; deals in death but is not indiscriminate about it. Has ethics, morals, and pride.

Walter Bryce (age 45-60) – A bit condescending but not an out-and- out snob. Not terribly strong-willed. The money that supports his very comfortable lifestyle belongs to his wife, Celia. He’d like to have that money and to spend it with his hot half-his- age secretary.

Angie (age 25-30) – Walter’s secretary and then some. Neither dim nor bright. Daughter of a friend of Celia. Wants Walter, may want more the money he’ll get if Celia snuffs it. Knows which head Walter is thinking with, also knows he is somewhat weak-willed. Clever and manipulative, but not out-and- out evil.

Celia (age 40-55) – Walters wife. Chronically depressed, of the “I can’t go on”, “Is life worth living?” variety. Languid. Constantly threatening to kill herself, but won’t do it because she thinks Walter needs her more. From moneyed folks. Knows nothing about Walter and Angie.

Withers (age 35-plus) – Volunteer for Samaritans, a suicide prevention organization. Married, with children. Buys into and spouts every “life is beautiful” cliché, at least at first.

Actors who are selected will be contacted by the director. The practice of The Drama Workshop is to notify all auditioners via email of results once the show is cast, after which a cast list will be posted on the TDW website and Facebook page. Those without email who are not cast will not be contacted individually.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:
Please bring a current headshot & resume. No prepared monologue is required. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Callbacks, if needed, will be at the director’s discretion. Bring your calendar and be prepared to list all conflicts. Conflicts not listed at time of audition may not be honored. Those who are cast will be expected to assist with the staging, advertising, or some other aspect of the production. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ray Persing at 937.877.6116 or at trpersing@gmail.com.

AUDITIONS The Drama Workshop’s production of INSPECTING CAROL. Written by Daniel Sullivan. Directed & Produced by Ray Persing

Auditions will be May 21-22, 2017, at The Glenmore Playhouse, 3716 Glenmore Ave, Cheviot, OH 45211. Doors will open at 6:30pm, and auditions will begin promptly at 7pm.

Actors are asked to bring a resume and headshot, and will audition in groups. Auditions will run no later than 9 pm, and may end earlier. Callbacks, if necessary, will be on May 24, 2017. Updates will be posted on the TDW Facebook page.

Show dates are December 1, 2017 through December 17, 2017. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm, Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. Call time is 1 ½ hours before curtain, unless other arrangements are made with the stage manager. Rehearsals will begin in mid-August.

The director is seeking 7-8 men (12-60s) and 4-5 women (40s-60s). Performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to audition.

ABOUT THE SHOW: A Christmas Carol meets The Government Inspector meets Noises Off in this hilarious hit from Seattle. A man who asks to audition at a small theater is mistaken for an informer for the National Endowment for the Arts. Everyone caters to the bewildered wannabe actor, and he is given a role in the current production, A Christmas Carol. Everything goes wrong and hilarity is piled upon hilarity.

• Zorah Bloch: Female, 40s; The founding director of The Soapbox Playhouse. An self-involved woman in her 40’s.
• Sidney Carlton: Male, 50s/60s; A founding member of The Soapbox Playhouse. A kind but somewhat addled man.
• Dorothy Tree Hapgood: Female, 50s/60s; Sidney’s wife, an Englishwoman who is unable to lose her accent. Also a founding member of the theatre company.
• Larry Vauxhall: Male, 40s/50s; A tough and intellectually vain man. A child of the 60s who is still looking for a turn-on. Also a founding member of the theatre company.
• Phil Hewitt: Male, 30s/40s; An obsessive man who usually plays the ineffectual character in any Soapbox production. Also a founding member of the theatre company.
• Walter E. Parsons: Male, 20s/30s; An African-American man who has recently taken up acting again after a stint in the armed forces. A good-natured yet excitable person.
• Luther Beatty: Male, 12-17; A tall, big-boned 11-12-year-old boy who is really too big to be playing the character of ‘Tiny Tim’ – a role he has been performing two years too long. A youthful actor under 18 could pull it off.
• Kevin Emory: Male/Female, 30s/40s; Timid, nervous managing director of the theatre company who is afraid of Zorah.
• M.J. (Mary Jane) McMann: Female, 40s; The company Stage manager. A realist who long ago realized the Playhouse had hit bottom. Also a founding member, she looks on now only as a bemused observer. She has an ironic sense of humor.
• Betty Andrews: Female, 30s/40s; An inspector for the National Endowment for the Arts who has a forbidding appearance.
• Bart Frances: Male, 20s; A pleasant youth who dresses in a black leather motorcycle jacket and torn jeans.
• Wayne Wallacre: Male, 20s/30s; An affable, eager to please young man who is in search of a new career in acting, but has no training and even less talent.

Actors who are selected will be contacted by the director. The practice of The Drama Workshop is to notify all auditioners via email of results once the show is cast, after which a cast list will be posted on the TDW website and Facebook page. Those without email who are not cast will not be contacted individually.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:
Please bring a current headshot & resume. No prepared monologue is required. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Callbacks, if needed, will be at the director’s discretion. Bring your calendar and be prepared to list all conflicts. Conflicts not listed at time of audition may not be honored. Those who are cast will be expected to assist with the staging, advertising, or some other aspect of the production. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ray Persing at 937.877.6116 or at trpersing@gmail.com

The Drama Workshop announces auditions for A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM.

Sunday, March 26 & Tuesday, March 28, 7-10 pm at The Glenmore Playhouse.

Sign up times are required- go to the link below to sign up for an audition time. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0449a9af23a75-auditions

Director – Dennis Murphy
Vocal Director – Linda Abbott
Producer – Gretchen Gantner

The performance dates are August 11 – 27, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 2:00 PM. Thursdays, August 17 and 24. **Additional performance dates may be added.

Auditioners are asked to prepare 32 bars from a musical song and come prepared to dance and read from the script.

All roles are available.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM is a fast-paced farce which combines elements of commedia dell arte, vaudeville and musical comedy into a show that is guaranteed to have audiences rolling in the aisles. Taken straight from the roots of comedy, FORUM combines the characters from the comedies of Plautus with a modern, vaudeville-inspired sensibility.

In FORUM, the slave Pseudolus schemes to win the heart (and body) of the beautiful virgin courtesan Philia for his young master, Hero. In exchange, Hero will grant Pseudolus his heart’s desire: freedom. However, things are never as easy as they seem. Philia is promised to a vain, swaggering solider named Miles Glorious and he’s on his way to claim her. Chaos ensues with hair-brained schemes, cases of mistaken identity, slamming doors and convoluted plot twists. One of the funniest musicals ever written, FORUM boasts a happy, toe tapping score and promises: “something for everyone: a comedy tonight!”

CHARACTERS:

• Senex: An older man, but one still attracted to wine, women, and song, Senex is the perennially henpecked husband. Baritone.

• Domina: The battle-ax wife of Senex, Domina is a domineering, but loving, wife and mother out to catch her husband misbehaving. Mezzo-Soprano.

• Hero: The handsome son of Senex and Domina, Hero is a lovesick young man who schemes with Pseudolus how he can win the hand (and body) of Philia. Tenor.

• Philia: Beautiful, yet dumb, Philia is a virgin courtesan-in-training, already contracted to be sold to Miles Gloriosus, but falls in love with Hero. Soprano.

• Hysterium: A slave of Senex and Domina, Hysterium is perennially frantic and frenetic. Pseudolus cons him into helping him with his many schemes. Baritone.

• Prologus/Pseudolus: Hero’s personal slave, Pseudolus is sly, conniving, and willing to do anything for his freedom. It is this desire that fuels the action of the play. Baritone.

• Marcus Lycus: The owner of the brothel, Lycus is the charmingly slimy procurer of courtesans. Baritone.

• Tintinabula: One of Lycus’s courtesans, Tintinabula has “the face of an idol . . . the arms of a willow tree . . . and the pelvis of a camel.” Solo Dancer. Some singing required.

• Panacea: Another of Lycus’s courtesans, Panacea has “a face that holds a thousand promises, and a body that stands behind each promise.” Solo Dancer. Some singing required.

• The Geminae: Twin courtesans, the Geminae are, according to Lycus: “A matched pair. Either one a divinely assembled woman, together an infinite number of mathematical possibilities.” Solo Dancers. Some singing required.

• Vibrata: Another of Lycus’s courtesans, Vibrata is “exotic as a desert bloom . . . wondrous as a flamingo . . . lithe as a tigress . . . for the man whose interest is wildlife.” Solo Dancer. Some singing required.

• Gymnasia: Another of Lycus’s courtesans, Gymnasia is “a giant stage on which a thousand dramas can be played.” Translation: She is tall and athletic. Solo Dancer. Some singing required.

• Erronius: A befuddled old man who is partially blind and always confused, Erronius spends most of the play searching for his two children who were kidnapped by pirates. Speaks but does not sing.

• Miles Gloriosus: A roman soldier, Miles Gloriosus is handsome, strong—and pompous, so much so that he proudly declares: “Even I am impressed.” Bass baritone.

• Proteans: The Proteans play several roles in the show, from slaves to citizens, from eunuchs to soldiers. They should move well and be comedians in their own right. Baritones and Tenors.