Tag Archives: The Drama Workshop

The Drama Workshop announces AUDITIONS for THE LION IN WINTER

Written by James Goldman
Directed Francis Rtm Boyle
Produced by Dennis Murphy

Auditions will be May 9 & 10, 2016, 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, Auditions will run no later than 9 pm, and may end earlier. Updates will be posted here and on the TDW Facebook page.

The director is seeking seven actors. Auditions will consist of a one minute prepared MONOLOGUE and COLD READINGS from the script.

Please bring conflict information for the rehearsal period: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, beginning August 15 through the run.

Show dates are October 7, 2016 through October 23, 2016. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm, Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.

Note: Non-Traditional Casting will be considered.

• Henry II, King of England (Male, stage age 50’s) – Though aging, Henry is still very nearly as vital as he ever was. His manipulations of family and others are portrayed as spontaneous and emotional as opposed to the well-thought-out stratagems of Eleanor, and the cold, calculating machinations of Geoffrey. 
• Queen Eleanor (Female, stage age 61) – Eleanor is the wife of Henry and a beautiful woman of great temperament, authority and presence. She has been a queen for nearly 46 years and is thoroughly capable of holding her own in a man’s world. She schemes against Henry and intensely loves him at the same time. She has contempt for her children but is not willing to see them harmed. 
• John (Male, stage age 16) – He is the youngest son of Henry and Eleanor. He is sulky and sullen, with a boyish outlook on his position; many in the play describe him as a spoiled brat. He is described in the play as pimply and smelling of compost. He is Henry’s favorite, but also the weakest. He constantly vacillates throughout the play, not out of cleverness, but out of fear and weakness. He is easily tricked and manipulated by Geoffrey. 
• Geoffrey (Male, stage age 25) – He is a son of Henry and Eleanor, and a man of energy and action. He is attractive, charming and the “brains” of the family; he is also a cold, amoral schemer. His view of himself is of one who yearned greatly for the love of his parents while receiving none. Yet, the play leaves open to question whether any of Henry’s three sons should be thought to have been truly loved by either Henry or Eleanor and not merely used by King and Queen as pawns in their ceaseless scheming against one another. 
• Richard the Lionheart (Male, stage age 26) – The third, and eldest surviving, son of Henry and Eleanor, their second son, Henry, having recently died. Richard is handsome, graceful and impressive and has been a famous soldier since his middle teens. War is his profession and he is good at it. He is easily the strongest and toughest of the three sons/princes. Richard and Philip Capet have been sexually involved prior to the action of the play. However, Philip declares that he participated in the affair purely for political purposes, whereas Richard indicates he had genuine affection for Philip. 
• Alais Capet (Female, stage age 23) – She is beautiful and in love with Henry. Everyone underestimates her intellect and power. She is initially portrayed as innocent, but by the end of the play has begun to acquire a ruthless streak of her own, insisting that Henry imprison his three sons for the rest of their lives in the dungeon. She is Philip’s sister. 
• Philip II, King of France (Male, stage age 18) – He has been King of France for just three years. He is not initially as accomplished as Henry in manipulating people, but seems to acquire greater skills at this during the play. He is impressive and handsome without being pretty.IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ THE SCRIPT BEFORE AUDITIONS. Copies available upon request.

Written by Michael Frayn, directed by Dennis Murphy, assistant directed by Katrina Reynolds, produced by Elaine Volker.

Auditions will be March 7 & 8, 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. A British accent will be required at the audition. Auditions will run no later than 9 pm, and may end earlier. Updates will be posted on TDW’s Facebook page.

Show dates are August 12 through August 28, 2016. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm, Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:
Please bring a current headshot & resume. No prepared monologue is required. Auditions will consist of cold reads 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 producer Elaine Volker at eavolker@aol.com or 513.235.3717.

ABOUT THE SHOW:
NOISES OFF takes the ‘play-within-a-play’ concept, and turns it on its ear, as we follow the hapless efforts of a British touring company trying to stage the comedy, “Nothing’s On”. With a lead actress who can’t remember her lines, a dim-witted leading man, a gorgeous ingénue who can’t keep up with the insanity around her, and a director who’s trying to keep calm and carry on, nothing is going right. Widely known for featuring both sides of the set, which changes between acts.

ROLES:
Lloyd Dallas: The director of a play-within-the-play, called Nothing On. Temperamental. Part of a love triangle involving Poppy and Brooke.

Dotty Otley: A late-middle-aged actress. Forgetful. Has a romantic interest in Garry, and provokes him by showing interest in Freddy.

Garry Lejeune: A stuttering actor, easily fired up. Has a romantic interest in Dotty, and is driven by jealousy to attack Freddy repeatedly. His speech impediment disappears onstage. Constantly stutters and ends sentences with “you know…”

Brooke Ashton: A young inexperienced actress from London. She pays no attention to others, either in performance or backstage. She rarely takes direction, and persists in role regardless of any interruption. She is always losing her contact lenses. Part of the Lloyd–Poppy–Brooke love triangle.
Frederick (Freddy) Fellowes: Has a serious fear of violence and blood. Gets nosebleeds easily. Lacks confidence and is rather dim-witted and pompous.

Belinda Blair: Cheerful and sensible, a reliable actress. Has a rather protective attitude towards Freddy.

Poppy Norton-Taylor: Assistant Stage Manager. Emotional and over-sensitive, and envious of Brooke, whom she understudies. Part of the Lloyd-Poppy-Brooke love triangle.

Selsdon Mowbray: Elderly and with actorly mannerisms. If he is not in sight while rehearsing, the stage crew must find him before he finds the whisky.

Timothy Allgood: An over-worked Stage Manager. Understudies Selsdon and Freddy.

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 may not be contacted individually.