Blackfriars Theatre
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
Chris* (50s-60s) – You want Chris at your party. She is at home in crowds, holding court, being the centre of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun. The two of them are like naughty schoolgirls.
Annie* (50s-60s) – Annie will join in mischief but is at heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet.
Cora* (40s-60s) – Cora’s past is the most eclectic, and has too much native resilience to be downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack, but never plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. It raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself.
Jessie* (60s-70s) – Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics — her elixir of life is bravery.
Celia* (30s-50s) – Celia is a woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. Which she has.
Ruth* (40s-50s) – Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll and the women feel protective of her because they sense there is something better in Ruth than her life is letting out.
Marie (50s-60s) – Marie has gradually built the current ‘Marie’ around herself over the years as a defense mechanism. She went to her Oz, Cheshire, and found Oz didn’t want her. She came back scorched. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar.
John (50s-60s) – Annie’s husband and Rod’s friend. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America.
Rod (50s-60s) – Chris’s husband and John’s friend. You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris, and Rod loves it. He can give back what he gets, and has a deadpan humor which has always made Chris laugh.
Lawrence / Liam (20s-30s) – Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy young man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo. // Liam would like to be directing other things than photoshoots for washing powders. For Liam, this photoshoot is a job. And not the job he wanted.
Lady Cravenshire / Brenda Hulse (60s-70s) – Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But the WI girls seem from another world. The world of her estate workers.
Elaine (20s) – Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her gran. Dress: her clinical whites slice through like a knife. You feel you could cut yourself on that dress.
*partial nudity will be required for these characters. All questions about how the nudity will be handled will be addressed at auditions.
To request a PDF of the script, please email info@blackfriars.org. Questions or if you cannot make auditions, please email us at info@blackfriars.org. Auditions are located at Blackfriars Theatre, 795 E Main St., Rochester, 14605
LOCATION: Blackfriars Theatre
ROLES: Casting 9 women & 3 men, ages 20s-70s
REQUIRMENTS: Auditions and callbacks will consist of cold reads from the script. No monologues or appointments necessary. Please be familiar with the play and bring a headshot or photo and resume. For a perusal copy, please email info@blackfriars.org.
REHEARSALS: Rehearsals: beginning end of March, Tech: May 10-14, Show: May 15-31.
PERFORMANCES: Please note: you cannot miss any tech rehearsals. Please bring your calendar with you to auditions to list your conflicts. If you are in another show during this rehearsal period, please email us before attending auditions at info@blackfriars.org.
FURTHER INFO: Any questions or to request a perusal copy of the script, please email us at info@blackfriars.org.
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