[NEohioPAL] Auditions and Announcements from Weathervane

[Jan Harcar]

Enclosed herein are audition announcements for

The Sum of Us and The Great White Hope.



Also show information for

The Last Night of Ballyhoo and The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?



Weathervane Playhouse

Akron OH



 

AUDITIONS BY APPOINTMENT

The Sum of Us

A comic drama by David Stevens

This production performs in the John L. Dietz Black Box Theater

 

Audition Dates:

Sunday, October 25 starting at 3 p.m.

(in 5-minute intervals)

 

Monday, October 26 at 7 p.m.

(in 5-minute intervals)

 

Please call 330-836-2626 to make your audition appointment.

Tuesdays - Fridays 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Mondays - 10 a.m. - 4 pm.

 

 

11 Performance Dates in January 2010:

Thursdays, January 14, 21, 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Fridays,, January 15, 22, 29 at 8 p.m.

Saturdays, January 16, 23, 30 at 8 p.m.

Sundays, January 17 and 24 at 2:30 p.m.

 

A gay man and his straight father support and cajole each other in this comic and tender examination of the ties that bind. Harry Mitchell is a middle-aged widower searching for love - and so is his son, Jeff. But can Jeff's new boyfriend and Harry's new girlfriend accept this unusual father-and-son relationship? Smart, witty and thoughtful! Winner of the 1991 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play.

 

Scripts available. Audition scenes available. Please be familiar with the script.

 

Audition Preparation

Prepare a contemporary monologue no longer than 2-minutes in length.

The monologue may be from the script.

 

Character descriptions:

Harry

50s - Working class widower. Down-to-earth and accepting of his son's orientation

 

Jeff

20s - Athletic and easy going. Good-natured, openly gay. His sexual orientation is not an issue.

 

Greg

20s - A landscaper. Slightly reserved, been around the block. Attracted to Jeff

 

Joyce

40s - 50s - Divorced, thoughtful with a good sense of humor. Attracted to Harry

 

 Director: Eric van Baars 

 

 

Weathervane Playhouse is committed to non-traditional casting.

Except in cases where race, gender, age or disability is essential to the play,

all roles will be cast on the basis of talent.



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Auditions by APPOINTMENT

for Howard Sackler's Classic

THE GREAT WHITE HOPE

SUNDAY, NOV. 8, 3 - 5 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOV. 10, 7 - 9 p.m.

Weathervane Playhouse

AKRON

Call 330-826-2626 for an appointment

Run Dates: April 1 - April 18, 2010

Dir. Terrence Spivey

Prepare:
Be familiar with the script.

(You may present a monologue.)




Cast Requirements:
(See character breakdown below)
15 Women ages 20s - 50s
20 Men ages 20s - 50s
10 Boys ages 12 - 16
5 Girls ages 12 20- 16

Set in the early 1900s, The Great White Hope is loosely based on the life of African American boxer Jack Johnson, renamed Jack Jefferson in the story. After becoming the first Negro heavyweight champion of the world in 1908, the play follows his tumultuous career and explores the nature of racism and racial conflict in American society. In collaboration with Weathervane Playhouse, Karamu House Theater and Ensemble Theatre comes one of the most dynamic plays ever written for the American stage. The Great White Hope won the Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Drama. Once it closes at Karamu, the production and some of the cast moves to Weathervane Playhouse.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Time: Before and During World War l
Place: Parchman, Ohio, San Francisco, Nevada, Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, Budapest and Havana

JACK JEFFERSON: African American Ma le, Early to late 30's. Based on boxer Jack Johnson, who became the first black heavyweight champion in 1908 from Galveston, Texas and was nicknamed "Galveston Giant." He is larger than life, keen, confident and "bragadocious. Lives life to the fullest. He feels he is his own man and not ab out proving anything to any race-including his own. Note:
All actors auditioning for this role should wear a tank top underneath your dress shirt. Be prepared to move around and shadowbox.

ELEANOR BACHMAN: Caucasian Female, late 20s-Early 30s. A loving, defiant Desdemona to Jack Jefferson's twentieth century Othello.

TICK: African American Male, Late 50s. He is Jack's no nonsense trainer.

BRADY: Caucasian Male, Late 30s- Early 40's. A heavyweight champion living in Parchman, Ohio. 

GOLDIE: Caucasian Male, Early to late 40s, Jack's Jewish manager.

SMITTY: Caucasian Male, 40s-50s, famous sports writer.

CAP'N DAN: Caucasian Male, late 50s, Brady's manager, a champion of earlier days.

CLARA: African American Female, 30s. One of Jack's longtime lovers from Detroit who thinks she is his common law wife. She is sexy and very sassy.

CAMERON: Caucasian Male, 40 s-50s. Chicago District Attorney.

 

MR. DIXON: Caucasian Male, 30's-50's. A Federal Marshall

 

MRS. BACHMAN: Caucasian Female, 40's -50's. Ellie's Mother

MRS. JEFFERSON: African American female 50s-60s. Jack's mother. Faithful to the 

church and supports her son. 

 

EL JEFE: 40's-50's. 

 

MEXICAN BOY: Young boy to teen 

SCIPIO: African American Male, 30s. Very colorful character who is imbedded within the culture of his people. He is a thorn in Jack's side about setting an example for his race. 

ENSEMBLE: Additional supporting roles are available for more than thirty African American and Caucasian male and female actors of all ages, 20 who will perform multiple roles in the play; Pop Weaver, Promoters, Reporters, Deacons, Boxing Handlers, Trainers, Photographers, Weigh-In, Bettor, Roller, Civic Marchers, Church Sisters, Policemen (American/German), Deputies, Detectives, Pastors, Government Agent, Fight Fans, Jugglers etc.

About the Director

Terrence Spivey has won numerous accolades and received local and national acclaim since arriving as Artistic Director at the historical Karamu House in October 2003 after residing for eighteen years in New York City. His directing credits includes the critically acclaimed "bee-luther-hatchee," "for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow Is enuf," "Dream on Monkey Mountain," "Permanent Collection," "Bourbon at the Border," "The Fire Inside: The Story and Poetry of Nikki Giovanni." "The Blacks: A Clown Show" and "A House With No Walls" just to name a few.

He has been featured in local media, Ebony magazine, profiled in Back Stage, Artist and Influence, TCG'S American Theatre February 2009 issue and was elected as a 2009 member of the prestigious National Theatre Conference, joining members such as Robert Falls (Goodman Theatre), Lou Bellamy (Penumbra Theatre) Ed Stern (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Woodie King (New Federal Theatre) , James Bundy ( Yale School of Drama) and many more. Spivey serves on the board of trustees at Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) and Ohio Alliance for Arts and Education (OAAE) based in Columbus. He looks forward to this exciting collaboration.

 

He is a theatre graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Texas.

 

1301 Weathervane Lane
(In the Valley off Merriman Rd)
Akron, OH 44313
www.weathervaneplayhouse.com


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Don't Miss

Alfred Uhry's

The Last Night of Ballyhoo

 

Weathervane Playhouse

Akron, OH

 

Now through Oct. 25

Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

 

For tickets, call the Weathervane Box Office at 330/836-2626 or

connect online to www.weathervaneplayhouse.com.

 

 

Our Cast

Ian Haberman.Adolph Freitag (Sharon Center)

Jo McGarvey.Boo Levy (Cuyahoga Falls)

Marci Paolucci.Reba Freitag (Cuyahoga Falls)

Scott Shriner.Joe Farkas (Akron)

Jeremy Jenkins.Peachy Weill (Stow)

Amanda Davis.Lala Levy (Akron)

Tess Burgler.Sunny Freitag (Akron)

 

Our Director

NANCY CATES (director) returns to Weathervane after a string of previous directing assignments for the Playhouse including "Blithe Spirit," "A Man for All Seasons," "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Communicating Doors," "Gypsy," "Lend Me a Tenor," "All My Sons," "Moon Over Buffalo" and "Bloody Murder." She and her husband, Terry Burgler, are the Founding Artistic Directors of Ohio Shakespeare Festival and the Artistic Directors of Coach House Theatre -- both Akron venues being enthusiastic supporters of Weathervane. Nancy is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC). She lives in Kent.


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Weathervane Playhouse to Stage
Edward Albee's Searingly Provocative

Domestic Drama, 'The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?'

 

Controversial drama on stage from Oct. 29 to Nov. 14, 2009
 

(October 13, 2009 - Akron, Ohio - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) - Weathervane Playhouse presents Edward Albee's provocative drama about marital discord and its consequences, "The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?," live on stage between Oct. 29 and Nov. 14, 2009. 

 

Legendary American playwright Edward Albee - perhaps best known for his "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - has fashioned an explosive drama about a family in crisis. Martin, an eminent architect, has just reached his 50th birthday and been awarded the top prize in his profession. Burdened by a dark secret he can no longer keep, Martin tell his best friend, Ross, that he has engaged in an adulterous, extramarital affair.

 

Once Martin's vulnerable wife, Stevie, learns of his infidelity, the sparks fly and the gloves come off between husband and wife - exploding all charades in a marital free-for-all. Playwright Albee frames the events within a theatrical structure that tears down the boundaries between realism and absurdism.  Martin's outrageous confession challenges the audience's limits of tolerance.

 

"The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?" won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play.

 

Under the direction of Derek Davidson, "The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?" is presented in Weathervane's John L. Dietz Theater, its intimate 48-seat "black box" theater. 

 

"The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?" is presented by a generous grant from Margaret J. Dietz.

 

The production contains adult language and mature themes.

The production is not suitable for children.

 

"The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?" plays for 11 performances in Weathervane's John L. Dietz Theater from Oct. 29 to Nov. 14, 2009. Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

 

For tickets ($18 each), call the Weathervane Box Office at (330) 836-2626 (Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesdays through Fridays between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.) or connect online to www.weathervaneplayhouse.com. The 48-seat Dietz Theater features general-admission seating only.

 

* * *

 

Weathervane Playhouse and its dedicated volunteers offer vital performing arts resources for the people of Northeastern Ohio. We create exciting and thought-provoking shows with impressive production values. Through educational programs and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds, Weathervane serves the theater community, our patrons and our volunteers.

 

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, education excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

 

Additional 2009-2010 season sponsors:

1590 WAKR

89.7 WSKU-FM

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company - Young Actor Series




Janis Harcar
Director of Advancement
Weathervane Playhouse
330-836-2323 X16
www.weathervaneplayhouse.com
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