[NEohioPAL] BECK hold "IS He Dead?" Auditions THIS Tuesday and Wednesday~~COMIC ACTOR ALERT!

Sun Nov 15 19:50:10 PST 2009

Beck Center will hold open call  auditions for the regional premiere of
Mark Twain's IS HE  DEAD?
(Adapted by David  Ives)

Open calls (NO appointments  necessary) will take place on both Tuesday, 
Nov. 17th  and Wednesday. Nov. 18th from 6PM to  8PM. Actors will be seen in 
order of arrival, and will have individual  appointments with director 
Matthew Earnest. Auditioning actors should  also be prepared, if needed, for a 
callback session on Saturday afternoon,  Nov. 21st.

Performances  are Feb. 5th thru Feb. 28th. Rehearsals will begin Jan.  3rd.

Director Matthew Earnest has  requested a brief (2 minutes maximum) 
prepared monologue. A monologue will be  provided to read if you do not have 
anything available to present. The director  also requests actors to have 16 bars 
(or 15-20 seconds) of a song--sung a  capella. "Is He Dead?" is NOT a 
musical!! But the director would like  to make it a part of the audition process 
to hear you sing a  snippet.

"Is He Dead?" has  opportunites for 11 to 16 actors, depending upon 
potential doubling. Of the 16  roles, 12 are male and 4 are female. The roles range 
in age from early 20's thru  early 60's. All roles are open except 
Jean-Francois Millet/Widow Daisy Tillou  which has been cast. (Local AEA actor Nick 
Koesters)

One other AEA contract is  available, and all non-Equity actors 18 and over 
are paid a modest stipend  for their participation.

Scripts will be available  beginning Tuesday afternoon to be read at Beck 
Center only.

If you have further questions,  you may reply to this e-mail...or call 
Scott Spence, Beck Center Artistic  Director, at 216-521-2540 x15.

~~~Special Note: There will be 3  or 4 weekday student matinees offered. 
Please only audition if you can take  several mornings off of your day jobs, 
if that applies.
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About the  Play......

A once-thought lost Mark Twain comedy  could be in the running for the best 
play Tony as "Is He Dead?" opened Sunday to  good reviews a mere 109 years 
after being written. Unlike the Oscars, the Tonys  tend to find room in the 
race for well-received comedies like this one. This  buried treasure, 
discovered in the author's archives and adapted by  David Ives, is headlined by 
the much-praised Norbert  Leo Butz in his first Rialto run since winning the 
Tony two years ago  for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
As Michael Kuchwara of _AP_ 
(http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWQ3_M6dKKFPC-LwshdMzu5M6UGQD8TE84AG0)   notes, "Farce is the theatrical equivalent of 
a wind-up toy. It requires some  exertion before the mechanics kick in and  
(http://goldderby.latimes.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/1
2/11/norbert.jpg) produce  (one hopes) the required laughs. Act 1 marks 
time, dutifully laying the  groundwork for the inspired antics of the play's 
riotously funny second half."  He deftly describes this, "satiric examination 
of greed in the art world of  1840s Paris - it focuses on real-life painter 
Jean-Francois  Millet, perhaps the best known painter of Twain's day. In 
Twain's  version, a young Millet, played by Butz, is promising but penniless. 
He surmises  monetary rewards won't really kick in until after he's dead. So 
why not pretend  to be on the way out, disappear and collect the money now, 
posing as his sister.  The lady, Millet in disguise, turns heads and causes 
complications." For  Kuchwara, "Butz, done up in drag, is the fireplug who 
jump-starts the farce,  adapted by Ives and directed by Michael Blakemore 
with a sure  ear for language and an even surer eye for physical comedy. Their 
teamwork is  one of the most felicitous collaborations of the season."

About the  Director.....

Matthew Earnest  is an _American_ 
(http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states)  _theater director_ (http://www.answers.com/topic/theatre-director-1) . 
As Founding Artistic Director of _New York City_ 
(http://www.answers.com/topic/new-york-city-of-southern-new-york) 's deep ellum ensemble  Earnest 
created multi-disciplinary performance works from plays, literature, his  own 
original texts and various other sources, and the company toured them  
internationally from 1995 until they disbanded in 2007. Today Earnest is a  
freelance director, creating work at many theaters in the US and abroad. He has  
been an associate artist at English Theatre Berlin (formerly known as Friends 
of  Italian Opera) , since 1999, and at the University of Delaware's 
Professional  Theatre Training Program since 2001. His work has been recently seen 
in the NE  Ohio area at Porthouse and Weathervane, and he is also slated to 
direct later  this season at Cleveland Public Theater.

Awards

    *   "The Cleveland Scene" Best Director and Times Tribute (2007): Peter 
Pan  (Porthouse Theatre, Cuyahoga Falls, OH)  
    *   Raleigh News & Observer Top 10 of 2007: _Elizabeth: Almost by 
Chance a Woman_ (http://www.answers.com/topic/elizabeth-almost-by-chance-a-woman) 
  (Still Water Theatre, Raleigh, NC)  
    *   Roe Green Visiting Director, _Kent State University_ 
(http://www.answers.com/topic/kent-state-university) , 2008  
    *   The Cleveland Scene Outstanding revival and Times Tribute: _Our 
Town_ (http://www.answers.com/topic/our-town)  _[9]_ 
(http://royberkinfo.blogspot.com/search/label/Times%20Tributes)   (Porthouse Theatre, Cuyahoga Falls, 
OH),  2007                                       BIFF Award: Excellence in 
Ensemble Acting, deep ellum ensemble (The Jilting of  Granny Weatherall), NY 
Fringe Festival, 1997 

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