[NEohioPAL] PITMEN PAINTERS still taking audition appointments at Beck Center

[Scott Spence]

Beck Center Announces Auditions for
The Pitmen Painters

By Lee Hall
Directed by Sarah May
 
Beck Center for the Arts will hold auditions for the final Studio Theater production of the 2012-2013 Season, The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall.  This wonderful play, fresh from an acclaimed run in London and on Broadway, tells the true story of a group of Newcastle (UK) miners whose lives were changed when they found themselves taking an art class by mistake in the 1930’s.  They went on to gain worldwide attention as artists known as the Ashington Group.  Like Hall’s acclaimed film and musical Billy Elliot, this script tells another inspiring story of what happens when working class laborers (or any disenfranchised group) are exposed to the arts and have the opportunity to realize their potential. 
Sarah May, who recently directed Ensemble Theatre’s award-winning production of The Normal Heart, returns to Beck Center’s Studio Theatre to direct this touching and entertaining show. Some of Sarah’s past Beck shows include Mamet’s Race, Wings starring Dorothy Silver, Frozen, and The Children’s Hour, The History Boys, A Piece of My Heart, and The Diary of Anne Frank.  
Sarah is looking for an experienced ensemble of 7 men and 2 women to bring this exciting story to life. The production will preview on May 30 and run weekends through July 7. All roles are open; both Equity and non-Equity actors are encouraged to audition.  Please note:  Actors already cast in The Iceman Cometh and other April/May plays may audition for this show. Rehearsals will begin in late April. Two AEA contracts are available. All performers 18 and over receive a stipend.
Auditions will be held from 6:30 to 8:30, on Monday, January 28 & Tuesday, January  29.  Please call Beck Center, 216-521-2540 x10, to make an appointment. 
Actors will be asked to read from the script. You may perform a short monologue if your work is not known by the director.  Note!  In rehearsals we will work with a dialect coach, but actors are encouraged to take a “stab” at the accents in the readings.  
Cast Requirements
The action of the play takes place between 1934 and 1947. Most of the characters are based on real people and age through the piece.  The roles are:
 
George Brown:  40-60’s, the oldest & leader of the group, a stickler on details, bossy labor representative.
Oliver Kilbourn: mid 30-40’s, thoughtful, becomes the most famous and accomplished of the miner/artists.   
Jimmy Floyd:  40-60’s, a regular hard-working bloke, timid, curious,  always surprised by life.  
Young Lad: 20’s, youthful, eager to find regular work in the mines, to find out where he fits in.  
Harry Wilson:  45-60, not able to work as miner since being gassed in WWI, a dental engineer, a Marxist.  
Robert Lyon: 40-55, British painter and Art professor, upper class, unintentionally self-involved & elitist.  
Susan Parks:  20’s, an earnest  young art student and life model,  later in her 30’s. (Very brief nudity!) 
Helen Sutherland:  40-50, wealthy, cultured, and influential patron of the arts, posh, beautiful, well-meaning. 
Ben Nicholson: 30-40, (1 nice scene) a famous young British artist, helped found arts colony at St. Ives.
 
Note: The miners’ scenes have a delicious interaction reminiscent of Shakespeare’s rude mechanicals. This show should be great fun!!!  Call Sarah at 216-410-1781 if you have questions.






  
Scott Spence         
Artistic Director
Beck Center for the Arts

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