[NEohioPAL] CROWNS auditions at Karamu

[richard morris]

          CROWNSby Regina Taylor
adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry
 
Directed by: Terrence Spivey
Musical Director: Sharolyn Ferebee
 
Production Dates: May 24 – June 16 2013
 
 
 

AUDITION DATES 
 
·       Monday                    April 1, 2013    7:00pm – 9:00pm 
·       Tuesday                   April 2, 2013    7:00pm – 9:00pm
 
   CALL BACKS
·       Saturday                  April 6, 2013    11:00am – 1:00pm
 
 AUDITION PREPARATION
Karamu is seeking African American Actors/Singers and dancers. Performers must 
be prepared to sing (acappella) 2 songs One Gospel and one contemporary. An 
accompanist will be provided. All will be asked to do a cold reading from the 
script.  

 
 
LOCATION:   2355 East 89th Cleveland Ohio 
 
 
ABOUT THE PLAY 
A moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an 
exploration of black history and identity as seen through the eyes of a young 
black woman who has come down South to stay with her aunt after her brother is 
killed in Brooklyn. Hats are everywhere, in exquisite variety, and the 
characters use the hats to tell tales concerning everything from the etiquette 
of hats to their historical and contemporary social functioning.
 
 
 
 
 
Cast of Characters
 
Wanda is the most ladylike woman of the group. Her hat stories are full of 
propriety and decorum as well as fond recollections. The choice of the 
appropriate hat is very important to Wanda. She is, for example, turned off by 
too many baubles on a hat - especially sequins in church.  (40's 50's)
"I realize, right here and now, that even if I had no hair, I'd glue a wig to my 
scalp and put a hat on.”
 
Jeanette is flirtatious, brassy, fun loving and full of   the joy of 
spirituality. Her hat stories include a memorable gift from a   white 
acquaintance and the memory of her father's favorite hat. At church,   she looks 
up to Mother Shaw - both the way she carries herself and the way   she presides 
over the morning congregation. (30's-40's)
"I'd lend my children before I'd lend my hats. I know my children   know their 
way home, but my hats might not."
 
Velma refers to herself as a hat queen and coins the   phrase "hattitude" for 
the way a woman ought to carry herself in a   hat. She is tougher than she looks 
- hard times have offered her many life   lessons. Velma becomes a funeral 
director and observes how "hattitude"   figures into the death 
ritual. (40's-50's)
"Sometimes under those hats there's a lot of pain and a lot of   sorrow."
 
Yolanda is the youngest   of the group, the outsider who resists the other women 
in their attempts to   welcome her into their family. Yolanda asserts herself as 
a rebellious spirit   and bucks the traditions that the others hold 
sacred. (Early 20's) "Don't want to be/ Boxed in/ By some dead or dying   
traditions/ And I don't know how to be one of them"
 
Mother   Shaw is Yolanda's   grandmother and the matriarch in this world. She 
remembers the days before   the civil rights movement and reminisces about hat 
stores with signs   proclaiming "Whites Only." She is a leader in her community 
and   recognized for her fiesty nature and her power to "usher in the 
Spirit." (50'-60's)"If you get to shoutin' hard and that hat comes off, it's 
mine."
 
Mabel is a minister's wife who confesses to owning   about 200 hats. Mabel 
believes in setting an example of dress and behavior   for younger girls and 
exercises her influence with a sharp and sassy tell-it-like-it-is   
attitude. (40's-50's)
"Listen - never touch my hat. Admire it from a distance, honey."
 
The Man,the spirit of the   crossroads, is a vital part of the women's histories 
and appears in different   roles throughout the play. He serves the stories that 
the women tell, often   bringing momentary life to the fathers, brothers, 
husbands and preachers who   have touched the lives of the other 
characters. "You don't need   another hat. You don't have but one 
head." (30's-50's)
 
Two Dancers, Seeking 1 male and 1 female dancer with modern, jazz and   African 
Dance technique 

 
 
REHEARSALS   consist of8 weeks of rehearsals, 3 - 6 times per week.  The cast 
will receive the rehearsal schedule by the first cast meeting or first 
rehearsal.
 
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact Richard H. Morris at 
216.795.7070 ext 236. 
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