[NEohioPAL] WRP Announces Auditions for November Production of O'Neill's A TOUCH OF THE POET

[Braelin Andrzejewski]

THE WESTERN RESERVE PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR…

A TOUCH OF THE POET

Eugene O’Neill

Directed by August Scarpelli

The first of the late, great, American masterpieces by our country’s one
and only Nobel prize winning playwright. The time of the play is 1828. A
tavern in a village near Boston. The tavern is owned by a tempestuous
Irishman, Cornelius Melody, who is as proud as he is ill-tempered. But his
exhibitions delude only himself. He is of humble origin in a strange and
unfriendly civilization. He is totally in debt. His wife, Nora,  keeps the
tavern going; unaccountably, this long-suffering woman adores him.  His
passionate and resolute daughter, Sara, whom he treats like a servant and
berates as a slut, hates him. We arrive on the anniversary of Talavera,
where Con Melody served as a major for the Duke of Wellington. The love of
Sara’s life, a yankee poet is lying ill upstairs and the hopes of her
future, her very own American dream begins to unravel downstairs.  The
poet's familial disapproval of the union cuts Con Melody’s pride and cuts
it deep. A deed must be done and a debt must be paid. But his arrogance
continues until at last he is beaten by the Yankee enemy— This deed means
the death of the past, the death of his pretensions and the birth of a new
Con Melody



[Monday March 30th] [630pm-1030pm] & [Tuesday March 31st] from
[630pm-1030pm]

If needed, callbacks will take place [Wednesday April 1st ] at
[630pm-1030pm].

At the Western Reserve Playhouse, 3326 Everett Rd, Richfield, OH 44286

Rehearsals:

Rehearsals for this production will proceed as follows. There will be  as
many as 6 rehearsals, scheduled approximately monthly, based on actor
availability between April 2026 and October 2026 exploring the deep
dramaturgical roots of the play. The normal rehearsal process will begin
between September 28th 2026 and October 5th 2026. and typically run Sunday
through Thursday, 630pm-10pm. Please bring all conflicts for the rehearsal
and performance process; additional conflicts not noted on your audition
form will not be accepted.

Performances:

Thursday November 12th - Sunday November 22nd [DATES], Thursday through
Sunday. At this time, we are unable to cast actors who have conflicts with
scheduled performances.


ALL ROLES ARE OPEN to all gender identities, races, ethnicities, body
types, ages, and abilities. No equity contracts are available at this time.
All positions are volunteer. None of these parts are precast.  All levels
of actors welcome!


Roles Available:

***We encourage actors of all experiences, ethnicities and ages to
audition. [Insert any additional notes about roles available]


Mickey Malloy - “is twenty six, with a sturdy physique and an amiable,
cunning face, his mouth usually set in a half-leering grin”. Mickey tends
bar at the tavern and has been with the family for some time and has his
opinions about them and knows what to do with them. “Sure, it’d be the joy
of my life to have a mother like you to fight for me, - or better still a
wife like you”.


Jamie Creagan - “as obviously Irish as Maloy, he is middle aged, tall, with
a lantern jawed face. There is a scar of a saber cut over one cheekbone”.
Jamie is a cousin to and an old soldier of Con Melody’s. “Let me get away
from the sight of him where there's men in their right senses laughing and
singing! And don’t be afraid, Sara, that I'll tell the boys a word of this.
I’ll talk of our fight in the city only, because it’s all I want to
remember”.


Sara Melody - Daughter of Cornelius and Nora Melody. “...There is a curious
blending in her of what are commonly considered aristocratic and peasant
characteristics….Her voice is soft and musical, but her speech has at times
a self-conscious, stilted quality about it due to her restraining a
tendency to lapse into brogue”   - “Isn’t that a joke on me, with all my
crazy dreams of riches and a grand estate and me a haughty lady riding
around in a carriage with a coachman and footman! (She laughs at herself)
Wasn't I the fool to think that had any meaning at all when you’re in love?
You were right, Mother. I knew nothing of love…”


Nora Melody  - “ … is forty, but years of overwork and worry have made her
look much older. She must have been as pretty as a girl as Sara is now. She
still has the beautiful eyes her daughter has inherited. But she has become
too worn out to take care of her appearance… Yet in spite of her slovenly
appearance there is a spirit which shines through and makes her lovable, a
simple sweetness and charm, something gentle and sad and , somehow,
dauntless”. “Sure, what's  rheumatism but a pain in your body? I could bear
ten of it. It’s the pain of guilt in my soul”.


Cornelius Melody - “Is forty-five, tall, broad-shouldered, deep-chested,
and powerful... Beyond shaky nerves, it shows no effects of hard drinking.
It has a bull-like, impervious strength, a tough peasant vitality. It is
his face that reveals the ravages of dissipation—a ruined face...the face
of an embit-tered Byronic hero …His manner is that of a polished gentleman.
Too much so. He overdoes it and one soon feels that he is overplaying a
role which has become more real than his real self to him. But in spite of
this, there is something formidable and impressive about him”. “ I Have not
loved the world, nor the world me;

I have not flatter’d its rank breath, nor bow’d

To its idolatries a patient knee,—

Nor coin’d my cheek to smiles,—nor cried aloud

In worship of an echo; in the crowd

They could not deem me one of such; I stood

Among them, but not of them”

Dan Roche, Paddy O’Dowd, Patch Riley  - “The street door at rear is flung
open and dan roche, paddy o’dowd, and patch riley attempt to pile in
together and get jammed for a moment in the doorway. They all have
hangovers, and Roche is talking boisterously. Dan Roche is middle-aged,
squat, bow-legged, with a potbelly and short arms lumpy with muscle ....
Paddy O’Dowd is thin, round- shouldered, flat-chested, with a pimply
complexion, bulgy eyes, and a droopy mouth. His manner is oily and fawning,
.... Patch Riley is an old man with a thatch of dirty white hair. His
washed-out blue eyes have a wandering, half-witted expression. .... He
carries an Irish bagpipe under his arm.”

Deborah (Mrs. Henry Harford) - “is forty-one, but looks to be no more than
thirty. She is small... One would never suspect that she is the middle-aged
mother of two grown sons. Her face is beautiful— that is, it is beautiful
from the standpoint of the artist with an eye for bone structure and
unusual character....About her whole personality is a curious atmosphere of
deliberate detachment, the studied aloofness of an ironically amused
spectator. Something perversely assertive about it too, as if she
consciously carried her originality to the point of whimsical
eccentricity”. Deborah is the Mother to Sara’s beloved Poet upstairs. “I
begin to resemble Cassandra with all my warnings. And I continue to stand
here boring you with words”.


Nicholas Gadsby - “is in his late forties, short,  stout with a big, bald
heady round florid face and small blue eyes. A rigidly conservative,
best-family attorney, he is stiffly correct in dress and manner, dryly
portentous in speech, and extremely conscious of his professional authority
and dignity. Now, however, he is venturing on unfamiliar ground and is by
no means as sure of himself as his manner indicates.”



What to prepare:

   -

   [No preparation is necessary. Having read or having a knowledge of the
   play or playwright is always useful. When signing up for an audition slot
   below, you will receive a small section of text a few days before the
   audition along with a description of some context to read over that we will
   focus on during the audition. ]
   -

   [etc]
   -

   Please bring all conflicts for the rehearsal and performance process;
   additional conflicts not noted on your audition form will not be accepted.
   -

   VIDEO SUBMISSIONS will be accepted and due to august at thewrp.org by
   Tuesday March 31st at 10:30PM.


How to sign up:

Please sign up for a 20 minute audition slot below:


https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4BA5AB2FABF8C52-62993889-auditions


If you have any questions about the audition process please do not hesitate
to contact the artistic director, august at thewrp.org


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