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<DIV>
<H1 class=entry-header align=left>Beck Center<FONT size=5> will hold open call
auditions for the regional premiere of</FONT></H1>
<DIV class=entry-header align=center><FONT size=6>Mark Twain's <EM><STRONG>IS HE
DEAD?</STRONG></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=center><FONT size=5>(Adapted by David
Ives)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=center><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>Open calls (NO appointments
necessary) will take place on both <U><STRONG>Tuesday, Nov. 17th</STRONG></U>
and <U><STRONG>Wednesday. Nov. 18th</STRONG></U> </FONT><FONT size=5>from 6PM to
8PM. Actors will be seen in order of arrival, and will have individual
appointments with director <U>Matthew Earnest</U>. Auditioning actors should
also be prepared, if needed, for a callback session on Saturday afternoon,
Nov. 21st.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5><STRONG>Performances</STRONG>
are Feb. 5th thru Feb. 28th. <STRONG>Rehearsals</STRONG> will begin Jan.
3rd.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>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. "<EM>Is He Dead</EM>?" is NOT a musical!! But the director would like
to make it a part of the audition process to hear you sing a
snippet.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>"<EM>Is He Dead</EM>?" 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)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>One other AEA contract is
available, and all non-Equity actors 18 and over are paid a modest stipend
for their participation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>Scripts will be available
beginning Tuesday afternoon to be read at Beck Center only.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header align=left><FONT size=5>~~~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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header
align=left>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header><STRONG><FONT size=4>About the
Play......</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-header> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-content>
<DIV class=entry-body>A once-thought lost <STRONG>Mark Twain</STRONG> 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
<STRONG>David Ives</STRONG>, is headlined by the much-praised <STRONG>Norbert
Leo Butz </STRONG>in his first Rialto run since winning the Tony two years ago
for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."</DIV>
<DIV class=entry-body>As <STRONG>Michael Kuchwara</STRONG> of <STRONG><A
title=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWQ3_M6dKKFPC-LwshdMzu5M6UGQD8TE84AG0
href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWQ3_M6dKKFPC-LwshdMzu5M6UGQD8TE84AG0">AP</A></STRONG>
notes, "Farce is the theatrical equivalent of a wind-up toy. It requires some
exertion before the mechanics kick in and <A
title=http://goldderby.latimes.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/11/norbert.jpg
onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=353,height=291,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"
href="http://goldderby.latimes.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/11/norbert.jpg"></A>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 <STRONG>Jean-Francois
Millet</STRONG>, 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 <STRONG>Michael Blakemore</STRONG> 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."</DIV>
<DIV class=entry-body> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-body><STRONG><FONT size=4>About the
Director.....</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-body><STRONG><FONT size=4></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=hidden; id=h_ads0 style="DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: auto">
<DIV class=ads_div>
<DIV class=sponsoredlinks> </DIV><B>Matthew Earnest</B> is an <A
class=ilnk title=http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states
onclick="assignParam('navinfo','method|4'+getLinkTextForCookie(this));"
href="http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states" target=_top><FONT
color=#003399>American</FONT></A> <A class=ilnk
title=http://www.answers.com/topic/theatre-director-1
onclick="assignParam('navinfo','method|4'+getLinkTextForCookie(this));"
href="http://www.answers.com/topic/theatre-director-1" target=_top><FONT
color=#003399>theater director</FONT></A>. As Founding Artistic Director of <A
class=ilnk title=http://www.answers.com/topic/new-york-city-of-southern-new-york
onclick="assignParam('navinfo','method|4'+getLinkTextForCookie(this));"
href="http://www.answers.com/topic/new-york-city-of-southern-new-york"
target=_top><FONT color=#003399>New York City</FONT></A>'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.</DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=content><SPAN class=mw-headline id=Selected_works><FONT color=#003399
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=content><SPAN class=mw-headline id=Awards><FONT color=#003399
size=3>Awards</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=content>
<UL>
<LI>"The Cleveland Scene" Best Director and Times Tribute (2007): Peter Pan
(Porthouse Theatre, Cuyahoga Falls, OH)
<LI><I>Raleigh News & Observer</I> Top 10 of 2007: <A class=ilnk
title=http://www.answers.com/topic/elizabeth-almost-by-chance-a-woman
onclick="assignParam('navinfo','method|4'+getLinkTextForCookie(this));"
href="http://www.answers.com/topic/elizabeth-almost-by-chance-a-woman"
target=_top><FONT color=#003399>Elizabeth: Almost by Chance a Woman</FONT></A>
(Still Water Theatre, Raleigh, NC)
<LI>Roe Green Visiting Director, <A class=ilnk
title=http://www.answers.com/topic/kent-state-university
onclick="assignParam('navinfo','method|4'+getLinkTextForCookie(this));"
href="http://www.answers.com/topic/kent-state-university" target=_top><FONT
color=#003399>Kent State University</FONT></A>, 2008
<LI><I>The Cleveland Scene</I> Outstanding revival and Times Tribute: <A
class=ilnk title=http://www.answers.com/topic/our-town
onclick="assignParam('navinfo','method|4'+getLinkTextForCookie(this));"
href="http://www.answers.com/topic/our-town" target=_top><FONT
color=#003399>Our Town</FONT></A> <A class="external autonumber"
title="http://royberkinfo.blogspot.com/search/label/Times Tributes"
href="http://royberkinfo.blogspot.com/search/label/Times%20Tributes"
target=AnswersQueryWindow rel=nofollow><FONT color=#003399>[9]</FONT></A>
(Porthouse Theatre, Cuyahoga Falls, OH),
2007
BIFF Award: Excellence in Ensemble Acting, deep ellum ensemble (The Jilting of
Granny Weatherall), NY Fringe Festival, 1997
</LI></UL></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>