<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:18pt;color:#000000;"><div></div><div><br> <span style="text-align: center; font-size: 28pt; font-family: 'Keira Extended', sans-serif;">CROWNS</span><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 36pt; font-family: 'Keira Extended', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Keira Extended', sans-serif;">by Regina Taylor</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif"">adapted from the book by
Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:
"Cambria","serif"">Directed by: Terrence Spivey<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:
"Cambria","serif"">Musical Director: Sharolyn Ferebee<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Black","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: Cambria, serif;">Production
Dates: May 24 – June 16 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
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height:0;z-index:251658752' o:connectortype="straight" strokeweight="2.25pt"/><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout;position:relative;z-index:251658752;left:-56px;
top:12px;width:743px;height:16px"><img width="743" height="4" src="file:///C:/Users/RMorris/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_s1026"></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:14.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<br clear="ALL">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AUDITION
DATES <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monday April 1, 2013 7:00pm
– 9:00pm <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tuesday April
2, 2013 7:00pm – 9:00pm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CALL BACKS<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saturday April 6, 2013 11:00am
– 1:00pm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> AUDITION PREPARATION</span></u></strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LOCATION:</span></u></b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>2355
East 89<sup>th</sup> Cleveland Ohio</b> <o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ABOUT
THE PLAY</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> </span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cast of
Characters<o:p></o:p></span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 40.5pt 0.0001pt 67.5pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wanda</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">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.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> (40's 50's)</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br>
<i>"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.”</i></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0" width="90%" style="width:90.0%;mso-cellspacing:1.5pt;mso-yfti-tbllook:1184">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Jeanette</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif"">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. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial">(30's-40's)</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif""><br>
<i>"I'd lend my children before I'd lend my hats. I know my children
know their way home, but my hats might not."</i></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Velma</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif"">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. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">(40's-50's)</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif""><br>
<i>"Sometimes under those hats there's a lot of pain and a lot of
sorrow."</i></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Yolanda</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif""> 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. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial">(Early 20's) </span><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
"Cambria","serif"">"Don't want to be/ Boxed in/ By some dead or dying
traditions/ And I don't know how to be one of them"</span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Mother
Shaw</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif"">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." </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial">(50'-60's)</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif"">
<i>"If you get to shoutin' hard and that hat comes off, it's mine."</i></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Mabel</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif"">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. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">(40's-50's)</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif""><br>
<i>"Listen - never touch my hat. Admire it from a distance, honey."</i></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Man,</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif"">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. <i>"You don't need
another hat. You don't have but one head."</i></span><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial"> </span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">(30's-50's)</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Two Dancers,</span></b><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial">Seeking<b> </b>1 male and 1 female dancer with modern, jazz and
African Dance technique</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">REHEARSALS </span></u></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> consist of</span></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 8 weeks of rehearsals, 3 - 6 times per week. The cast will receive the rehearsal schedule
by the first cast meeting or first rehearsal.<strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> </span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoBlockText" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:40.5pt;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:67.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt">If you have any further questions,
feel free to contact Richard H. Morris at 216.795.7070 ext 236. </p><br><div><br></div><div style="position:fixed"></div>
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