<div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><br></div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto">
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Shore Culture Centre Theatre Program August Wilson's American Century Cycle Readings AUDITIONS: Wednesday, Sept. 13th ONLY</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">The Shore Theatre Program will be presenting the first four plays of the late, great August Wilson's American Century Cycle beginning September 25 with a readers theatre production of "Gem of the Ocean". It will be followed by "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (October), "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (November) and "The Piano Lesson" (December) closing the 2017 season. </span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Audition Date: Wednesday, September 13th ONLY</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Start Time: 7pm-Auditions are by appointment only. Please email <a href="mailto:pllecompany2.0@gmail.com" target="_blank">pllecompany2.0@gmail.com</a> for an appointment. No Calls Please.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Where: Shore Culture Centre</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">291 East 222nd Street</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Euclid, OH  44123</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Preparation: Please bring headshot/resume; prepare a 2-3 minute contemporary monologue of the African American experience or from an August Wilson work of your choice.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Rehearsal Times: 1 table read; 1 rehearsal before each presentation</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Wilson’s work illuminated the joys and struggles of the African-American experience in the United States during the 20th century.  His greatest contribution to American culture is his defining 10-play cycle, one for each decade of the past century; all but one set in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. </span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">*August Wilson's American Century Cycle are presented with the permission of the Wilson Estate and by special arrangement with Samuel L. French, Inc.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-BoldItalic';font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:17.00pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-BoldItalic';font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:17.00pt">Gem of the Ocean</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"><br>
(Reading Monday, September 25, 2017 @7pm)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Set in 1904 | Written in 2003<br>
Tony Award Nomination<br>
</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Italic';font-style:italic;font-size:17pt">Gem of the Ocean</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"> introduces Aunt Ester, who acts as a spiritual advisor and carries nearly 300 years of memories for the people of the Hill District. The play focuses on how she helps one man find himself within a turbulent history.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Character Breakdown</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Aunt Ester Tyler-</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"> A former slave and a "soul-cleanser", who is the head of 1839 Wylie Avenue. She claims to be 285 years old and acts as the benevolent, if disciplinarian, ruler of the household. She entertains the romantic ambitions of Solly. She is a recurring character in several of Wilson's plays of the Pittsburgh Cycle.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Citizen Barlow-</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"> A young man from Alabama who comes to the house to be cleansed by Ester. He is enlisted to help construct a wall, and eventually journeys to The City of Bones.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Solly Two Kings-</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline"> </span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">A friend of Aunt Ester. He is a former slave from Alabama who later became a conductor on the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_railroad" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:17pt;color:rgb(228,175,10)">underground railroad</span></a> and a scout for the Union Army. </span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Black" Mary Wilkes-</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"> Ester's housekeeper and her protégé in the art of Soul Cleansing. Caesar's sister. She performs most of the household tasks, but never to the satisfaction of Ester.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Caesar Wilkes- </span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Black Mary's brother, a policeman, baker and land-owner. He upholds the law at all costs. He practices strict capitalism and has no qualms with killing a man over a petty crime.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Eli</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt">-</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Aunt Ester's caregiver, he protects the inhabitants and is constructing a wall. He was Solly's comrade in his efforts on the Underground Railroad and for The Union Army.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Bold';font-weight:bold;font-size:17pt;text-decoration:underline">Rutherford Selig</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">-A peddler and friend of Ester's who frequently visits the house. He sells pots, pans and other crockery.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-BoldItalic';font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:17.00pt"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-BoldItalic';font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:17.00pt">Joe Turner's Come and Gone</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"><br>
(Reading Monday, October 30, 2017 @7pm)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Set in 1911 | Written in 1988<br>
New York Drama Critics Circle Award; Tony Award Nomination; Drama Desk Award Nomination<br>
In </span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Italic';font-style:italic;font-size:17pt">Joe Turner’s Come and Gone</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">, Herald Loomis arrives in the Hill District after working on Joe Turner’s chain gang. Throughout his stay, Herald’s journey becomes a search for the meaning of his own past and the possibilities of his future.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-BoldItalic';font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:17.00pt">Ma Rainey's Black Bottom</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"><br>
(Reading Monday, November, 27 2017 @7pm)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Set in 1927 | Written in 1984<br>
New York Drama Critics Circle Award; Whiting Writers Award; Tony Award Nomination; Drama Desk Award Nomination<br>
Set in Chicago, </span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Italic';font-style:italic;font-size:17pt">Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"> is the only play in the cycle that does not take place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The play explores the many purposes of creative expression and the exploitation of African American artists in the 20th century.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-BoldItalic';font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-size:17.00pt">The Piano Lesson</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"><br>
(Reading Monday, December 11, 2017 @7pm)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">Set in 1936 | Written in 1990<br>
Pulitzer Prize; New York Drama Critics Circle Award; Drama Desk Award; Pulitzer Prize Nomination; Tony Award Nomination<br>
</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText-Italic';font-style:italic;font-size:17pt">The Piano Lesson</span><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"> focuses on the conflict between a sister and brother over whether to sell a piano that was acquired during slavery through the sale of two of the family’s ancestors. The play highlights the conflict between two ways of coping with a painful past.</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt"></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69);min-height:20.3px"><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:'.SF UI Text';color:rgb(69,69,69)"><span style="font-family:'.SFUIText';font-size:17pt">(Synopsis courtesy of August Wilson Education Project)</span></p></div></div></div></div></div>