LCCC Announces Auditions For
THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL
By
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Directed by Sarah May
WHAT: Lorain County Community College will hold auditions for the 2018 Fall Production The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, a lively theatrical portrait of famed American writer, environmentalist and activist Henry David Thoreau. Written by Cleveland native Jerome Lawrence and Elyria native Robert E. Lee, best known for Inherit the Wind and Auntie Mame, this wonderfully imaginative script takes an obscure moment in history and turns it into an inspiring tale for our times. In 1849 young Henry David Thoreau was sent to jail for refusing to pay his taxes to support a brutal war he considered unjust. In the play Henry stews in his jail cell, while his mind wanders back and forth in time reliving key moments and encounters that shaped his life. We meet the teacher who inspired him, the girl he loved but didn't marry, a runaway slave he tried to help, and the citizens of a town who never understood the young man who marched to a different drum. Thoreau's decision to go to jail for standing by his beliefs, or committing what he called civil disobedience, set a precedent for all those who would come after him: abolitionists, suffragettes, freedom riders, conscientious objectors, peace advocates, and ecologists. Copies of the playscript will be on reserve at the LCCC Bass Library until the audition dates.
WHO: Auditions are open to all LCCC students and staff, as well as actors from the community. We are seeking a multi–generational, multi-ethnic ensemble to bring the vibrant community of 19th Century Concord, Massachusetts to life on stage.
WHEN AND WHERE: Auditions will be held Sunday afternoon, September 9 from 2:00 to 5:00 and Monday evening, September 10 from 7:00 to 9:00 in the Cirigliano Studio Theatre inside The Stocker Arts Center 1005 N. Abbe Road, Elyria, OH 44035. Actors will be asked to read from the script. If you would also like to perform a short monologue please inform the director at the time of audition. Feel free to contact Sarah at 216-410-1781 if you have questions or concerns. Please call or email LCCC Director of Theatre Jeremy Benjamin 440-366-7120 or jbenjami@lorainccc.edu with your planned audition date.
PRODUCTION DATES: The production will run the weekend of November 15-17. Rehearsals will begin October 1. Please bring a list of conflicts with you to auditions.
CAST REQUIREMENTS:
2 young men, 18-30: to play Henry David Thoreau and his brother John.
3 character actors: to play Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bailey the town vagrant, and Deacon Ball.
2 character women: to play Henry's mother and Mrs. Lydian Emerson.
1 young boy, age 8-11, to play young Edward Emerson, and other roles.
1 African American actor or actress: to play escaped slave, Williams, and other roles.
1 young woman, 17-28: to play Helen Seward.
A versatile and energetic ensemble of actors and actresses, ages 8-80, to play townspeople, soldiers, church members, pallbearers, the choir, the town drunk, the town sheriff, farmers, merchants and Abe Lincoln.