SOKOL GREATER CLEVELAND

VCELKY THEATRE GROUP

Announces

Sokol Greater Cleveland’s theatre group Vcelky will be holding auditions

for its September 8, 2024 performance of Karel Čapek’s play Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti, or Rossum’s Universal Robots. The play will be performed in English (phew!) and as a radio play. Additional performance dates may be added.

Auditions will be held on Saturday July 6 at 11 a.m. and Thursday July 11 at 7 pm in the

Bohemian National Hall Ballroom (4939 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland)

Rehearsals will begin shortly after casting, and will likely be held two days per week, and other days as determined by the directors Georgia Maresh and Rob Samec, and producer Kelli Perk. The play is a 1920’s science fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek which introduced the word "robot" to the English language and to science fiction as a whole.

Set in a robot factory on an island at some unspecified time in the future, Helena, a beautiful young woman and daughter of the president of an unnamed world power, visits the island on behalf of the Humanity League. Her mission is to liberate the robots, which are artificial humans that look and act like humans, but are treated as mere machines or property. The robots eventually revolt, wiping out humanity. . .or did they? The play touches on themes such as slavery, what makes humans human, love, compassion, greed and the consequences of runaway technology. Relevant today considering the debates over AI and Super AI .

We are going to be performing the play as a “radio play”

in the 1940’s. The set will be a radio studio. The actors, dressed in 1940’s garb, will read their parts into microphones on the stage. (Acting required, but very little memorizing) Other members of the cast will be seen on stage doing sound effects such as gunshots, explosions, telephone ringing, door knocking, etc. We will do a few radio commercials between acts.

Actors are needed to play the following roles:

1. Radio announcer

2. Narrator

3. Harry Domin, General Manager

4. Fabry, Chief Engineer

5. Dr. Gall, Head of the Psychological Department

6. Dr. Hallemeier, Psychologist-in-Chief

7. Busman, Business Manager

8. Alquist, Chief of Building Operations

9. Helena Glory, President of Humanity League, daughter of President Glory

10.Nana, Helena’s maid

11. Sulla, a robotess

12. Marius, a robot

13. Radius, a robot

14. Helena, a robotess

15. Primus, a robot

In addition, we need singers to sing jingles, people to do sound effects, and people to help with props, set, and costumes.

For more information, contact:

Kelli Perk at 440-668-9553 or kellikayperk@gmail.com or

Georgia Maresh at 330-861-4434 or gmaresh@sbcglobal.net.