THE WESTERN RESERVE PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR… A TOUCH OF THE POET Eugene O’Neill Directed by August Scarpelli The first of the late, great, American masterpieces by our country’s one and only Nobel prize winning playwright. The time of the play is 1828. A tavern in a village near Boston. The tavern is owned by a tempestuous Irishman, Cornelius Melody, who is as proud as he is ill-tempered. But his exhibitions delude only himself. He is of humble origin in a strange and unfriendly civilization. He is totally in debt. His wife, Nora, keeps the tavern going; unaccountably, this long-suffering woman adores him. His passionate and resolute daughter, Sara, whom he treats like a servant and berates as a slut, hates him. We arrive on the anniversary of Talavera, where Con Melody served as a major for the Duke of Wellington. The love of Sara’s life, a yankee poet is lying ill upstairs and the hopes of her future, her very own American dream begins to unravel downstairs. The poet's familial disapproval of the union cuts Con Melody’s pride and cuts it deep. A deed must be done and a debt must be paid. But his arrogance continues until at last he is beaten by the Yankee enemy— This deed means the death of the past, the death of his pretensions and the birth of a new Con Melody [Monday March 30th] [630pm-1030pm] & [Tuesday March 31st] from [630pm-1030pm] If needed, callbacks will take place [Wednesday April 1st ] at [630pm-1030pm]. At the Western Reserve Playhouse, 3326 Everett Rd, Richfield, OH 44286 Rehearsals: Rehearsals for this production will proceed as follows. There will be as many as 6 rehearsals, scheduled approximately monthly, based on actor availability between April 2026 and October 2026 exploring the deep dramaturgical roots of the play. The normal rehearsal process will begin between September 28th 2026 and October 5th 2026. and typically run Sunday through Thursday, 630pm-10pm. Please bring all conflicts for the rehearsal and performance process; additional conflicts not noted on your audition form will not be accepted. Performances: Thursday November 12th - Sunday November 22nd [DATES], Thursday through Sunday. At this time, we are unable to cast actors who have conflicts with scheduled performances. ALL ROLES ARE OPEN to all gender identities, races, ethnicities, body types, ages, and abilities. No equity contracts are available at this time. All positions are volunteer. None of these parts are precast. All levels of actors welcome! Roles Available: ***We encourage actors of all experiences, ethnicities and ages to audition. [Insert any additional notes about roles available] Mickey Malloy - “is twenty six, with a sturdy physique and an amiable, cunning face, his mouth usually set in a half-leering grin”. Mickey tends bar at the tavern and has been with the family for some time and has his opinions about them and knows what to do with them. “Sure, it’d be the joy of my life to have a mother like you to fight for me, - or better still a wife like you”. Jamie Creagan - “as obviously Irish as Maloy, he is middle aged, tall, with a lantern jawed face. There is a scar of a saber cut over one cheekbone”. Jamie is a cousin to and an old soldier of Con Melody’s. “Let me get away from the sight of him where there's men in their right senses laughing and singing! And don’t be afraid, Sara, that I'll tell the boys a word of this. I’ll talk of our fight in the city only, because it’s all I want to remember”. Sara Melody - Daughter of Cornelius and Nora Melody. “...There is a curious blending in her of what are commonly considered aristocratic and peasant characteristics….Her voice is soft and musical, but her speech has at times a self-conscious, stilted quality about it due to her restraining a tendency to lapse into brogue” - “Isn’t that a joke on me, with all my crazy dreams of riches and a grand estate and me a haughty lady riding around in a carriage with a coachman and footman! (She laughs at herself) Wasn't I the fool to think that had any meaning at all when you’re in love? You were right, Mother. I knew nothing of love…” Nora Melody - “ … is forty, but years of overwork and worry have made her look much older. She must have been as pretty as a girl as Sara is now. She still has the beautiful eyes her daughter has inherited. But she has become too worn out to take care of her appearance… Yet in spite of her slovenly appearance there is a spirit which shines through and makes her lovable, a simple sweetness and charm, something gentle and sad and , somehow, dauntless”. “Sure, what's rheumatism but a pain in your body? I could bear ten of it. It’s the pain of guilt in my soul”. Cornelius Melody - “Is forty-five, tall, broad-shouldered, deep-chested, and powerful... Beyond shaky nerves, it shows no effects of hard drinking. It has a bull-like, impervious strength, a tough peasant vitality. It is his face that reveals the ravages of dissipation—a ruined face...the face of an embit-tered Byronic hero …His manner is that of a polished gentleman. Too much so. He overdoes it and one soon feels that he is overplaying a role which has become more real than his real self to him. But in spite of this, there is something formidable and impressive about him”. “ I Have not loved the world, nor the world me; I have not flatter’d its rank breath, nor bow’d To its idolatries a patient knee,— Nor coin’d my cheek to smiles,—nor cried aloud In worship of an echo; in the crowd They could not deem me one of such; I stood Among them, but not of them” Dan Roche, Paddy O’Dowd, Patch Riley - “The street door at rear is flung open and dan roche, paddy o’dowd, and patch riley attempt to pile in together and get jammed for a moment in the doorway. They all have hangovers, and Roche is talking boisterously. Dan Roche is middle-aged, squat, bow-legged, with a potbelly and short arms lumpy with muscle .... Paddy O’Dowd is thin, round- shouldered, flat-chested, with a pimply complexion, bulgy eyes, and a droopy mouth. His manner is oily and fawning, .... Patch Riley is an old man with a thatch of dirty white hair. His washed-out blue eyes have a wandering, half-witted expression. .... He carries an Irish bagpipe under his arm.” Deborah (Mrs. Henry Harford) - “is forty-one, but looks to be no more than thirty. She is small... One would never suspect that she is the middle-aged mother of two grown sons. Her face is beautiful— that is, it is beautiful from the standpoint of the artist with an eye for bone structure and unusual character....About her whole personality is a curious atmosphere of deliberate detachment, the studied aloofness of an ironically amused spectator. Something perversely assertive about it too, as if she consciously carried her originality to the point of whimsical eccentricity”. Deborah is the Mother to Sara’s beloved Poet upstairs. “I begin to resemble Cassandra with all my warnings. And I continue to stand here boring you with words”. Nicholas Gadsby - “is in his late forties, short, stout with a big, bald heady round florid face and small blue eyes. A rigidly conservative, best-family attorney, he is stiffly correct in dress and manner, dryly portentous in speech, and extremely conscious of his professional authority and dignity. Now, however, he is venturing on unfamiliar ground and is by no means as sure of himself as his manner indicates.” What to prepare: - [No preparation is necessary. Having read or having a knowledge of the play or playwright is always useful. When signing up for an audition slot below, you will receive a small section of text a few days before the audition along with a description of some context to read over that we will focus on during the audition. ] - [etc] - Please bring all conflicts for the rehearsal and performance process; additional conflicts not noted on your audition form will not be accepted. - VIDEO SUBMISSIONS will be accepted and due to august@thewrp.org by Tuesday March 31st at 10:30PM. How to sign up: Please sign up for a 20 minute audition slot below: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4BA5AB2FABF8C52-62993889-auditions If you have any questions about the audition process please do not hesitate to contact the artistic director, august@thewrp.org [Media disclosure] -- This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. 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