*Clague PlayhouseAUDITION INFORMATIONfinalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for DramaOther Desert CitiesBy Jon Robin BaitzDirected by Fred SternfeldAUDITION DATESAuditions are by appointment and will take place Saturday, May 5, 2018 starting at 1:00pm and Monday, May 7, 2018 starting at 6:00pm. If you are unable to make those dates, a video submission is acceptable. Walk-ins will be accepted as time permits. To make an appointment for May 5 or 7 or inquire about a video submission, email director Fred Sternfeld with a preferred date & time window at fsternfeld@gmail.com <fsternfeld@gmail.com>. Please attach picture / resume if available.Callbacks (by invitation) will be held on Saturday, May 12 from 1:00 - 5:30pm.Auditions and Callbacks will take place at Clague Playhouse, 1371 Clague Road, Westlake, Oh 44145.AUDITION PREPARATIONPlease be prepared to present a one minute contemporary monologue that is character and objective driven. Or, you may read something from the script. Sides will be available at the theatre.ABOUT THE PLAYWhen Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs for Christmas in 2004, she is unable to relax into the prickly, yet loving, embrace of her wealthy California family. Brooke has been in continuous rebellion against her conservative parents -- father Lyman, a former Republican ambassador, and mother Polly, a brittle perfectionist-- for a long time, moving to the East Coast and adopting liberal political beliefs, but she still craves their approval. She is anxious about revealing her publishing plans for her new memoir, about the suicide of her beloved older brother, Henry, who was involved in the anti-war bombing of a draft board during the Vietnam War and brought disgrace to his unforgiving mother and father. Over the course of Christmas Eve, Brooke spars with her parents, reminisces with her charming younger brother Trip, and receives the dubious emotional support of her alcoholic aunt, Silda. When the news of Brooke’s memoir is revealed, Polly and Lyman are faced with a choice -- either reveal a shocking secret that they have kept for decades, or risk exposure when the world reads their story. Spanning the international disasters of war, the bitter feuds of American politics, and the intricate and equally bitter dynamics of one family’s love and grief, Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities is a scintillating and sharply observed dark comedy, with themes of depression, addiction, family and memory.CHARACTERS - Lyman Wyeth: (Late 50’s to late 60’s) Kind and gentle patriarch. A Hollywood B actor with some celebrity and charm who turned that into political influence. He is conservative but with a sense of humor about himself and a deep love for his family.- Polly Wyeth: (Late 50’s to late 60’s) Lyman’s wife. Graceful and acerbic matriarch. She has been active for decades in the Republican Party. She is deeply devoted to the preservation of her social standing, her family and the health of her husband. - Brooke Wyeth: (Mid 30’s to 40’s) Lyman and Polly’s adult daughter. She is a professional writer who has been living in New York after a mental breakdown. Her tortured relationship with her family has centered on her opposing Liberal political views. - Trip Wyeth: (Late 20’s to mid 30’s) Brooke’s brother. Witty and self-effacing. He is a TV producer for reality TV – in a family obsessed with his intellectual, older sister’s mental health. He assumes the role of second banana with grace. - Silda Grauman: (late 50’s to early 70’s) Polly’s sister. Creative, fragile, and funny. A former B movie writer, and the Bohemian, polar opposite of her sister. She is fresh out of rehab and repays the support of the conservative Wyeths by joining Brooke in some liberal needling of her parents. MORE ABOUT THE PLAY, STORY SYNOPSIS, AWARDS, ETC.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_Desert_Cities <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_Desert_Cities>REHEARSALSThere will be 4-5 weeks of rehearsal starting in early December, 2018. It is possible, but not certain, that a break will be taken for the Holidays. That decision, and rehearsals in general, will be selected based on availability of the cast. Rehearsals will be selected from weekday evenings, and weekend mornings, afternoons or evenings 3-6 times per week. PRODUCTION DATESJanuary 11 - February 3, 2019. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm; Sundays at 2:00pm. ABOUT DIRECTOR FRED STERNFELDFred is pleased to be making his Clague Playhouse directing debut. Recent productions include Death of a Salesman & Next to Normal at French Creek, Good People at Aurora Theatre, Of Mice and Men at Coach House Theatre and You Can’t Take It With You at Karamu Theatre. Fred is widely represented on Northeast Ohio stages through diverse projects, garnering numerous honors and awards, some of which are listed here: Next to Normal at French Creek, Company & A Little Night Music at FPAC, The Glass Menagerie, West Side Story & The Miracle Worker at TrueNorth, Yellowman at Karamu Theatre, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan at Beck Center, Ragtime, the musical and Man of La Mancha at the JCC and Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music at Cain Park. www.fredsternfeld.com <http://www.fredsternfeld.com>. * *------------* *The information above can also be found on ​the Clague Playhouse Audition Page <http://clagueplayhouse.org/index.php/auditions/>​, or at this link <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NRHu6Y6Acpn5SB6Iv2QbrkBa2dJ5-HFiXepsKssYPmE/edit?usp=sharing>.​* Clague Playhouse 1371 Clague Rd. Westlake, OH 44145 (440) 331-0403 Box Office Hours Wed. - Sat. 1-6pm www.ClaguePlayhouse.org <http://www.clagueplayhouse.org/> "Like" us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/ClaguePlayhouse/>! -- Fred Sternfeld http://www.fredsternfeld.com 216-360-0718-home 216-496-6087-cell