Audition Notice: Our Town
Our Town
By Thornton Wilder
Director: Katie Swimm
Producer: Kathleen Comber
Performance Dates: June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16 @ 8pm
Tech Dates: Monday, May 21st - Thursday, May 24th & Tuesday, May 29th - Thursday, May 31st, 2018
**Note: Cast and Crew will be given Memorial Day weekend (Fri-Monday) off**
Tentative Rehearsal Days: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays beginning March 20th
Location: The Footlight Club, Eliot Hall, 7A Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain, MA
AUDITIONS: By appointment only. Please sign up here.
Location: Footlight Club, Eliot Hall, 7A Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain, MA
Dates: Monday, February 26th & Tuesday, February 27th from 7-10pm
Callbacks: Wednesday, February 28th, 7-10pm (if necessary)
Audition Details:
- Actors will audition in groups of ten.
- Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script and some ensemble-based movement work; there is nothing formal that actors need to prepare prior to their audition slot. Actors should wear comfortable clothes.
- No prior experience necessary; newcomers are welcome!
- Bring a headshot and resume, only if you have one!
- Know your conflicts from March 20th through May 31st to list on the audition sheet. Please be thorough. Some conflicts can be scheduled around if we know about them ahead of time.
Other Audition Info:
- Appointment times are start times. Each time slot will accommodate up to ten (10) auditioners. Please arrive in enough time prior to your appointment time to be ready to begin the process promptly.
- Missed appointments or late arrivals will only be accommodated as space and time allows.
- Not all roles require callbacks.
- Actors needed at callbacks will be notified following each audition (or by 10am the day of Callbacks). Actors called back will be given additional music and sides to work on.
- All actors will be notified of casting results following callbacks.
For questions, please contact the producer, Kathleen Comber.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Our Town was written in 1938 by Thornton Wilder and has become a staple of the American theatre. It's a story about the day-to-day lives of the citizens of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire between 1901 and 1913. Using the movement and music of the period, we will tell the story of Wilder's Our Town through a close-knit ensemble of actors that reflect the diverse community of Jamaica Plain in 2018.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
We encourage actors of any ability, age, body type, gender identity, race, and national or ethnic origin to audition.
We are interested in actors who can also play the piano and/or other instruments. You do not need to bring instruments to initial auditions; musicianship will be explored in callbacks.
We are looking for 2-3 younger people to play the roles of the children of Grover’s Corners (ages 10-14).
*some roles may be double-cast
Stage Manager, A narrator, commentator, and guide through Grover’s Corners. He/she joins in the action of the play periodically, as the reverend at the wedding, the soda shop owner, a local townsmen, etc., and speaks directly to Emily after her death.
Emily Webb, we follow her from a precocious young girl through her wedding to George Gibbs and her early death.
George Gibbs, the boy next door, a kind but irresponsible teenager who matures over time and becomes a responsible husband, father and farmer.
Frank Gibbs, George’s father, the town doctor.
Julia (Hersey) Gibbs, George’s mother. She dreams of going to Paris, but doesn’t get there. Dies later while visiting her daughter in Ohio. She saved $350 for the trip from the sale of an antique furniture piece, but ultimately willed it to George and Emily.
Charles Webb, Emily’s father, editor of the Grover’s Corners Sentinel
Myrtle Webb, Emily’s mother. Serious, crisp.
Joe and Si Crowell, local paperboys. Joe’s intelligence earns him a full scholarship to MIT where he graduates at the top of his class. His promise will be cut short on the fields of France during World War I, according to the Stage Manager. Both he and his brother Si hold marriage in high disdain.
Simon Stimson, the choir director and church organist. We never learn the root cause of his alcoholism and later suicide. He is still bitter and cynical beyond the grave. The actor who plays Stimson should play the piano.
Howie Newsome, the milkman, a fixture of Grover’s Corners.
Rebecca Gibbs, George’s younger sister.
Wally Webb, Emily’s younger brother. Dies of a burst appendix on a Boy Scout camping trip.
Professor Willard, a rather long-winded lecturer
Mrs. Louella Soames, a gossipy townswoman and member of the choir
Constable Bill Warren, the policeman
Joe Stoddard:, the undertaker
Sam Craig, a nephew of Mrs Gibbs who left town to seek his fortune. He came back after 12 years in Buffalo for Emily’s funeral.