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Breakdown
OF MICE AND MEN
by John Steinbeck
Dir. J. Barry Lewis
1st reh: 9/17/13. Runs: 10/11-11/10/13
Lennie: 30s–40s, large, lumbering, childlike, naïve, has great physical strength, but a mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. He is warm and unhurried and has a talent for mimicry.
Curley: 20s–30s The boss’s son, small statured, confrontational and aggressive. Rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is mean-spirited and seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, he is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife.
The following roles are cast. Actors considered as a possible replacements:
George: 40s, small, wiry, moral, intelligent but uneducated, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie. George is easily frustrated by Lennie but is always his protector.
Candy: 50s–70s, An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident and worries about his future on the ranch. He fears that his age is making him useless. An emotionally destroyed man because he spent his best years working for someone else.
Slim: 30s–40s, Quiet, insightful, kind, practical, intelligent, intuitive and at peace with himself. He is greatly respected and has natural authority. He is a highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged “prince” of the ranch. The other characters often look to him for advice
Curley’s Wife: 20s, young, pretty, flirtatious and provocative. A little mean, petty and cruel. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” and “tart,” She is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life.
Carlson: 30s–40s, a ranch-hand, big and powerful, complains bitterly about Candy’s old, smelly dog. Unsympathetic. Mean, bitter and coarse.
Crooks: African American, stable-hand, gets his name from his crooked back. Proud, bookish, bitter, beaten down, suspicious, and cynical. He is isolated from the other men.
The Boss: 50s-60s, Stocky, well-dressed, in charge of the ranch, and Curley’s father. Fair-minded man, not unkind.
Whit: 30s–40s, A young ranch-hand.
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THE LION IN WINTER by James Goldman
Dir. William Hayes
1st reh: 11/12/13. Runs: 12/6-1/5/14
note: All characters speak with a British dialect
Henry Plantagenet (King Henry II of England): 50’s, physically and mentally vigourous, has a resonant voice and a regal, heroic swagger, acerbic wit, proud.
The following roles are cast. Actors considered as a possible replacements:
Eleanor of Aquitane: 60s, Wife of Henry and mother to Richard, Geoffrey and John. A truly beautiful woman of great temperment, has authority and presence. Devious, sharp toungued and quit witted. She has been queen for 46 years but imprisoned for 10 years. She is a genuinely feminine woman who can hold her own in a man’s world.
Richard Plantagenet (Richard the Lionheart): late 20s, looks like his father & legend, regal, tall, thick and powerful but at the same time graceful, handsome, brave, defiant, impressive and equistely dressed. He has been a famous soldier since his middle teens and is thoroughly at home with power and politcis.
Geoffrey Plantagenet (Count of Brittany): mid 20s, tall, thin, darkly attractive, scheming, quick of speech and movement, the best brain of a brainy family but reserved and quiet. He is never considered as a possible heir to the throne.
John Plantagenet: early 20s, pimply, shorter than his brothers and pudgy without being fat, he has a round open face and a sweet smile, a sniveling slack-jaw. Henry’s favorite son.
Philip Capet (King Phillip II of France): late teens-early 20s, years old, gorgeous, tall, well-proportioned and handsome without being pretty. Politically savvy, astute and wily. His manner is open, direct and simple and he smiles easily. He has been King of France for 3 years
Alais Capet: mid 20s, serenely beautiful, in love with Henry, she has been his mistress since she was 16 years old. She has no control of her own destiny and is a pawn between Henry and Philip.
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OLD TIMES by Harold Pinter
Dir. J. Barry Lewis
1st reh: 1/7/14. Runs: 1/31-3/2/14
note: All characters speak with a British dialect
Deeley: early 40s, creepily genial, husband to Kate, suave, a provocateur, frustratingly caught between these two women, charismatic but slightly insecure.
Kate: early 40s, quietly intense, shy, Deeley’s wife, withdrawn, a frequent silent observer, resentful.
Anna: early 40, chatty, gregarious, Kate’s best friend from many years ago, outgoing, mysterious, seductive.
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DIVIDING THE ESTATE by Horton Foote
Dir. William Hayes
1st reh: 3/4/14. Runs: 3/28-4/27/14
note: All characters speak with a Texas dialect
Son: 30s-40s, Lucille’s son and Pauline’s fiancé. He manages the estate and Stella’s finances with reason and integrity. He is content enough, but not truly fulfilled. He runs a tight ship on the farm and is opposed to dividing the estate.
The following roles are cast. Actors considered as a possible replacements:
Stella: late 70s-80s, the matriarch of the clan, ruling over the family with an iron fist. She is no-nonsense, outspoken and cantankerous. Though dementia dulls her memory, she is opinionated and arbitrarily willful.
Lucille: 50s-60s, Stella’s dutiful older daughter who lives with Stella on the farm. She nervously flutters about, complacent; she is the widow whose job it is to protect her family, but she is not terribly effective.
Lewis: 50s-60s, Stella’s only son. An alcoholic gambler. Sensitive despite his degenerate ways. He is angry at his lot in life, self-imposed though it is, yet submissive to his mother because he has always been dependent on her.
MaryJo: 50s, Stella’s relentlessly calculating younger daughter. She has come to visit from Houston with her husband, Bob, and she wants her share. She is predatory, humorless and hard, always disappointed with her lot in life.
Bob: 50s, Mary Jo’s scheming husband, a loud, bombastic oilman who has lost a fortune with the drop in oil prices. He is filled with the false good humor of a man who will not admit he is desperate.
Doug: 80s-90s, African-American housekeeper who has worked at the estate his entire life. Proud, though physically weak and mentally slipping.
Mildred: 40s-50s, African American housekeeper who is slowly taking over control of the household from Doug. She is a patient, but sharp-tongued cook.
Pauline: 30s–early 40s, is the know-it-all schoolteacher engaged to Son. She is an outsider to the family who annoys everyone with her prim, do-gooder attitude.
Cathleen: 20s-30s, African American, A long-suffering, emotional, sensitive servant of the family, she is young and ambitious and wants to go to college.
Emily: 20s, One of Mary Jo and Bob’s daughters. She is materialistic and spoiled rotten and shows it in her dress and attitude.
Sissie: 20s, one of Mary Jo and Bob’s daughters. She is self-absorbed and spoiled rotten and shows it in her dress and attitude.
Irene: late teens, Lewis’ secret girlfriend. A local high school girl who works at a burger joint.
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TRYST by Karoline Leach
Dir. J. Barry Lewis
1st reh: 4/22/14. Runs: 5/16-6/15/14
note: All characters speak with a British dialect
George: mid 40s-early 50s, attractive, assured, careful, organized, lives on his wits, charming, a small-time con man, preys on innocent women.
Adelaide: early 40s, mousy, plain, spinster, works as a millinery assistant, self-deprecating, perpetually lonely, naïve but not stupid. Possible brief, full nudity may be required.
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