THEATRE J 2012-13 SEASON - Theatre J Auditions

Body Awareness by Annie Baker
Director: Eleanor Holdridge
First rehearsal: 7/30/12
Performances: 8/25 – 9/23/12


JOYCE: 55.
Warm. Compassionate. Patient. A peace-maker, she is conciliatory with great
reserves of strength. Always striving to be a good mom. Relies on authority figures
that tell her what to do. In moments she can have a giddy sense of humor and
delight in the world, that don’t have an outlet in her family life. She loves Phyllis
deeply, but has an unexamined longing for adventure and beauty.

JARED: 21.
Incredibly smart. Very funny, in a wry biting way. Sullen. Bitter. Brooding. Shy but
has very little impulse control. Uncomfortable in his body. Young for his age, he
perhaps he has some physical quirk that he is hyper-sensitive about—very skinny,
overweight, too tall, too short. He should be able to go back and forth from seeming
like a normal kid desperately in need of a father-figure to someone with a serious
problem.

PHYLLIS: 45
Passionately political. Diffident. Anxious. High-strung. A fighter. Ambitious, she is
perhaps worried that she is at the height of her career and insecure about her own
intelligence. Politically correct. Deeply and jealously in love with Joyce. She likes
everything in its place, codifies her surroundings and clings to her belief system
rigidly, afraid of the surrounding chaos.

FRANK BONITATIBUS: 59
An aging Marlborough man. Lean. Craggily handsome and manly. He has an easy
charm and a sense of relaxed confidence. An infectious laugh. On the surface he
should not seem at all smarmy or oily, but there should be occasional glimpses of
disturbing undercurrents in his psyche.



Our Class by Tadeusz Slobodzianek
English version by Ryan Craig
Director: Derek Goldman
First rehearsal: 9/10/12
Performances: 10/10 – 11/4/12

Most characters age in the play from elementary school through old age. The play begins in Jedwabne, Poland in the 1920s and follows its characters through Soviet and Nazi invasions and across three continents through the early 21st Century. The production contains stylized movement and choreography as well as musical interludes. All members of the ensemble should be strong with narrative, move well, and be competent singers.

Heniek: Male. Ages from 5 to 82. Catholic. Wants to be a fireman as a child. A follower in youth, he becomes a priest after the war, who collaborates extensively with dark forces and participates with Zygmunt in the rape and murder of Dora and her baby. A shamelessly hypocritical sermonizer who conceals his own role in the past.

Wladek: Male. Ages from 5 to 82. Catholic. Wants to be a wagon driver as a child. A Coarse Peasant. Attracted to Rachelka from early age. Essentially a loutish follower, but twice saves Rachelka's life. He conceals the past for years until becoming an advocate for telling the truth about the pogrom late in life.

Abram: Male. Ages from 5 to 83. Jewish. As a child, wants to be a shoemaker like his father. A wealthy Jewish émigré, sent to America in 1935. He becomes a rabbi. 

Jakub Katz: Male. Ages from 5 to 22. Jewish. Intellectual; natural leader. Wants to be a teacher as a child. Beaten with fenceposts and murdered. 

Rysiek: Male. Ages from 5 to 23. Catholic. Charismatic and self-confident; wants to be a pilot as a child. Attracted to Dora from childhood. Becomes the leader of an anti-Soviet nationalist group. After the pogrom, he becomes dominated by Zygmunt. 

Menachem: Male. Ages from 5 to 56. Jewish. Intellectual, and a film buff when he’s young. Handsome womanizer involved with both Dora and Zocha. Wants to be a wagon driver as a child. After surviving the war, he gets involved first with the Communist secret police and then th Israeli Army.

Zygmunt: Male. Ages from 7 to 59. Catholic. Wants to be a soldier as a child. An alleged patriot who becomes a Soviet informer to save himself; a duplicitous, opportunistic, and brutally sadistic Nazi collaborator, he winds up a business and governmental leader, a sociopathic and shamelessly hypocritical “pillar of society” in Communist Poland. 

Zocha: Female. Ages from 5 to 66. Catholic. Wants to be a seamstress as a child. Hides a Jewish refugee out of loyalty. A shy child who becomes embittered by the war.

Rachelka (later Marianna): Female. Ages from 5 to 82. Jewish. converts to Catholicism during the war. Smart and wealthy. Wants to be a doctor as a child. Is saved by Wladek during the war but enters a dismal marriage, unable to love the husband who saves her and steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the past.

Dora: CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible (emergency) replacements, should any become necessary. Female. Ages from 5 to 21. Jewish. A lively girl who dreams of being a movie star as a child, but is ultimately raped and burned to death with her baby.



Apples From the Desert by Savyon Liebrecht
Director: Johanna Gruenhut
First rehearsal: 11/19/12
Performances: 12/15/12 – 1/6/13

The play takes place in Israel – all characters are Israeli.

RIVKAH -- 
18 years old. She should look young, but more importantly, feel young. Has been sheltered up to present but has big dreams. Yearning, passionate, tried killing herself at 14 by drinking poison. There is a deep wound in her, that mends itself throughout the course of the play because of the love she finds, and the exploration of feeling and freedom found on the farm; she begins broken and becomes whole...
Not a typical beauty to her parents. She is tall, gangly, the figure that many American girls dream of: tall and thin. She doesn't fit in to her community physically or emotionally. Actor should have sense of rhythm, should be able to dance.

DOOBY --
25. Post army service. He possess a natural strength, he is a leader. A charmer. He, unlike all the others, sees Rivkah for all that she is. He is teacher, hero, and lover. He's also a farmer -- good with his hands. He’s the steady calm presence, good in a trauma situation. Believes in the goodness of people. He is the lens through which we are introduced to the "other / outside world."

VICTORIA --
40-50's. Trapped. Lonely. She has lived the "way you are supposed to," and hasn't reaped the benefits. And yet, she loves her way of life -- the traditions, the rituals. She recognizes their power, their beauty. She was a real beauty, but she's been abused by time She is forgiving, and believes in new beginnings. Would be great if Actor could dance, sense of rhythm. Also, if she can sing.

REUVEN --
60's. Imposing, Despite his success, he believes everything will be taken from him. In his mind, he is still in an orphanage and lives as if protecting everyone, including himself, from getting too close, opening himself up too much... Not a villain, not a caricature. He is deeply afraid of his own feelings, of loneliness. Having never had a father, he doesn't know how to be a good one. After dreaming of the life he wanted, he doesn't know how to deal with the life he's been dealt.

SARAH --
40's. Also not a villain, or a clown though she's funny, and does silly things. She is an outcast, in the community, and even to the family: a spinster. Unmarried at her age, she hasn't fulfilled the main commandment for a woman. In that way, she is like her niece Rivkah; she doesn't fit in, is a dreamer. Has humor, is no nonsense, tells it like it is. But it's all rooted in the idea that she missed the boat somehow...

Race by David Mamet
Director: John Vreeke
First rehearsal: 1/7/13
Performances: 2/7 – 3/17/13

Jack Lawson: 40something. Caucasian. Verbally smart smart smart, facile, quick, showman, cutting edge sarcasm combined with real world knowledge and maybe some hidden compassion. He should have some sexiness as well. Half of a team of two lawyers. They’ve been partners for twenty years, but the firm has remained small.

Henry Brown: African American. 40something. Same as Jack, but not as much. A bit more contemplative perhaps. Smart, sophisticated. They are successful and ambitious lawyers.

Charles Strickland: Caucasian. Somewhere between 50 and 70. On the surface, kind, compassionate (the Richard Thomas way of going) …how would it be possible for him to do such an act? Or we may go with a slicker, more polished John Forsythe feel? Both are viable approaches to the character. Rich, well educated, sophisticated…

Susan: African American woman in her twenties. Smart, educated, sophisticated. Has a barely disguised edge of anger, resentment., but is good at the cover up. Verbally facile, but no match for Jack’s level of verbal gifts. She should be pretty, small (size 2? Of course that reference can adjust depending…) But the vulnerability of a smaller build is a good thing for this show.



Andy and the Shadows by Ari Roth
Director: Daniella Topol
First rehearsal: 3/4/13
Performances: 4/3 – 4/28/13

ANDY GLICKSTEIN 25. The middle child of German-Jewish refugees. In love with other people’s stories – frequently dwarfed by them – yet, as an aspiring young filmmaker, still in search of his own. Thoughtful, intense, quick witted.

AMY GLICKSTEIN 26. The eldest daughter, and soldier in the Israeli Army; soon not to be. Also plays YOUNG RAYA, age 10. Could be a Young Anne Frank. 
Both roles are strong characters, each is assured, loving, passionate, unique

TAMMY GLICKSTEIN 22. The youngest daughter, and recent college graduate, soon to be working in Cambodia. She too needs to be unique, but it’s harder when you’re the youngest.. .

DR. RAYA GLICKSTEIN 40’s-50. Not your typical Jewish mother. Fierce. Clinical. Maternal. Gracious. Passionate. Bi-polar. European refugee with not a trace of an accent. Speaks seven languages perfectly, and each makes up a part of her demeanor. Very tied to her younger persona, but also tormented by her.

NATE GLICKSTEIN 50’s. Not your typical Jewish lawyer. German-Jewish orphan with barely the trace of an accent, but plenty of earthbound sadness. Wise, even-tempered, even gentle, with a strong backbone and a resilient heart, although it occasionally flutters.

SARAH LIEBMAN 26. Doctoral student in a dying field and affianced to a guy with commitment issues, and Oedipal issues, and Grandiose Expectation Issues, so she’s been doing a lot of pushing. She craves an intact family, a fulfilling career, and several wonderful children, and she’d like it all very soon.

JAMES CHARMICHAEL (Jimbo) 26. African-American neighborhood buddy who starts out as a 10-year-old before turning into a more mature version of himself. Also plays BASAAM JAMAL, ARAB FIGHTER, and HOSPITAL NURSE.

JERRY NEWCOMB (JJ) 25, and also 10. The proverbial blonde next-door neighbor. Currently an Off-Loop theater intern with a maniacal, somewhat suicidal past.



The Hampton Years by Jacqueline Lawton
Director: Shirley Serotsky
First rehearsal: 4/29/13
Performances: 5/29 – 6/30/13

Viktor (Vikle) Lowenfeld (mid 30s) – Austrian Jew, an artist, scholar, and professor of art and art education. Also, a curator, African Art collector, husband and father of a young son named John.

Margaret (Gretel) Lowenfeld (early 30s) – Austrian Jew, singer, teacher, gardener, Viktor’s wife, mother of a young son named John. This character will also play Southern White Woman Worth Whistlin’ Over, Beautiful Creole Woman, Barber’s Wife, and White Mary, Mother of Jesus.

John Biggers (early 20s) - African American, a muralist, student of Lowenfeld and White, originally from Gastonia, North Carolina.

Samella Lewis (early 20s), African American, a sculptor and printmaker, student of Lowenfeld and Catlett, originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.

Charles (Charlie) White (late 20s) – African American, painter, John’s mentor, Elizabeth’s husband, artist-in-residence at Hampton University from 1943 to 1945, originally from Chicago Illinois. This character will also play Dying Soldier.

Elizabeth (Betty) Catlett (late 20s) – African American, Art Lecturer, sculptress, printmaker, Samella’s mentor, Charles’ wife, artist-in-residence at Hampton University from 1943 to 1945, originally from Washington, D.C. This character will also play Negro Mother with Child.

President (Dr.) Malcolm Shaw Maclean (late 40s) – Caucasian, sixth president of Hampton Institute from 1940 to 1943, originally from Denver, Colorado and spent a large part of academic career at the University of Minnesota. 

President (Dr.) Ralph P. Bridgman (late 40s) – Caucasian, seventh president of Hampton Institute from 1944-1948, originally from Boston, Massachusetts.