THE 39 STEPS - Kentwood Players Non Equity Auditions

The Tony-Award winning comedy thriller

“The 39 Steps”

On Saturday, November 10 and Sunday, November 11, 2012

At the Westchester Playhouse

Kentwood Players announces auditions for the Tony-Award winning comedy thriller"The 39 Steps" on Saturday, November 10 from 11:00am to 3:00pm and Sunday, November 11 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester (LA 90045).  If necessary, callbacks will be held on Monday, November 12. The production is directed by Ben Lupejkis, and produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete and Tony Pereslete by special arrangement with Samuel French. Performances will take place from January 11 to February 16, 2013 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm at the Westchester Playhouse.

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock, "The 39 Steps" is a hilarious, comedic, and faithful rendering of Hitchcock’s classic. Barlow based his adaptation on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play, but this adaptation calls for the entirety of the 1935 mystery-thriller film to be performed with a cast of only four playing all 30 characters. Thus the film's serious spy story is played with tongue firmly in cheek, and the script is full of allusions to (and puns on the titles of) other Alfred Hitchcock films, including Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, and North by Northwest.

One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors, identified as Clown 1 and Clown 2, play every other character in the show: heroes, villains, men, women and even the occasional inanimate object.  This requires true skill, facility with multiple dialects (and genders), lightning fast quick-changes, and, occasionally, the ability to play multiple characters at the same time or within the same scene. It is this dexterity that fuels the action for this highly theatrical comedy thriller that includes an escape from a moving train, a leap from a bridge into frigid waters, and a narrow miss with a malevolent airplane bent on destruction.

Auditions will consist of reading short scenes from the script which will be provided at the auditions.  The director requests that you be familiar with the play and/or the characters from the movie, possess great comedic timing and physical agility, and have a working facility with and can demonstrate English, North Country, Scottish, and German dialects.  Please bring your headshot, resume, and appointment calendar with you as the rehearsal schedule will be posted. Advance appointments are not necessary.

Cast Breakdown:

Richard Hannay (male, 35 – 45, English)

Annabella Schmidt / Margaret / Pamela (female, 35 – 45, German, Scottish, English)

Clown 1 (any gender, 25 and above, English, North Country, Scottish, German)

Clown 2 (any gender, 25 and above, English, North Country, Scottish, German)

      For more information about Kentwood Players including our current productions, upcoming auditions, and our Kentwood Kids Children’s Theatre classes and productions, please visit the Kentwood Players website at www.kentwoodplayers.org. You can also find information on the Kentwood Players page on Facebook.  

      To meet “The 39 Steps” production team and learn more about Kentwood Players and what goes on at the Westchester Playhouse, the public is invited to attend our general membership meetings, which are free and held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located two blocks west of the San Diego Freeway and two blocks north of Manchester at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045.