Auditions Announced for MASTERPIECE in Davidson

Davidson Community Players announces open auditions for its February 2011 production of M.Z. Ribalow's new play, Masterpiece. Masterpiece was first presented in this area during the summer of 2008 as a staged reading by New River Dramatists. Davidson Community Player's production marks the regional premier of the play, and will be directed by Charlotte Director, Actor and Acting Coach Martin Thompson. The production will open February 24th and will run thru March 13th.

Auditions for adult actors and actresses will be held on Wednesday January 5 and Thursday, January 6 at Davidson Community Players' Armour Street Theatre at 307 Armour Street, Davidson. Audition times will be 7-9 p.m. either night and will consist of cold readings from the script. A prepared monologue may be presented, but is not required. Auditionees should plan to arrive by 8 p.m. and need only attend one session. Auditionees should bring a resume or list of theatre experience, a recent picture and a list of conflicts for the January thru mid-March 2011 time period.

Masterpiece is a new play based on the actual events of the 20th century's most notorious art forgery scandal. It explores questions of reality and illusion, what is great art and who gets to decide, and the relationship between love, passion and truth. The play is based on the true story of Han van Meegeren, the Dutch artist and master forger who created Vermeer paintings in the 1930-40s and subsequently sold them to the Nazis. It traces van Meegeren quest to avenge himself upon a hostile and powerful art critic by forging a Johnannes Vermeer "masterpiece". When the painting is sold for a fortune, the artist keeps forging masterpieces instead of revealing the hoax. He sells numerous paintings to high ranking members of the Nazi party before he is unmasked after World War II. Some nine years later, a mysterious investigator appears and the mystery is finally solved in an unexpected way.

The following roles are available:

BREDIUS: 50's or 60's. An elegant, distinguished, knowledgeable man; educated, enormously self-assured, prone to being blinded by the glare of his own brilliance, and to mis-taking his depth of vision for clarity.

JO: A woman in her 40's. Blazingly intelligent, astute, outspoken. Utterly committed to any cause or person she undertakes as her own. An actress. Artistic and personal integrity, as well as deep passion, are at the very core of her being.

HAN VAN MEEGEREN: Male in his 40's. Artistic, ambitious, restless, brooding, driven, charismatic, impulsive, emotional, searching. Looking for love, fame, fortune, glory, and pleasure,
and not overly concerned how he achieves them.

WOONING: A man of indeterminate age. Calm, quiet, enigmatic, impossible to read or to ruffle. Smarter than you think, more observant than you imagine. Misses nothing. A seeker of truth who cares about little else. You wouldn't want to play poker with him. Ever.

For additional information regarding auditions, please contact Melissa Ohlman-Roberge, Artistic Director at 704 892-7953 or email melissa@davidsoncommunityplayers.org.

The Davidson Community Players is a non-profit organization established in 1965 to produce theatre that entertains, enriches and encourages community participation in the dramatic arts. For information about the Davidson Community Players, visit the website at www.davidsoncommunityplayers.org or call 704.892.7953.

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