Kentwood Players announces auditions for "Six Degrees of Separation" by John Guare on Saturday, November 7 from 10 AM to 3 PM, and Sunday, November 8 from 7 to 10 PM at the Westchester Playhouse located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester. The production is directed by Don Schlossman and produced by Jordan Bland and Meredith M. Sweeney. Performance dates are January 8 to February 13, 2010 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM.
Six Degrees of Separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know, and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth. The term was popularized by playwright
John Guare's intriguing, insightful exploration of celebrity and the games we play to elevate our significance. The plot of his play "Six Degrees of Separation" was inspired by the real-life story of David Hampton, a con man who managed to convince a number of people in the 1980s that he was the son of actor
Sidney Poitier.
In Guare's play, Paul, the African-American protagonist, arrives at the doorstep of moneyed Manhattanites Flan and Ouisa Kittredge under the false pretenses that he is
Sidney Poitier's son, having been violently mugged and claiming to have found them because he is a classmate of the couple's kids. But Paul is not what he seems, and his presence in their lives becomes a catalyst by which everyone else entertains questions of race, class, money and morals.
"Six Degrees of Separation" won the 1991 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the 1993
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play. It was also nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play, the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the 1991 Tony Award for Best Play.
The director requests that you be familiar with the play and bring a headshot, resume, and your appointment calendar with you to the auditions. Advance appointments are not necessary.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
Ouisa - 42-55. Nuevo riche NY socialite, Flan's wife and mother of Woody & Tess. Deeply moved by her experience with Paul.
Flan (Flanders) - 45-65. Ouisa's husband, high-end art dealer. Taken in by, then rejecting Paul.
Paul - 18-28, African-American, high end con artist tricking his way into wealthy homes. He desires the lifestyle but is not looking to rob the wealthy people to whom he ingratiates himself.
Geoffrey - 50-70, South African businessman. Friend of Ouisa & Flan's. Charmed by Paul.
Hustler - Male 20-35. Rough trade picked up by Paul and brought into Ouisa & Flan's home in the middle of the night. Volatile, threatening. Brief full nudity required.
Kitty - 45-55. Well-to-do New Yorker. Friend of Ouisa & Flan's whose son, Ben, is in college with Woody & Tess. Also taken in by Paul.
Larkin - 45-70. Well-to-do New Yorker. Married to Kitty. Runs a philanthropic foundation. Taken in by Paul.
Detective - 30-60. Investigates the allegations against Paul.
Tess - 18-25. Ouisa & Flan's daughter. Testy, high-spirited. Strained relationship with her parents.
Woody - 18-25. Ouisa & Flan's son. Shallow, self-centered, only concerned with how the events negatively affect him.
Ben - 18-25. Kitty and Larkin's son. Resents his parents because their interest in him and is only that his success reflects well on them.
Dr. Fine - 45-65. Jewish obstetrician taken in by Paul in his office; takes policeman to confront Paul in his home.
Doug - 18-25. Dr. Fine's son, classmate of Woody & Tess. Has a strained relationship with his father.
Policeman/Doorman - 25-60. Actor to play dual roles, one investigating Paul, the other confronting Ouisa & Flan.
Trent - 18-25. Teaches Paul and gives him the tools to manipulate the wealthy families of his former classmates in exchange for sex with Paul.
Rick - 23-30. Struggling actor, dating Elizabeth. He is taken by Paul and the experience turns his life upside down.
Elizabeth - 22-28. Blonde. Struggling actress dating Rick. She is devastated by Rick and Paul's betrayals.
For more information on current and future Kentwood Players productions, auditions, and our Kentwood Kids Children's Theatre Classes, please visit the Kentwood Players website at
www.kentwoodplayers.org. And you can also sign up and be a Kentwood Players friend on Facebook and My Space.
To meet the "Six Degrees of Separation" 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 8:00 PM 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.
