Auditions for Three Chekhov Comedic Sketches - Western Reserve Playhouse

THE WESTERN RESERVE PLAYHOUSE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE:



AUDITIONS FOR

FRAGMENTS OF FARCE:

A Night of Comedic Sketches by Anton Chekhov

A virtual production with WRP Connect

By Anton Chekhov

Directed by August Scarpelli



From a man whose speech about the evils of tobacco turns into a complaint about his overbearing wife; to a man and a widow whose argument over money turns into a duel to the death, and also falling in love; and with a finale of an aged stage actor and a servant discussing the life of theatre, these comedies about the errors of being human are sure to brighten up this dreary winter. All performed in one night, “On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco,” “The Bear,” and “The Swan Song” by Anton Chekhov will run about an hour.



We are looking for a diverse group of actors to portray these characters and bring these stories to life virtually. This show will encourage fluidity in gender, race, and age.



Virtual auditions will be held via Zoom on Thursday, 1/14/2021 from 7pm-10pm and Saturday, 1/16/2021 from 1pm-4pm.



Email august@thewrp.org for a 15-minute audition slot. When you have secured a slot, you will receive a response about the link to the Zoom meeting.



Please prepare one approximately 90-second speech from Chekhov or one of his contemporaries (i.e. plays from about 1860-1910).



If you are not able to attend one of the above audition times, pre-recorded auditions will be accepted to august@thewrp.org no later than Sunday, 1/17/2021 @ 7pm.



Performance Dates will be February 19th and 20th, at 7:30pm each night. Each night of shows will be live-streamed through Zoom.



Production Schedule: We will be rehearsing weekdays (typically 7pm-10pm) and potentially weekend afternoons, depending on the actor's availability. This will be a fairly minimal time commitment.



Available roles:

(Roles may be doubled if seen fit)



Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin, a man giving a speech (“On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco”)

Elena Ivanovna Popova, a landowning widow (“The Bear”)

Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov, a middle-aged landowner (“The Bear”)

Luka, an aged servant (“The Bear”)

Nikita Ivanitch, a prompter, an old man (“The Swan Song”)

Vasili Svietlovidoff, a comedian, 68 years old (“The Swan Song”)

Production requirements: A free Zoom account, a stable wifi connection, a clean and quiet room to record in, a microphone that picks up speech cleanly, a camera with a clear image, and the ability to have at least one isolated light source that you are able to control.





If you have any questions, or would like more information about the play or project, please email august@thewrp.org.