The Milburn Stone Theatre at Cecil College presents Auditions for August Wilson’s Fences.
Director: Alliyah Thorpe
Stage Manager: Anthony McIver
Production dates: April 23rd, 24th & 25th, 2021 Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm
(please note: there is the possibility of a Saturday matinee on Saturday, April 24th, 2021)
Physical theatre location for 2021 rehearsals and performances: The Milburn Stone Theatre, Cecil College, One Seahawk Drive, North East MD 21901
Box office phone number: (410) 287-1037
How to audition: Please fill out the Google form listed below and submit yourself performing a monologue no longer than 1 minute in length. The director is requesting a monologue selection from another August Wilson play, but substitutions can be made. If you need a monologue please email dcombs@cecil.edu for a selection. All auditions must be completed and submitted by Monday, December 14th, 2020 at 11:59pm. After that time the director will contact those they want to see for a callback that will occur between December 15th and December 18th. The Audition form can be accessed here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezNnZZVtAY0v3O81i0cM_Jcnm7r-33wBEhI3JpYt8e8b2sDg/viewform
Auditions, Callbacks and the initial rehearsal process will all been done online (format to be determined) with rehearsals moving tentatively to in person in February 2021. Social distancing, mask wearing, and all current CDC guidelines will be strictly adhered to once rehearsal begin in person.
August Wilson’s Fences Casting Break down:
Please note: The casting for August Wilson’s Fences calls for actors of Black/African/African-American descent ?
Troy (Lead) Male 40-65: former baseball star in the Negro Leagues, now works for the sanitation department, lifting garbage into truck; husband to Rose, father to Lyons, Cory, and Raynell, and brother to Gabriel, and best friend to Jim Bono; some singing. ?
Rose (Lead) Female 35-45: Troy's wife and mother of his second child, Cory; African American housewife, who volunteers at her church regularly and loves her family; Rose's request that Troy and Cory build a fence in their small, dirt backyard comes to represent her desire to keep her loved-ones close to her love; unlike Troy, Rose is a realist, not a romantic longing for the by- gone days of yore. She has high hopes for her son, Cory and sides with him in his wish to play football; Rose's acceptance of Troy's illegitimate daughter, Raynell, as her own child, exemplifies her compassion; some singing. ?
Cory (Supporting) Male 14-18: Troy and Rose Masons’ son; a senior in high school; an ambitious young man who has the talent and determination to realize his dreams, Cory comes of age during the course of the play when he challenges and confronts Troy and leaves home. ?
Lyons (Supporting) Male 3-40: Roy's son from a previous relationship; Lyons is an ambitious and talented jazz musician; he grew up without Troy for much of his childhood because Troy was in prison; Lyons, like most musicians, has a hard time making a living; some knowledge on piano and/or guitar, but not required. ?
Gabriel (Supporting) Male, 40-55: Troy's younger brother; Gabriel was a soldier in the Second World War, during which he received a head injury that required a metal plate to be surgically implanted into his head; Gabriel wanders around the Maxson family's neighborhood carrying a basket and singing; he often thinks he is not a person, but the angel Gabriel who opens the gates of heaven with his trumpet for Saint Peter on Judgment Day; Gabriel exudes a child-like exuberance and a need to please; some singing. ?
Jim Bono (Supporting) Male, 45-60: Troy's best friend of over thirty years; Jim Bono is usually called Bono or Mr. Bono by the characters in Fences; Bono and Troy met in jail, where Troy learned to play baseball; he is married to a woman named Lucille, who is friends with Rose; Bono is a devoted husband and friend. ?
Raynell (Supporting) Female, 7-10: The daughter of Troy. Rose takes her in as her own and raises her. Some singing.
About August Wilson’s Fences: From legendary playwright August Wilson comes the powerful, stunning dramatic masterpiece that won him critical acclaim, including the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize. ? Troy Maxson’s yard is his refuge. A sanctuary where, at long last, the grass is finally green. But it can always be greener, right? Troy’s story is both unique and universal — a portrait of the unsteady bridge between fathers and sons, and the wives and mothers who stand cheering for both sides while hanging their own dreams out to dry. A story strong enough to bear the weight of injustice and yearning and love, at its best and its most destructive. And it’s bigger — it’s more — than all of that. Fences is a modern classic, a book that deals with the impossibly difficult themes of race in America, set during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. A lyrical, heartbreaking love song sung in August Wilson’s unparalleled poetry, about people whose hearts beat vast and deep.
https://www.milburnstone.com/auditions
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