THE BIRDS - Carpenter Square Theatre Non Equity Auditions

AUDITIONS for THE BIRDS
– by Conor McPherson
from a story by Daphne Du Maurier

Directed by Mark Fairchild

When: 5:00-7:00 p.m. Sunday, September 10, 2017 - Readings from the script. Plan to arrive no later than 6:00 p.m.; if needed, callbacks will be at 7:00 pm Monday, September 11.

Where: At the theatre’s rehearsal studio and office, located at 806 W. Main. Parking is free on the street, at Dagwell Dixie next door, and in nearby parking lots.

What: Please bring a recent photo and résumé. Be prepared to list all conflicts during the rehearsal and performance period.

Hard copy perusal scripts will be available for a $10 refundable deposit. Please call CST at 405-232-6500 or email csttix@coxinet.net to make arrangements to check out a script. Call or contact Melinda before dropping by to make sure a script is available and someone is in the office to check it out to you.
Office Hours: Closed Mondays. Open Tuesdays through Fridays 1-6:00 pm.

Performance dates: October 20-21, 26, 27, 28, 29 and November 2, 3, 4. (Brush-up rehearsal on Oct 25.)

Rehearsals begin: September 17. Most rehearsals are scheduled Mon-Fri at 7 p.m. with Saturday or Sunday rehearsals scheduled if needed to accommodate week-night conflicts. 1st tech is the afternoon of Sunday, October 15.

CAST: 2 Men (aged 40s/50s and 50s/60s and 2 Women (aged late 40s/50s and early 20s).

DIANE (late 40s/50s) A writer who has been separated from her husband, and we learn she is also estranged from her adult daughter. She can be very forceful at times.

NAT (40s/50s) A man that Diane meets on the road when the world changes. They take refuge together in a house when the birds begin to attack. He is also single after a recent breakup with his girlfriend who signed him into a mental hospital approximately a year ago. At the play’s start he is delirious with a fever.

JULIA (early 20s) A survivor and it seems she will do whatever it takes to get what she needs. She seems sweet one moment, then cunning and suspicious the next.

TIERNEY (50s-60s) A large, imposing man who lives on the other side of the lake. The house where the trio has taken refuge belongs to his sister. He has managed to hoard a large stash of food, drink, and medicine. This lonely man has been observing the three others for quite some time, sizing them up, and he is especially interested in Diane.

Synopsis:
Daphne du Maurier’s short story, also the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, is boldly adapted for the stage—a gripping, unsettling, and moving look at human relationships in the face of societal collapse. In an isolated house, strangers Nat and Diane take shelter from relentless masses of attacking birds. There’s no electricity, little food, and a nearby neighbor may still be alive and watching them. Another refugee, the young and attractive Julia, arrives with some news of the outside world, but her presence also brings discord. Their survival becomes even more doubtful when paranoia takes hold of the makeshift fortress—an internal threat to match that of the birds outside.

“Deliciously chilling…spring-loaded with tension…claustrophobic, questioning, frightening, and with a twist.” —Irish Independent. “[McPherson] keeps us on the edge of our seat.” —The Irish Times.

“[THE BIRDS] was a powerful piece of theatre and a reminder to me of just how important that story has become…truly frightening…a night in the theatre that should not be missed.” —Tippi Hedren, star of the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds.