LAUREL MILL PLAYHOUSE
Announces auditions for
The Miss Firecracker Contest
BY Beth Henley
PRODUCER – Maureen Rogers
DIRECTOR – Patrick Pase
Audition dates;
Sunday, May 3rd at 7pm
Monday, May 4th at 7pm
First read through and rehearsal is Tuesday, May 12th.
Cold readings from the script.
Please bring resume, conflicts and head shot with you.
Auditioning for 2 men and 4 women
Production Dates: June 26, 27 and July 3, 4, 10, 11 at 8pm
June 28 and July 5 and 12 at 2pm
Auditions to be at 508 Main Street, Laurel MD., 20707.
Any questions contact Maureen Rogers at
maureencrogers@gmail.comor
301-452-2557. To learn further information about Laurel Mill Playhouse visit
www.laurelmillplayhouse.org.
THE STORY: The place is the small Mississippi town of Brookhaven, the time a few days before the Fourth of July. Carnelle Scott (known locally as Miss Hot Tamale) is rehearsing furiously for the Miss Firecracker Contest—hoping that a victory will salvage her tarnished reputation and allow her to leave town in a blaze of glory. The unexpected arrival of her cousin Elain, a former Miss Firecracker winner, (who has walked out on her rich but boring husband and her two small children) complicates matters a bit, as does the repeated threat of Elain's eccentric brother, Delmount, (recently released from a mental institution) to sell the family homestead and decamp for New Orleans. But, aided by a touchingly awkward seamstress named Popeye (who is hopelessly smitten by Delmount) and several other cheerfully nutty characters, Carnelle perseveres—leading to a denouement of unparalleled hilarity, compassion and moving lyricism as all concerned finally escape their unhappy pasts and turn hopefully toward what must surely be a better future.
CHARACTERS
Popeye Jackson
Popeye is the seamstress who makes Carnelle's costume; she becomes involved in the pageant madness while adding further strange elements to the story. A funny character with a hard life, Popeye got her nickname from a childhood prank that caused her eyes to bulge, but left her with the ability to hear through her eyes. She is a semi-literate, naïve, and always out-of-luck young woman who learned to sew as a child by making outfits for bullfrogs because she didn't have any dolls. Popeye is sincerely kind and curious about everything. Popeye falls in love with Delmount just from seeing his picture. Popeye is rewarded with Delmount's returned affection; this theme is perhaps the heart of the play.
Tessy Mahoney
As the beauty contestant coordinator, Tessy is supposed to keep Carnelle on schedule and cue her appearances on stage. Tessy's ugliness makes her another misfit at the beauty contest. Her past scandalous tryst with Delmount adds one more bizarre twist as she flirts with him anew.
Elain Rutledge
Elain is Carnelle's cousin, and she is everything that Carnelle is not. Although they grew up together, Elain was the spoiled beauty and Carnelle the misfortunate orphan. Elain won the Miss Firecracker contest when she was just 17, while Carnelle is 25 and pushing the eligibility limits. Elain did everything her mother told her to do by going to junior college and parleying her beauty into marriage with a wealthy man. To Carnelle, it appears that Elain has everything: the big house in the big city, a husband and children, beauty, and class. Elain, however, feels suffocated by her life and comes back home with the intention of leaving her husband and two sons because she doesn't like them. Naturally, she is asked to give a speech at the town's Fourth of July festivities about her life as a beauty. Delmount accuses Elain of never being able to go through with any of her threats. As predicted, she gives in to her husband's pleadings and decides to go back to him because, she says, I need someone who adores me. Her selfishness enables her to dismiss the needs of her family, but doesn't allow her to leave the luxuries to which she has become accustomed.
Mac Sam
One of Carnelle's former lovers, Mac Sam seems to truly care about her, even if she did give him syphilis. The carnival's balloon vendor, he cheers on Carnelle as she competes in the beauty contest. Mac Sam is tubercular, drinks heavily, and hasn't bothered to get his syphilis cured because he is tired of life—but not so tired that he doesn't ask Carnelle to spend the night with him. When she declines and says goodbye, he remarks: I'll always remember you as the one who could take it on the chin and then he leaves to meet Elain for a wild night.
Carnelle Scott
The play revolves around Carnelle's attempt to win her town's annual Fourth of July beauty contest. She is 25 years old, works in a jewelry store, and is known around town as Miss Hot Tamale for her promiscuous past. However, Carnelle is trying to change all that. She got her syphilis cured, joined a church, volunteers for the cancer society, and invites an orphan to dinner every week. Carnelle is insecure and has low self-esteem. After Carnelle's mother died when Carnelle was an infant and her father abandoned her at age nine, she grew up with her aunt who favored Carnelle's older cousin, Elain. Her father came back after her Uncle George died, but soon her father died as well. Shortly before the time of the story, Carnelle's mean Aunt Ronelle dies. Having been surrounded by death all her life, Carnelle is trying to make sense out of life and find her own identity. Carnelle sees the Miss Firecracker contest as a way to redeem herself and to be somebody. She doesn't understand that the social system will never permit her to win, that dyeing her hair bright red will look ridiculous instead of patriotic, or that stomping her feet to music is not tap dancing. Once her cousin Delmount offers to give her enough money to start a new life elsewhere, Carnelle further imagines that being Miss Firecracker will allow her to go out in a blaze of glory. Instead, after working really hard to prepare, she is humiliated by the crowd and finishes in last place. Although she has enough integrity to fulfill the duties of the person in last place, she spits and screams at the people who taunt her during the parade and then hides. Carnelle's tenacity evokes the loyalty of family and friends. They admire Carnelle's spunk and the indomitable spirit that enables her to spring back, even after the mortification of the pageant, to enjoy the night's fireworks.
Delmount Williams
After he has spent time in a mental institution and worked at a job scraping dead animals off the road, Carnelle's cousin and Elain's brother, Delmount returns to town to sell his mother's house. He intends to use the proceeds to go to college to study philosophy, but he offers half the proceeds to Carnelle to enable her to leave town and start a new life. Although perhaps more realistic than the rest of his family, Delmount is unstable and has a history of rash actions, such as rushing out to beat up the guys who taunt Carnelle during the pageant. He also has an obsession with exotic beauty that always gets him into trouble and results in gruesome nightmares about women's dismembered bodies. Yet, Delmount has a sensible disdain for the phoniness of the beauty pageant. He doesn't respect Elain's life choices either, especially the one that left him in an asylum when she could have gotten him out. However, he always forgives her transgressions. Delmount is amazed to learn that Popeye is in love with him, having been entranced with his ability to wiggle his ears and write poetry. But he then falls for her, too, and therein might be Delmount's redemption.
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Laurel Mill Playhouse Teen and Children's Summer Theatre Announces Auditions for
High School Musical and High School Musical Jr
Directors TJ Lukacsina ad Malarie Novotny
Music Director Bill Georg
Executive Producer Maureen Rogers
Laurel Mill Playhouse is located at:
508 Main Street
Laurel, MD 20707
http://www.laurelmillplayhouse.org/
Audition Dates:
Sunday May 10 at 7:00 pm
Monday May 11 at 7:00 pm
Wednesday May 13 at 7:00 pm
Audition Preparation:
-Must be between ages 6-18 years old on audition date
-Please prepare 16 bars of a Broadway style song and bring sheet music or CD/iPod accompaniment track.
-Cold Readings from the script
-Dance Audition
-List of Conflicts through November
-Resume/Head shot (or photo to be turned in with Resume - not required)
Production Information:
High School Musical and High School Musical will be rehearsed and performed concurrently at LMP. Doing both shows will allow the teens and youth to have star roles while working with older mentors to build the community spirit that is often found in theatre.
Rehearsal will begin late May or early June and consist of 2 evening rehearsals and a longer weekend rehearsal.
High School Musical Teen Summer Production will perform 10 shows from July 31 through August 23. Cost is $225 (lower price for additional teens in each family) and includes 10 performances t-shirt, video of performance, cast party and instruction in theatre.
Performance dates will be Friday and Saturday nights (July 31, August 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22) at 8:00 pm and the last two Sundays (16 and 23) at 2:00 pm.
High School Musical Jr Youth Summer Production will perform 6 shows from August 1 through August 22. Cost is $175 (lower price for additional youths in each family) and includes 6 performances t-shirt, video of performance, cast party and instruction in theatre.
Performance dates will be Saturday matinees (August 1, 8, 15, 22) at 2:00 pm and the first two Sundays (2 and 9) at 2:00 pm.
Synopsis:
Disney Channel's smash hit movie musical comes to life on your stage! Troy, Gabriella, and the students of East High must deal with issues of first love, friends, and family while balancing their classes and extra curricular activities.
It’s the first day after winter break at East High. The Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians and Skater Dudes find their cliques, recount their vacations, and look forward to the new year. Basketball team captain and resident jock Troy discovers that the brainy Gabriella, a girl he met singing karaoke on his ski trip, has just enrolled at East High. They cause an upheaval when they decide to audition for the high school musical, led by Ms. Darbus. Although many students resent the threat posed to the status quo, Troy and Gabriella’s alliance might just open the door for others to shine as well.
For more information, please contact Executive Producer Maureen Rogers at
maureencrogers@gmail.comor
301-452-2557or Director TJ Lukacsina at
TJLukacsina.LMP@gmail.com.
Back Stage Experience!!
Also, teenagers who want to be involved in costuming, light/sound design and operation, stage managers, set construction and design, and publicity. should come on auditions dates with resume.. Volunteer credit available. This is an opportunity for teens to be a part of an
theater experience - whether it be on or off the stage. Bring resume and any conflicts. All roles open.
Character Breakdown located at the website, click on Casting tab halfway down the page for Vocal ranges and character descriptions.
High School Musical:
http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000304
High School Musical Jr:
http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000341
Disney's High School Musical and High School Muisical Jr
are presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019
Phone:
212-541-4684 Fax:
212-397-4684
www.MTIShows.com
- See more at:
http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000304#sthash.1dxNHcAY.dpuf
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