Audition Announcement

February 24, 2020 | 5:30 pm | PAO 2154

GENERAL AUDITIONS

General Auditions will be held for the spring mainstage production of Water by the Spoonful and the workshop production of Bonnets: (How Ladies of Good Breeding Are Inclined to Murder) on Friday, January 24 at 5:30 pm in PAO 2154.

Please sign up for a 4 minute slot on the signup sheet outside of the Theatre main office, PAO 2165. If you are not usually near Pao Hall and are not a Theatre major, minor, or certificate, feel free to email Theatre Marketing and Outreach Specialist, Jodi Taylor at jzeltner@purdue.edu or call (765) 494-3084 to sign up.

Please click on the show titles to access documents regarding performance dates and audition requirements.

Callback Auditions

Callbacks** will be held Saturday, January 25, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in PAO 2164.
** Actors who are called back will be notified by email after general auditions.

Mainstage Production of
WATER BY THE SPOONFUL

by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Directed by Ann M. Shanahan
Performances: April 17-25, 2020

Audition Information:

Generals: Friday, January 24 5:30* p.m. – 10:30 p.m. in PAO 2154
*Please sign up for a 4-minute slot on the sign-up sheet outside of the Theatre Main Office, PAO 2165. Note that slots in the first minutes are reserved for actors cast in Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches.

Callbacks**: Saturday, January 25 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in PAO 2164.
** Actors who are called back will be notified by email after general auditions.

Audition Requirements:

Purdue Theatre Acting Majors and Acting Certificate Students: Please prepare one contemporary monologue, 1-2 minutes in length

Purdue Theatre Majors, Theatre Minors, Theatre Design and Production Majors and Non-Theatre Majors: Please prepare one contemporary monologue, 1-2 minutes in length. If you do not have a piece prepared, audition material is available on the callboard. Please familiarize yourself with the piece as much as you are able before general auditions; it need not be memorized.

A Note on Staged Intimacy: There are very limited instances of scripted intimate physical contact in the play (non-sensual touch and hugs) between all characters. All staged contact will be led in rehearsals by a consultant trained in staging intimacy.

A Note on Staged Violence: There is a fight scene between Elliot and The Ghost. All staged contact will be led in rehearsals by a consultant trained in staging violence.

Please note: There will be no scripted staged intimacy included in the either general or callback audition.

Enrollment Requirement: Student actors cast in this production must register for 2-3 credits of THTR 536 Rehearsal and Performance.

Roles open for audition:

ODESSA ORTIZ, 39, a.k.a. Haikumom, founder of www.recovertogether.com, works odd janitorial jobs, lives one notch above squalor, Puerto Rican. She is a vibrant and street-smart recovering addict, with greater insight into other people's lives than her own.

ELLIOT ORTIZ, 24, a Iraq vet with a slight limp, works at Subway Hoagies, scores an occasional job as a model or actor, Yazmin’s cousin, Odessa’s birth son, Puerto Rican. His tough exterior masks his huge heart and giving soul. Haunted by what he did and saw in war, he is struggling to reconcile his past with his present.

YAZMIN ORTIZ, 31, adjunct professor of music, Odessa’s niece and Elliot’s cousin, Puerto Rican. She is smart, focused, and funny; caring, but expects a lot from the people around her. Very aware of the divide between her privileged middle class life and the rougher living of the Puerto Rican community in North Philly where much of her family resides.

FOUNTAINHEAD, 38, a.k.a. John, a computer programmer and entrepreneur, lives on Philadelphia’s Main Line, white. A struggling addict, the newest member to the chat room. Successful and seemingly-confident, he's in major crisis, hiding his addiction from his family and struggling to find his identity within the online community.

CHUTES&LADDERS, 56, lives in San Diego, has worked a low-level job at the IRS since the Reagan years, African-American, his real name is Clayton “Buddy” Wilkie. A long-time member of Odessa’s chat room and recovering addict, he keeps his life simple, indulging in only mundane pleasures so as not to fall back into destructive patterns.

ORANGUTAN, 31, a recent community college graduate, Japanese by birth, her real name is Madeleine Mays and before that Yoshiko Sakai. Attempting to escape her old life, she recently moved from Maine to her birth country, Japan, to teach English and search for her birth parents. She is independent, strong, and pragmatic; she's up for the challenge of facing her demons.

A GHOST, also plays PROFESSOR AMAN, an Arabic professor at Swarthmore; also plays A POLICEMAN in Japan.

BIG10 NEW PLAY INITIATIVE workshop of
BONNETS: (HOW LADIES OF GOOD BREEDING ARE INDUCED TO MURDER)

by Jen Silverman
Directed by Will Lewis
Performances: March 27-29, 2020

Audition Information:

Callbacks**: Saturday, January 25 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in PAO 2164.
** Actors who are called back will be notified by email after general auditions.

Audition Requirements:

NOTE: Copies of the script are available in the Theatre Main Office (PAO 2165). Casting will be done in conjunction with Water by the Spoonful.

Purdue Theatre Acting Majors and Acting Certificate Students: Please prepare one contemporary monologue, 1-2 minutes in length.

A Note on Singing: Each Bonnet character sings as part of a “punk rock” ensemble in various parts of the play. Trained singing voice not required, but be prepared to present your vocal ability during callbacks.

A Note on Staged Intimacy: There is a scripted instance of intimate physical contact in the play (a kiss between Claire and Laurent), which will be led in rehearsals by a consultant trained in staging intimacy. Roles with scripted intimacy required are indicated below. You will have the option to audition for roles requiring intimacy or not. Please note that on your audition form.

A Note on Staged Violence: There are scripted moments of stage violence throughout the play, including a murder scene between Webster and Mrs. Wolcott, as well as simulated murder (no props) between all Bonnets. All staged contact will be led in rehearsals by a consultant trained in staging violence.

Please note: There will be no scripted staged intimacy included in the either general or callback audition.

Enrollment Requirement: Student actors cast in this production must register for 1-2 credits of THTR 536 Rehearsal and Performance.

Additional Notes on Casting from the Playwright:

On Race: Roles can be cast with actors of any race or ethnicity.

On Gender: This play welcomes female-identifying, genderqueer, and non-binary actors in all roles.

Roles open for audition:

CLAIRE: naïve, well-meaning (Role requires a kiss with Laurent and simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.) VALERIE: ruthless, pragmatic (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.) WEBSTER: hopeless, in love (Role requires fight/murder scene with Mrs. Wolcott and simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.) GEORGETTE: a good daughter, full of self-loathing (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

PRUDENCE: forceful, unencumbered by empathy (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

FORTITUDE: just wants things to be organized and polite (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

MISTRESS STONE: on her way to the gallows (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

MRS. WOLCOTT: formidable, steely, but impressive (Role requires fight/murder scene with Webster and simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

LAURENT: charming and gentle, a romantic (Role requires a kiss with Claire and simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

DANIEL STONE: charming and selfish, in it for himself (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)

GOD: just a voice, dry and uninflected until Sc. 8, when it begins to have deep feeling (Role requires simulated murder of and by a Bonnet.)