Auditions

The Children
By: Michael Elyanow
Directed by: Jessica Kubzansky
Casting Director: Julia Flores

Open Call:
Monday, February 6, 2012
2pm - 5pm and 6pm - 8pm

No appointments - auditioners will be seen on a first come, first serve basis. 
No phone calls please.

FOR ALL CHARACTERS: Please bring a headshot and resume.  For Sherriff/Jason, Man in Slacks and the Woman in a Sundress, please plan to do a one-minute contemporary monologue.  For Nursemaid/Joanne and Woman of Corinth, please plan to do a one-minute classical monologue. 
All ethnicities are urged to audition.
LOCATION:  Boston Court Performing Arts Center
70 N. Mentor Ave.
Pasadena, CA  91106

Parking located behind the building but please enter through the front of the building into the lobby.  There is also nearby street parking available.
CONTRACT: AEA 99-seat (Non-union okay)

RATE: $400 one-time rehearsal stipend, plus $25 per performance

SCHEDULE:
Rehearsals Begin- March 27
Tech- April 27 - 29
Dress Rehearsals- May 1 & 2
Previews Begin- May 3
Opening May 12
Close June 10
Extension through June 24 TBD
Performance Schedule: Thurs-Sat evenings, Sunday matinees (one added Wed. evening on June 6)

What if a character from Medea wrested the children away from their mother’s murderous intent, accidentally transporting them to present-day Maine in the middle of a hurricane? The Children is a layered, Rubik’s Cube of a story, rich with comedy, passion and pain. Is that the modern-day sheriff or Jason, Medea’s husband? Will these children grow up to overcome their horrific childhoods? Wild theatricality, myth, and puppetry combine to tell an eerily moving story of survival and healing.

Character Breakdown

WOMAN OF CORINTH/BECCA GREENWALD (late 30s): THE WOMAN OF CORINTH is a member of the Greek chorus who kidnaps Medea’s children in hopes of saving them from their homicidal mother.  She is fierce, determined, and a shining light of hope.  She might come across as naïve or zealous, but those qualities are born out of a sense of newfound purpose and drive: to save the children.  She has the excitement of someone who just discovered her own power. She needs to be full-throated in her use of classical text, but also fully in truth with excellent comic timing. BECCA GREENWALD is a modern, easy-going, non-practicing Jewish woman, light and full of life, she bikes to work, is good with kids, and fell in love with the wrong man at the wrong time. [THIS ROLE IS CAST, SEEKING UNDERSTUDY ONLY]

NURSEMAID/JOANNE, THE MOTHER POSSESSED  (late 30s-late 40s): THE NURSEMAID is the nursemaid for Medea's children.  She is a world-weary, nervous, fearful caretaker, but she is also a walking ulterior motive. When so moved, she can be surprisingly ferocious and heartless.  Her one goal is to serve her mistress, Medea. Like most craven people, she does not like change. The Nursemaid’s fear often comes across as comedic – but, like most things funny, the flip side is a darkness that is nearly inconceivable and ultimately tragic. She may occasionally come across as unhinged. She needs to be full-throated in her use of classical text, but also fully in truth with excellent comic timing. JOANNE, THE MOTHER POSSESSED, is a woman overtaken by jealousy, rage and fear when she finds out her husband is going to marry Becca Greenwald, the woman with whom he had an affair. She is ruthless, remorseless, vengeful, and made insane with it all. She is terrifying.

SHERIFF/JASON (early 40s):  THE SHERIFF is a Stonington, Maine local, and he feels it.  Which is probably why it’s a surprise he’s gay.  Modern, with good comic timing, a bit boyish, he is no-nonsense and in pointed contrast to the very classical Woman of Corinth and the Nursemaid.  Not too smart and could give two craps about it.  That said, the Sheriff possesses a surprisingly sweet vulnerability underneath.  If he were a dog he’d be a rescuer Husky.  At the same time, the Sheriff is also a mystery, a protean shapeshifter.  As JASON, the Greek mythological hero, he’s a shapeshifting man haunted by his past inactions, a driven man on a mission to heal, a grieving man so full of that pain he travels through time and space to save the children and ultimately himself. So, he's dangerous when he needs to be, warm when he needs to be, silly when he needs to be, with a darkness underneath, a singularity of purpose and mission.  This actor must also be able to play classical/Greek as well. 

MAN IN SLACKS/ A BROTHER (early-to-mid-30s):  The MAN IN SLACKS is actively contemplative, a vulnerable soul-searcher standing on the cusp of marriage, questioning questioning his own resilience and his ability to change and grow given what he's been through. A BROTHER is the Man in Slacks' 10-year-old child self (voiced by the actor, physicalized by a puppet the actor manipulates). You get the feeling there's a lot going on in his mind -- and there is: he's a masterful storyteller and he’s been weaving stories and telling them to himself all his life as a means of survival. He has great inner turmoil, vulnerability, resilience, a fierce desire to save his sister, and is determined to hold out for hope. Both as a child and an adult he is deeply connected to his sister. This actor must also be able to play classical/Greek as well. 

WOMAN IN A SUNDRESS/A SISTER (late 20s - early 30s):  The WOMAN IN A SUNDRESS as an adult is a survivor – a woman who was dragged down once and vowed to forever stay above surface.  She is light and love, a grounded survivor who retained a sense of fun and grace.  A Sister is the Woman in a Sundress' 8-year-old child self (voiced by the actor, physicalized by a puppet the actor manipulates). She is a child in the grip of a terrible trauma--she still has a sense of fun and maturity for her age, but is also prone to panic. She is caught between following her brother and following her instincts. Both the adult and the child selves adore her brother.  This actor must also be able to play classical/Greek as well. 

*SOME NOTES FOR ACTORS: 

1. The people playing Woman of Corinth, the Nursemaid, and Jason should be able to play classical/Greek — high stakes, emotional, declarative – while at the same time being able to play comedy as well.  In both cases, when performing these roles there should be no Monty-Pythonesque trace of irony or commenting upon the fact that they are fish-out-of-water.  The stakes are real here.

2. The People playing Man In Slacks and Woman in a Sundress play themselves as children (A Brother and A Sister), and in those roles, the actors will be voicing the characters and manipulating puppets who physically represent their child selves.

Also seeking understudies for all roles; understudies are guaranteed two performances outside of the regular run, and are paid a one-time $200 rehearsal stipend, plus $25 per performance.

Have a question?  You can email us at audition@BostonCourt.com.  Please note that we will NOT accept online submissions, nor will we take rain checks or make appointments at this email address.

(Posted 1/24/12)

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