Auditions for Papermaker, by Monica Wood
Thursday, October 25th, 6:00 p.m.
At the Blue Hill Town Hall Theater
Directed by Johannah Blackman
Join us for auditions for our production of Monica Wood’s powerful story about family and loyalty, set against the backdrop of the third month of a bitter stand-off between the workers and the owner of a Maine papermill.
We are casting the following roles for performances on February 22, 23, March 1, 2, 8 & 9 at 7:00 p.m. and March 3 at 3:00 p.m. Rehearsals will take place Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings beginning in December, with a read-thru in November. Please contact the director at johannah@newsurrytheatre.org with any questions.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Ernie Donahue, male, around 60 - A papermaker on strike; Vice President of Local 12
Marie Donahue, female, around 60 - His wife; ill but emotionally strong
Jake Donahue, male, around 21 - Their son; papermaker on strike
Henry McCoy, male, around 60-70 - CEO of Atlantic Paper Company
Emily McCoy, female, late 20s - Henry's daughter; a Ph.D. candidate
Nancy Letourneau, female, around 60 - Home-health nurse; wife of union president
A bit about the play, in Wood’s own words:
“This dramatic, often funny story takes place in 1989 in the third month of a bitter paper-mill strike. Angry and exhausted, the strikers await the result of a ruling that will determine the legality of the replacement workers ("scabs") hired by the paper company's CEO, Henry McCoy. The outcome will mark a turning point: either a win for the papermakers or a win for the company.
Ernie Donahue, vice president of Local 12, has recently dropped out of the fray, having surrendered to an impulse to build an ark in his yard. His cancer-stricken wife, Marie, thinks he belongs at the union hall, but Ernie refuses to leave her side. Nancy Letourneau, their friend and home-health nurse, also wants Ernie back in the thick of things, because her husband, the inept union president, "has the speaking skills of a turtle."
Unbeknownst to Ernie and Marie, their son Jake is considering the unthinkable: being the first local worker to cross the picket line. ("Somebody has to break this thing.") He believes that if enough workers cross, the union will be forced to settle, thereby getting everyone back to work.
Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Henry McCoy's 26-year-old daughter, Emily, chooses this pressure- cooker moment to confront Henry with his fatherly failures, wheedling him into a weekend getaway to repair their strained relationship. When the trip goes alarmingly awry, all six characters meet, testing one another in the shadow of Ernie's ark.
The labor war provides a compelling and timely structure for a play about people, not politics. Papermaker tells a deeply human story of six flawed people facing huge, troubling questions about the meaning of family-the family we come from, the family we create in adulthood, and the larger family of friends, neighbors, employers, and coworkers who define our place in the world.”
Auditions for The last of the red hot lovers, by Neil simon
saturday, October 27th, 10:00 a.m.
At the Blue Hill Town Hall Theater
Directed by nina robinson-poole, lori sitzabee and erin mccormick
NST Performing Arts School Directing Master Class (taught by Bec Poole and Bill Raiten) is presenting a full production of Neil Simon’s The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1970) this January 18, 19, 20, 25 & 26. Simon’s lovable play exquisitely explores the adventures of Barney Cashman who is in a mid-life crisis and looking for adventure. Married and very settled with a job and a home, he wants to have an affair before life passes him by. Through the course of three acts, Barney struggles to succeed with three different women. Simon finds the perfect ways to explore the fragility and individuality of each character. Clive Barnes, (NYTimes 1969), wrote of the play …”there is the dimension of humanity to its humor so that you can love it as well as laugh at it."
Three new NST directors will participate in the production by each directing one act for each of the three female characters. Barney, the main character, is in each act. Script excerpts for the audition are available here. For more information, please email bpoole.nst@gmail.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Barney Cashman:
Barney is a middle aged (mid 40’s – mid 60’s) man looking for adventure. He wants to live before it is too late and is interested in a secret affair. In spite of his desire for a secret fling, his ability to actually follow through on his plan is hilariously thwarted through either circumstances or Barney’s inept earnestness.
Elaine Navazio: (Directed by Nina Robinson-Poole)
Elaine is a strong woman who is very direct when expressing her feelings and needs. She is no nonsense and knows what she wants. Can be played by women in their mid 30’s – mid 50’s.
Bobbi Michele: (Directed by Lori Sitzabee)
Bobbi is an unemployed entertainer who comes to see Barney to repay $20 that he loaned to her to pay her accompanist for an audition. Bobbi is a flighty, talkative, younger woman who shares stories of sexual encounters, both real and perhaps imagined, with Barney. Bobbi indulges in marijuana use as her "medication". Can be played by women in their mid 20’s – mid 40’s.
Jeanette Fisher: (Directed by Erin McCormick)
Jeanette is a middle-aged housewife in the midst of personal crisis, who personifies the phrase “misery loves company”. As Neil Simon says of her, “She is probably the singularly most depressed woman on the face of the Western Hemisphere. She wakes up to gloom and goes to bed with gloom. She fills the in-between with despair.” She has likely always been pessimistic and has nearly no self- esteem, the kind of person who in youth would have been a wall flower and a female version of Eeyore. Yet, at her core, she has a very genuine love for her husband, Mel, and her world is built around that love, which, she has just found out, is now in jeopardy. This discovery is bringing out a bit of fierceness in her as well. Can be played by any women in her 30’s – 50’s.
To subscribe to our email list to receive email notices about auditions, contact us at info@newsurrytheatre.org.
About NST Auditions
New Surry Theatre holds auditions multiple times each year. Some directors cast their plays directly from the performing arts school, but many hold open auditions for at least some, if not all, of the roles. In the 46th season, NST is increasing opportunities for actors to get onstage. The best way to stay up-to-date on all such opportunities is by joining our email list and following us on facebook. Please contact Producing Director Johannah Blackman with any questions at johannah@newsurrytheatre.org.