Audition Notice: The 5th Great Ape

Theater Emory announces auditions for The 5th Great Ape, by Out of Hand Theater and Ken Weitzman, directed by Ariel de Man.

Equity Auditions on Saturday, April 25 from 10:00AM – 6:00PM.
Non-Equity Auditions on Sunday, April 26 from 2:00-6:00PM.

Rehearsals start on Oct. 20 and the play runs Nov. 12 – 22.

Prepare a contemporary monologue of 1-2 minutes that can be presented with great physicality. There will also be readings from the script (sides available at auditions and in advance).

Actors are paid for rehearsal and performance. Performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to attend. Auditions are at the Rich Building at 1602 Fishburne Drive on the Emory University campus in Atlanta. Call 404-712-9118 M-F, 10-5 starting Thursday, 4/9 for more info and to schedule an appointment. (Please no calls prior to 4/9.) See our website for more information:

Click on ‘Theater Emory’ and ‘Audition Info’.

Theater Emory operates under a SPT contract with Actors Equity Association. Audition notices for this production are also posted in “Casting Call” on the AEA website www.actorsequity.org and locally on the ACPA website www.atlantaperforms.biz.

Description: Scientists agree that humans are approximately two percent genetically different from chimpanzees. World-famous primatologist Frans de Waal of Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center wants to know what that two percent means for human nature. In a co-production with Theater Emory, Out Of Hand Theater and playwright Ken Weitzman are working with assistance from Dr. de Waal and Yerkes to develop The 5th Great Ape. The human ape is examined in this collaboratively-generated, highly physical theater piece that retells a riveting true story of murder and suicide in the largest chimpanzee colony in captivity. Human characters explore our true nature in a play that offers new ideas and questions about power, sex, violence, kindness, and morality through study of our closest primate relatives.

Female role:
Mama (40s – 50s): The matriarch of the community. Ruled before the men came. The arbiter, the dispute settler, the peacekeeper. You better listen to Mama if you know what’s good for you.

Male roles:
Scientist (mid 30s – 60s): A primatologist studying the human ape community, passionate about his research, highly perceptive, trained to be objective and unemotional, but can’t help forming personal attachments to his subjects.

Jerome (40s – 50s):  The oldest man in the community, over the hill, a calculating old fox, an Iago.

Audition Notice: The Mousetrap

Button Theatre is holding non-equity auditions for Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap on Tuesday, April 28 from 7 to 10pm at The Red Clay Theatre in downtown Duluth.

Please prepare a one minute dramatic monologue and be prepared to perform a small section in a Brittish accent.

Call backs will be held on Thrusday, April 30 from 7 to 10pm. You may be asked to do a cold reading at either the audition or the call back.

Reherasals will begin in June. The show will run from July 17 to August 2.

All actors will be paid. To make an appointment, please call 678-407-0772 or email MC at mconti (at) button theatre . com.

For character descriptions, directions and other information please visit us at www.buttontheatre.com

Character Descriptions:

* Mollie Ralston – proprietor of Monkswell Manor, and wife of Giles. Although initially above suspicion, it later transpires Mollie made a secret trip to London on the same day Maureen Lyon was murdered.

* Giles Ralston – husband of Mollie who runs Monkswell Manor with his wife. The very first suspect, as Giles enters the stage dressed in clothing similar to that worn by the killer. It transpires Giles also made a secret trip to London on the day Maureen Lyon was murdered. Even Mollie begins to suspect Giles, when she realises she has known him just a year and knows nothing of his background.

* Christopher Wren – the first guest to arrive at the hotel, Wren is a hyperactive young man, who is depicted as acting in a very peculiar manner. He admits he is running away from something, but refuses to admit what. The audience quickly leaps to the conclusion he was one of the abused children, driven schizophrenic by repeated abuse and now a murderer. Wren claims to be named after the architect of the same name.

* Mrs Boyle – a critical older woman who is pleased by nothing she observes. A former magistrate, we discover she had placed the three children in Maureen Lyon’s care. Shortly afterwards she is murdered and therefore the only character above suspicion.

* Major Metcalf – retired from the army, little is known about Major Metcalf. Suspicion falls upon him once it is revealed that the father of the three siblings was in the army at the time their mother died, which led to them being put into care.

* Miss Casewell – a strange, aloof woman who speaks offhandedly about the horrific experiences of her childhood. Refusing to give any more away, the natural conclusion is that she is one of the abused children, here to seek a terrible revenge.

* Mr Paravicini – a man of unknown provenance. He appears to be affecting a foreign accent and artificially aged with make-up. Who he is or where he comes from remains a mystery and his refusal to answer a direct question only underlines this point. The audience is encouraged to theorise he is the children’s father, disguised as an elderly foreigner and returned from the army to wreak a terrible revenge.

* Detective Sergeant Trotter – a policeman who arrives in a snow storm saying he has come to protect the guests from the murderer.

* Maureen Lyon (unseen in the play) – the first victim. Mrs Lyon’s real name is Mrs Stanning and she was imprisoned for abusing three siblings – the Corrigan children – left in her and her husband’s foster care. Mr Stanning died in prison and upon her release, Mrs Stanning, seeking anonymity under the name of Maureen Lyon, moved to London where she was murdered.

Audition Notice: Summer Rep at the Alliance

Alliance Theatre Acting Program announces auditions for the Summer Reps. The Summer Rep classes for adults offered by the Alliance Theatre Acting Program. They are created to take you through the process of audition, rehearsal, and performance with a professional teacher/director. The focus is on ensemble, relationships, rehearsal techniques and professional etiquette. The result: four performances before an audience of your friends, family and members of the general public. Be prepared – a minimum of four hours per week of preparation and rehearsal time outside of class is expected.

Call NOW to reserve an audition time slot or enroll: 404.733.4700

Tuition: $274.00

Summer Rep #1 – And Then There Were None
Audition: March 21, 2009, 6:30 – 10:00 PM
Performance: May 28 – 30, 2009, 7:30 PM and May 31, 2009, 2:30 PM
Class begins: April 20, 2009, Mon, Wed, Fri, 6:30 – 10:00 PM

Summer Rep #2 – Once in a Lifetime
Audition: March 21, 2009, 6:30 – 10:00 PM
Performance: June 18 – 20, 2009, 7:30 PM and June 21, 2009, 2:30 PM
Class begins: May 17, 2009, Tue, Thur, Sat, 6:30 – 10:00 PM

Summer Rep #3 – Our Town
Audition: May 16, 2009, 6:30 – 10:00 PM
Performance: July 30 – 31, 7:30 PM, August 1, 2009, 7:30 PM and August 2, 2009, 2:30 PM
Class begins: June 22, 2009, Mon, Wed, Fri, 6:30 – 10:00 PM

Summer Rep #4 – Royal Family
Audition: May 16, 2009, 6:30 – 10:00 PM
Performance: August 27 – 29, 2009, 7:30 PM and August 30, 2009, 2:30 PM
Class begins: July 11, 2009, Tue, Thur, Sat, 6:30 – 10:00 PM