The Athens in DeLand will hold open auditions for
Driving Miss Daisy on January 22 & 23 (starting at 6-8pm) at the Athens Theatre.
The Athens Theatre is located at 124 N. Florida Avenue in Downtown DeLand. Auditions are made by appointment only.
Performances will be held on February 17,18,19*,23,24,25,26*, March 2,3,4,5*,9,10,11, and 12* at the Athens. All shows start at 7:30p, for Sunday *Matinees at 2:30p.
NOTES/WHAT TO BRING: Actors may attend either evening and will be asked to do the following:
* Present a prepared one minute memorized monologue of their choosing.
* Typed Resume and Headshot (preferable).
OVERVIEW:
The place is the Deep South, the time 1948, just prior to the civil rights movement. Having recently demolished another car, Daisy Werthan, a rich, sharp-tongued Jewish widow of seventy-two, is informed by her son, Boolie, that henceforth she must rely on the services of a chauffeur.
The person he hires for the job is a thoughtful, unemployed black man, Hoke, whom Miss Daisy immediately regards with disdain and who, in turn, is not impressed with his employer's patronizing tone and, he believes, her latent prejudice.
But, in a series of absorbing scenes spanning twenty-five years, the two, despite their mutual differences, grow ever closer to, and more dependent on, each other, until, eventually, they become almost a couple.
A heart warming story that won a Pulitzer prize!
Auditions are by appointment only.
To request an audition or For questions please contact:
craig@athensdeland.com.
The Athens Theatre is committed to diversity in their casting decisions.
Character Descriptions:
* Daisy Werthan
Adult Caucasian Female
(Must play ages 72 to 97)
Daisy is a seventy-two-year-old widow living alone when the play opens. She is independent and stubborn, but her son Boolie insists on hiring a driver for her after she crashes her car while backing out of the garage. Daisy deeply resents Hoke and the implication that she is no longer able to control her own life. However, Hoke's mild manner eventually wins her over, and she finally allows him to drive her to the market. He serves as her driver for the next twenty-five years. Through her friendship with Hoke, Daisy loses some of her deep-rooted prejudice against African Americans and even comes to consider herself a supporter of civil rights. Although she becomes unable to care for herself as she gets older, eventually moving to a nursing home, she never loses her determination or her sense of self. Some of the characteristics that identified her at the beginning of the play, such as her bossiness or her sense of humor, are with her as strongly at the end of the play.
*Hoke Coleburn
Adult African American Male
(Must play ages 60 to 85)
Hoke is sixty-years-old when the play begins. He is an unemployed, uneducated African American. He has worked as a driver and deliveryman previously. He is pleased when Boolie hires him, both for the job and because he likes to work for Jews. He is extremely patient with Daisy and tolerant of her barely disguised prejudices. He also is not afraid to speak up to her, always, however, in a quiet, respectful manner. When his dignity is at stake, he speaks up for his rights. His integrity teaches Daisy how to be a more humane person. Hoke also develops as a result of their friendship, for instance, Daisy teaches him to read. Perhaps most importantly, the financial security Hoke obtains over the twenty-five years brings him greater self-confidence and self-respect.
*Boolie Werthan
Adult Caucasian Male
(Must play ages 40 to 65)
Boolie is Daisy's son. He is forty-years-old when the play begins. He has taken over his father's printing company, and, over the course of the play, he develops into one of the city's leading business figures. As the years pass, he becomes more conscious of how he will be perceived by society, and, consequently, does not want to attend the United Jewish Appeal banquet for Martin Luther King, Jr. Boolie takes good care of his mother, but he sometimes neglects her feelings. When her opinion disagrees with his, he generally overrides her without thinking about what she really wants or why she wants it. However, he humors his mother's stubbornness rather than try to understand it.
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