SHEAR MADNESS Submission - Florida Studio Theatre Auditions

LORT

SHEAR MADNESS – Photo / Resume Request

Florida Studio Theatre (Sarasota, FL) LORT D; $555/week minimum

Artistic Director: Richard Hopkins Artistic Director

Casting & Hiring Coordinator: James Ashford

Director: Bruce Jordan

Writer: Paul Portner, adapted by Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan

1^st rehearsal: 2/1/11. Runs: 2/23 – 4/16/11

NYC auditions will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2011, by appointment only.

Seeking submissions from Actors' Equity Members only for these particular auditions.

For consideration, email picture and resume to:

James Ashford, Casting & Hiring Coordinator at:

casting@floridastudiotheatre.org

Deadline for submissions: by 5pm on Friday, December 31.

The hilarious whodunit where the audience gets to solve the crime. A mixture of improvisation and up-to-the-minute spontaneous humor. The play is delightfully different every time you see it. The play is set today in a hairstyling salon in the city in which it plays. The landlady Isabel Czerny who lives above the shop is murdered, and every one of the actors has a reason to do her in. The audience gets involved in the action by questioning the actors and attempting to solve the crime.

Seeking:

Mrs. Shubert:

45-65. An old money socialite of impeccable breeding and manner. She wears classic clothes, classic jewelry, and of course the famous Shubert Diamond. Her maiden name is very socially prominent in the city where Shear Madness is set. She should know the names and places that an old-guard aristocrat would haunt. She must move with natural – not artificial – grace and style. She must speak with nat5ural – not artificial – cultured tones. She can really turn on the charm when needed. She arrives late for her appointment at the Shear Madness salon and is in a rush to catch her plane to Bermuda. She comes to the salon because Barbara does her hair perfectly. She also comes to the salon to be regaled by Tony and his flights of fantasy. Once the murder occurs, she is outraged that she is being kept under “house arrest”. Mrs. Shubert is not having an affair with anyone. She does have a new, young, attractive butler with whom she might be slightly flirtatious, but she is a monogamous old-line WASP and she’s shocked when anyone thinks otherwise. At her finest, she’s a real class act. Actress must agree to have her hair cut to a specified classic length so that it is easy to wash and set on stage at every performance.

Mikey Thomas:

23-32. A preppy-looking, eager-beaver who’s a capable and earnest undercover cop. He was upstairs talking to Isabel Czerny moments before she was murdered. He and his partner are staking out the building awaiting the arrival of Eddie Lawrence when he realizes that he has enough time (if he hurries) to pop into the Shear Madness salon and get a trim (on city dollars). He is concerned about getting his hair trimmed and then getting back out to the stake-out car to await the arrival of Eddie Lawrence. He is even more concerned when Eddie Lawrence enters the shop. In the warm-up, Mikey must always be amazed by Tony. Everything Tony does to Mikey leaves him flabbergasted and bewildered. He is never hurt, injured or maimed by Tony. He never treats Tony negatively or with distaste. Mikey is bright, quick, affable, somewhat deferential, and very helpful at the same time as being innocent, naive and impressionable. He is a believable, ambitious young cop who supplies much of the credibility to the investigation. Actors who play Mikey should bear in mind that when they first enter the shop they are not “staking out the salon”, they’re just there to get a hair cut. Mikey has never been in the salon before today. The actors who plays Mikey gets his hair washed and blown dry at every performance