Farmington Players Barn Hosts Auditions For LEAVING IOWA 6/9

Farmington Players Barn is now casting for LEAVING IOWA by Tim Clue & Spike Manton. Director: Nancy Harrower, Asst. Director: Marge Wetzel

WED, JUNE 9, 2010 - FARMINGTON PLAYERS BARN

32332 W. Twelve Mile Rd (between Orchard Lake and Farmington Rds)

REGISTRATION - 6:30P AUDITIONS - 7:00P

SHOW DATES: Oct. 1, 2, 3, . . 7, 8, 9, 10, . . 14, 15, 16, 17 (All shows at 8:00p, except Sundays at 2:00p)

MANDATORY REHEARSAL DATES: Tech Rehearsal: Sept. 19 & 26

Dress Rehearsal: Sept. 29

STANDARD REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: Three nights/week - Beginning very end of July/first of August. Specific nights TBD after casting.

SYNOPSIS: In the play "Leaving Iowa", successful Boston writer Don, having missed his father's funeral three years earlier, feels compelled now to return his ashes to his father's boyhood home. Arriving there, only to discover the family homestead is now a grocery store, Don is faced with a dilemma -- what to do with Dad's ashes? Not wanting to turn around and go back to tell Mom and Sis he failed his mission, Don sets out on a road trip to find the proper alternative resting place for his father's ashes. The play features the all-too-familiar family road trips taken by Dad, Mom, Sis and Don throughout his childhood. Don relives these delightful disastrous family vacations - like those in all of our memories - through flashbacks from his past and vignettes including an assortment of present-day characters he meets along the way.

CAST: "Leaving Iowa" has an ensemble cast of 6 actors - 3 males/3 females - who enjoy a challenge. The ages of the characters are listed for how they should be portrayed, not necessarily the actor's true age.
DON (30's - 40) - Successful Boston reporter - too busy to attend his father's funeral three years ago. Must also play young Don in flashbacks - whiny, complaining, and antagonizing his big sister in the back seat of the car, as children have done since the dawn of the automotive age. He is the driver of the play in a gentle inviting way.

DAD (60's) - He's a quiet ghost who, in his urn, is Don's passenger on his journey. Flashbacks show him as Dad the teacher, planning the family vacations around every educational and historical highlight of the American road. He never bought into the fun -- more commercial - attractions along the way, which left the kids begging to stop at "Ghost Caverns" and motels with a pool! He was the ultimate father; the loving boss of the family.

MOM (60's) - Don's mom past and present. In flashbacks, always there - the ever-calming influence on Dad and the kids - the ultimate peacemaker on these family road trips - to a point. Currently, still "mothering", but becoming a little flighty as she ages. Mom feels very guilty for having left Dad in his urn forgotten in the basement for the last three years.

SIS (30's - 40's) -- Don's older sister, past and present. In flashbacks, "Sweet Pea", as Dad called her, is the typical big sister - overbearing, teasing, sneaky - always baiting Don until he struck back and got blamed for causing the ruckus. The two were always united in their efforts to influence Dad on the vacation plans. In present day, Sis is controlling, somewhat critical, but obviously loves her family.

MULTIPLE CHARACTER MALE (30's & up) - Must play all the male characters Don encounters on his road trip - in flashbacks and present day vignettes: farmer with silo, Don's grandfather, grocery store clerk, Don's Uncle, farmer with a hoe, Amish peddler at flea market, Civic War performer, Dan's childhood friend (now a professor), mechanic, park ranger, unhappy old man, stoic waiter with a mullet, hog farmer.

MULTIPLE CHARACTER FEMALE (30's & up) - Same only female characters encountered: farmer's wife with silo, Don's grandmother, Don's aunt, Amish peddler, museum assistant, mechanic, drunk woman in hotel, talkative waitress, hog farmer's wife.

For more information or to request a script, please call Nancy Harrower at 248-554-0782 or Marge Wetzel at 248-231-3291. Anyone wishing to audition, but unable to make the scheduled date, must arrange to audition prior to June 9.

About The Barn

The Farmington Players began as an off-shoot of the American Association of University Women. Their first production, The Torchbearers, was performed at a local church. Later in the 1950s, after performing in various city and educational locations, the Farmington Players moved into an old dairy barn located on the site of their present facility on West Twelve Mile Road.

Initially, productions were staged downstairs on a dirt floor. Over the years, improvements to the original Barn transformed it into a more finished space, with the theater itself eventually moving upstairs into a traditional and finished setting.

Since 1953, the Farmington Players have staged more than 180 different musicals, dramas, mysteries and comedies, all as a community theater with 100% volunteer membership.
People from Farmington, Farmington Hills and beyond have come to recognize the group as a true community resource. Since the completion of its all-new, state of the art facility in 2003, the Farmington Players Barn Theater has expanded its mission, serving as the site for city-sponsored events such as youth theater camps in the summer, concerts with groups as varied as Blackthorn and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and as a meeting place for various groups.

The Farmington Players have been saving money over the years to enhance the onstage experience at The Barn. In November, 2009 they installed a new rigging system in the vast fly space. Show Directors are thrilled to finally have the ability to fly in flats and use drops to set scenes in a matter of seconds.
Location

The Farmington Players Barn is located at: 32332 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills.

(North side of 12 Mile Road Halfway between Orchard Lake and Farmington).

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