A LESSON BEFORE DYING - Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center Theater Non Equity Auditions

Date of Audition: 5/6/2017
Call Type – Non-Union
Time(s) 2 PM – 5PM
Location – Good Acting Studio
507 Roswell Street
Marietta, Ga 30060

Sides will be provided.
Please bring TWO headshots with resume attached
*No video auditions/do not email headshots

Other Dates
1st rehearsal August 1st , Preview August 24th, opens August 25th, closes September 4th, 2017
Performs at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center Theater

Breakdown
Jefferson, an innocent young man, is condemned to death in backwoods Louisiana in 1948. At the trial his lawyer, trying to save his life, called him no more a human being than a hog. In prison, he acts like one, insisting that he will be dragged like that hog to his death in the electric chair. His godmother asks a schoolteacher to teach him to die like a man. The teacher, Grant Wiggins, struggling to quit his poor parish school and leave the South, faces both Jefferson and himself as execution day arrives. Ernest J. Gaines’ celebrated novel makes an engrossing, moving and finally devastating play for the stage.

Casting:
Jefferson: (Black) 20’s An uneducated black field worker condemned to die after being innocently involved in an armed robbery and shooting.

Miss Emma (Black) 60’s – Jefferson’s godmother; Godly and sturdy; she is determined that Jefferson will die with dignity.

Grant Wiggins (Black) 30’s – A cynical, disenchanted teacher called upon to instill a sense of pride and self-worth in Jefferson before his execution.

Vivian Baptiste (Creole) 30’s – Grant Wiggins’ Creole (mixed heritage of black and French or Spanish ancestry) girlfriend. Strong and outspoken.

Sam Guidry (White) 50’s/60’s – Sheriff of Bayonne County; Staunch and gruff; Henri Pichot’s brother-in-law.

Deputy Paul Bonin (White) 20’s/30’s – The young deputy at the county jail who befriends Grant and witnesses Jefferson’s execution.

Rev. Mose Ambrose (Black) 40s/50s – Pastor of the plantation church where Grant Wiggins teaches during the week.