FIREHOUSE THEATRE SEASON 21 - Firehouse Theatre Non Equity Auditions

FIREHOUSE THEATRE ANNOUNCES SEASON 21 OPEN AUDITIONS

Firehouse Theatre is happy to announce open auditions for our upcoming season of plays and musicals. Auditions for Wait Until Dark, A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration, This World We Know, and The Aliens will be held Sunday, June 15, 2014 starting at 1p. Casting for our other Season 21 offering, HAIR, is complete. Auditions are by appointment only and will be at Firehouse Theatre at 1609 W Broad St., Richmond, VA 23220. All performers are paid.Those auditioning are asked to prepare the following:

• Two contrasting contemporary American monologues
• For A Civil War Christmas add 32 bars of a traditional holiday carol, accompanist provided
• For The Aliens add 32 bars of a folk song. Guitar experience required for some roles so please accompany yourself on guitar.

Please e-mail Operations Manager Nata Moriconi -
nata@firehousetheatre.org - to request an audition slot. Please specify which shows you are auditioning for. Please visit
www.firehousetheatre.org for a complete listing of roles available. No roles are pre-cast.

WAIT UNTIL DARK

By Frederick Knott

Directed by David Emerson Toney

Rehearsals begin August 18, 2014

Performances begin September 18, 2014

ROLES AVAILABLE:

• Sam Hendrix - Susy's husband, a photographer. Friendly, outgoing.
• Susy Hendrix - Recently blinded. Has an air of innocence, but an inner strength as well.
• Mike Talman - Recently out of jail. Must be charming, seem sincere; a good liar. Has a ruthless streak.
• Sgt. Carlino - Recently out of jail. Bit of a thug, thinks he's a criminal mastermind.
• Harry Roat, Jr - Sociopath, must be capable of playing multiple ages/characters. Villain of the piece. Ringleader.
• Gloria - 9 - 12. Little girl who lives upstairs from Susy; a feisty, independent thinker.
• Policeman One & Policeman Two: 20-s - 50's.

A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL CELEBRATION

By Paula Vogel

Directed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates

Music Direction by Andrienne Wilson

Rehearsals begin October 13, 2014

Performances begin November 21, 2014

ROLES AVAILABLE:

• Bronson (Wormley) / Others - African American male characters, 30s-40s.
• Lincoln / Others - Caucasian male characters, late 30s - early 50s.
• Chester (John Surratt) / Others - Caucasian male characters, 20s.
• Wormley Son / Willy Mack / Others­ - African American male characters, 20s-30s.
• Whitman / Booth / Sherman / Lee / Grant / Longfellow / Others: Caucasian male characters, 30s - mid 50s.
• Hannah / Others - African American female characters, 20s-30s.
• Mary Todd / Others - Caucasian female characters, late 30s - early 50s.
• Mrs. Keckley / Others - African American female characters, late 30s-40s.
• Raz / Others - Caucasian female characters, 20s.
• Jessa - African American female child.

World Premiere:

THIS WORLD WE KNOW

By Kelly Younger

Directed by Kerrigan Sullivan

Rehearsals begin January 5, 2015

Performances begin February 5, 2015

ROLES AVAILABLE:

• Junior - Male, 27, brooding, unkempt, gentle, soft-spoken, withdrawn, a drifter, a nail-biter, likely mild autism, definite PTSD.
• Lottie - Female, 29, abrupt, defensive, domineering, overprotective, quick-tempered, conservative, a bulimic, a drinker, ruled by fear.
• Neil - Male, 63, weathered, businesslike, efficient, reserved, square, graying, muscular, handsome, uncomfortable, stubborn, stooped.
• Charlotte - Female, 65, earthy, gracious, uninhibited, optimistic, vital, warm, intuitive, devoted, spiritual, truthful, meditative, calm.

THE ALIENS

By Annie Baker

Directed by Gary Hopper

Music Direction by Leilani Giles

Rehearsals begin March 16, 2015

Performances begin April 16, 2015

ROLES AVAILABLE:

• KJ - Male, early 30s. UVM dropout living with his mother in small Vermont town. He hides his vulnerability with a haze of zen-like calm and innocent playfulness. Some singing involved.
• Jasper - Male, early 30s. A street-smart devotee of Charles Bukowski with more mileage in his 30 years than most, Jasper wrestles with the demise of his recent relationship. Actor must play guitar, some singing involved.
• Evan - Male, 17. Earnest and eager to please, Evan is a high school senior, camp counselor and part-time coffee shop employee caught between childhood and adulthood. Actor must play guitar and sing.
  

  SEASON 21 (2014/15)

  HAIR: AN AMERICAN TRIBAL LOVE-ROCK MUSICAL

  Book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, music by Galt MacDermot

  June 26 - July 19, 2014

  Peace, Love and the '60s! Travel back to a time when youthful rebellion and optimism stood proud in the face of a war-torn establishment. Hair exploded on Broadway and defined the counter-culture movement of the era. One of the most influential musicals of all time, HAIR still resonates with the divided America of the 21st Century. Aquarius, Let the Sunshine In, Easy to Be Hard... the songs and optimism of HAIR triumph.

  Tony Award winner - Best Revival of a Musical

  Grammy Award winner - Best Score from an Original Cast Show

  Drama Desk Award winner - Outstanding Revival of a Musical

  With the country on a collision course for political and financial deadlock and a continuing drumbeat of grim economic news resounding in our ears, it's hard to resist the temptation to tune in, turn on and drop out. - The New York Times

  WAIT UNTIL DARK

  By Frederick Knott

  September 18 - October 18, 2014

  An apartment in Greenwich Village becomes the site of theatre's most terrifying game of cat and mouse. Desperate to reclaim a mysterious doll stuffed with illegal drugs, a con man lays a trap to ensnare a blind woman. With the help of his criminal cohorts and a few clever disguises, he spins a tale to fool the innocent and unsuspecting woman. But when the doll can't be found, the situation spirals out of control. From the author of Dial M for Murder, Wait Until Dark proves that what you can't see can most definitely hurt you.

  A classic performance... A gripping finish! - Los Angeles Times
  
  Enthralling, layered characters. - Entertainment Weekly

  A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL CELEBRATION

  By Paula Vogel

  November 20 - December 20, 2014

  It's 1864, and Washington, D.C. is settling down for the coldest Christmas Eve in years. In the White House, President and Mrs. Lincoln plot their gift-giving. On the banks of the Potomac, a young rebel challenges a Union blacksmith's mercy. In the alleys downtown, an escaped slave loses her daughter just before finding freedom. This musical by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel intertwines many lives, showing us that the gladness of one's heart is the best gift of all.

  Ms. Vogel manages to humanize most of her many characters in a few crisp strokes of dialogue, so they come across as full-blooded people, glimpsed clearly if quickly, rather than talking statues in a historical diorama. - The New York Times

  Artfully weaves historic details into the play [and] pulls it together with economical writing that reflects the poetry of the day. -Variety

  THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THIS WORLD WE KNOW

  By Kelly Younger

  February 5 - March 7, 2015

  Winner of the 2013 Festival of New American Plays, This World We Know tells the story of the lives of an estranged brother and sister with their younger selves. As the play unfolds, the characters struggle to choose between unearthing the roots of their hostility or burying their last chance at reconciliation at the earth of their family tree.

  THE ALIENS

  By Annie Baker

  April 16 - May 16, 2015

  A pair of thirty-something dropouts hang out by the dumpster outside a coffee shop and meditate on music, philosophy, 'shrooms and Charles Bukowski. When a teenager employee tells them to relocate, they decide to teach him everything they know. Annie Baker's play, an off Broadway hit, is a humorous look at friendship, ritual and small town New England.

  Gentle and extraordinarily beautiful...inordinately delicate... Ms. Baker may just have the subtlest way with exposition of anyone writing for the theater today...there is something distinctly Chekhovian in the way her writing accrues weight and meaning simply through compassionate, truthful observation. - The New York Times

  The talented young playwright Annie Baker sets her new play behind a Vermont café, in a break area dotted with dead plants and milk crates that's accessible only by hopping a fence...Baker's gift is for humor and empathy-we'd roll our eyes at KJ and Jasper in real life, but she shows us their absurdity and makes us love them. -The New Yorker

  *All titles and dates subject to change.

  Subscriptions for Season 21 are now available and may be purchased online at
  www.firehousetheatre.org, through the Box Office at
  (804) 355-2001, or in person at 1609 W. Broad Street. Single tickets will go on sale May 18, 2014.

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  ABOUT FIREHOUSE

  Currently in its 20th Season, Firehouse Theatre continues to hold its place at the leading edge of contemporary American theatre in Central Virginia. Located in former Richmond Station House No. 10 in the historic Fan District, Firehouse presents important American contemporary theatre with an emphasis on plays not previously produced in the metropolitan Richmond area, including developing, producing and performing at least one new play each year.

  
  www.firehousetheatre.org

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  To request additional information or photos, or to arrange interviews with those involved, please contact Laura Cliburn at
  (804) 355-2001 or email
  laura@firehousetheatre.org.