November 15, 2021
K-State Theatre to host spring auditions for all students 7-10 p.m. Nov. 16
Submitted by Jerry Jay Cranford
K-State Theatre is hosting auditions for the spring 2022 semester from 7-10 p.m. Nov. 16 in Chapman Theatre. The auditions are open to all K-State students.
Callbacks will be Nov. 16 for "Sweat" and Nov. 17 for "The Imaginary Invalid." The stage-reading productions will be cast without a callback. We encourage and welcome students of all races, identities and orientations. You do not have to be a theatre major to audition. You can prepare a one-minute monologue, or a reading will be provided for you.
If you have questions, please contact Professor Jerry Jay Cranford at jjcranford@k-state.edu. If you are interested in working on a crew in any capacity, please contact Professor Ben Stark at benstark@k-state.edu.
The performance dates:
- "Sweat" — Feb. 3-6 and 10-13, 2022. Note: Rehearsals begin Jan. 10, 2022, one week before the 2022 spring semester.
- "Collective Rage" script-in-hand reading — Feb. 18-19, 2022.
- "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" script-in-hand reading — March 24-25, 2022.
- "Imaginary Invalid" — April 21-24 and April 28-May 1, 2022.
Casting information and character breakdowns
"Sweat" by Lynn Nottage
Guest directed by Egla Hassan
A co-production with Ebony Theatre
This Pulitzer Prize winner for drama has been called a powerful and emotional look at identity, race, economy and humanity. Set in Reading, Pennsylvania once named the poorest city in the country, it follows a group of friends as their trade union goes on strike, the company management locks out the workers and relocates operations to Mexico.
Character breakdown
Evan — African American man, 40s, parole officer.
Chris — African American man, 21-29, ambitious, factory worker.
Bruce — African American man, 40s, drug user, factory worker.
Cynthia — African American woman, 45-53, ambitious factory worker, friend of Tracey and Jess.
Stan — White man of German descent, 45-53, bartender, former factory worker.
Jason — White man of German descent, 21-29, factory worker.
Tracey — White woman of German descent, factory worker, friend of Tracey and Jessie.
Jessie — Italian American woman, 40s, factory worker.
Oscar — Colombian American, 21-29, ambitious, bar busser/bartender.
"The Imaginary Invalid" by Moliere
Adapted and directed by David Mackay
Callbacks will be 7:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 18.
Rehearsals start Feb. 27, 2022
Brief summary: This is an adaptation of an old play. The play will be set in present day. Argan is cheap and suffers from severe hypochondria. Argan decides to get their child, Angel, romantically involved with a doctor, Dr. Sam Diaforus so that they can have free health care. Angel, however, is in love with someone else, Celeste. When Angel refuses, Argan gives them four days to agree to the relationship or be kicked out of the house. The comic engines rev high as Celeste, Toinette, Argan's personal health care aid and Argan's sibling Breslin, all try to change Argan's mind. Eventually, while feigning to be dead, Argan discovers that their new spouse, Beline, is only in it for the money, but Angel truly loves them. Argan consents to the relationship between Angel and Celeste. Breslin convinces Argan to become a doctor and treat themselves.
Character breakdown: Any race, age, gender identification, or physical ability can and should play these roles. With a few exceptions, characters are written with the they, them, their pronouns. These pronouns may change depending on the casting.
Argan: they, them, a serious hypochondriac. Most of their money goes to treating their fake health issues. They are also very cheap. So cheap that they arrange for their child to be involved with a doctor so they can have free health care.
Toinette: She, her, underpaid professional health care aid. Smartass with a sharp tongue.
Angel: They, them, Argan's eldest child. Late teens/early 20s. Madly in love with Celeste.
Beline: They, them, Argan's second marriage. Beline's third, possible fourth marriage, if you include that weekend in Vegas. They tend to inherit a lot of money when their spouse dies.
Mr. Bonnefoy: He, him, a slimy lawyer, having an affair with Beline.
Celeste: They, them, in love with Angelica. Works in a phone repair clinic.
Dr. Diaforus: He, him, A very expensive doctor. Uncle to Dr. Sam Diaforus
Dr. Sam Diaforus: they, them, not the sharpest scalpel on the operating table.
Lou: they, them, Argan's youngest child.
Breslin: They, them, Argan's sibling
Apothecary: They, them, a strange person with an assortment of large syringes.
Dr. Purgeon: they, them, Argan's favorite doctor.
Alexa: She, her, voice in an Amazon Echo.
"Collective Rage" by Jen Silverman
A reading directed by Morgan Boyer
Betty is rich; Betty is lonely; Betty's busy working on her truck; Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. And Betty keeps using a small hand mirror to stare into parts of herself she's never examined. Five different women named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex and the "thea-tah."
Character breakdown
Betty Boop 1 — Femme, white, rich, uptight, fueled by secret rage.
Betty Boop 2 — Femme, white, rich, uptight but coming undone, secretly obsessed with porn.
Betty Boop 3 — Femme, Latina, charismatic and pretty, kind of a know-it-all.
Betty Boop 4 — Butch lesbian, any ethnicity, great tattoos, gently melancholic, is too often ignored.
Betty Boop 5 — Butch lesbian, any ethnicity, great tattoos, just out of prison, owns a hole-in-the-wall boxing gym.
"The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" by Paul Rudnick
A script-in-hand reading directed by Jerry Jay Cranford
Rehearsals are 7-10 p.m. March 6-10 and March 21-24, 2022.
A stage manager, headset and prompt book at hand, brings the house lights to half, then dark and cues the creation of the world. Throughout the play, she's in control of everything. In other words, she's either God, or she thinks she is. Act One recounts the major episodes of the Old Testament, only with a twist: Instead of Adam and Eve, our lead characters are Adam and Steve, and Jane and Mabel, a lesbian couple with whom they decide to start civilization — procreation proves to be a provocative challenge ... Act Two jumps to modern-day Manhattan. Adam and Steve are together again, and Steve is HIV positive. It's Christmas Eve, and Jane is nine months pregnant ...
This piece deals with LGBTQI themes through adult language and humor. In his review, Ben Brantley of the New York Times said, "there's reverence in Mr. Rudnick's irreverence, an earnest warmth beneath the frivolity ... line by line, Mr. Rudnick may be the funniest writer for the stage in the United States today ... ."
Characters
Stage manager/reader (God)
Adam
Steve
Jane
Mabel
Miriam, Babe, Mom 2, Peggy, Virgin Mary, Rabbi Sharon
Cheryl, Fluffy, Mom 1, Ftatateeta
Latecomer, Rhino, Dad 2, Pharaoh, Kevin
Father Joseph, Dad 1, Brad, Trey