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Audition Information for our Fall 2019 Production:
Hamlet by William Shakespeare Directed by Vick Bennison Auditions Dates
Sunday, May 5 Monday, May 6 6:30 - 9pm both days Auditions will be held at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts Directors notes about Preperation and Roles:
PREPARATION: Anyone auditioning for a named role should prepare a monologue that exhibits your strengths. Shakespearean monologues encouraged. Extra points for attempts at the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, regardless of the part you want (haven't you always wanted to do that on stage?). There will be cold readings. ROLES: All roles are open. Some non-traditional casting is certainly possible, but not something I am specifically aiming for. Some doubling of roles probable. I have not specified age ranges. Use your common sense. Major roles where doubling is less likely: Hamlet: Young, though frequently played by older actors. College student, intellectual, moody, good at sports. Question: Does the Prince of Denmark really want to be the King of Denmark? Horatio: Hamlet's buddy, sidekick. Like Hamlet's shrink, listens intently, but doesn't interfere. Like a window onto Hamlet for the benefit of the audience. Like us, he wants to help Hamlet but knows there's not much he can do. A person everyone would like to have as a friend. Ophelia: Sweet, lovely. Likes flowers and pretty dresses. Just wants to get married, have babies, and, if necessary, be queen. A mind easily overthrown by reality. Loves Hamlet, but as a fixture in a defined cosmos of normality. Claudius: A Richard Nixon kind of dirty trickster, who might have gotten away with it if he'd stopped with the evil plotting. Could have ended up a better king than Hamlet's father, who was always getting Denmark involved in wars. He cleverly avoids a war with Norway. But... Gertrude: The ultimate pragmatist. Any old king in pinch. Probably doesn't know Claudius killed her ex any more than we would if Claudius hadn't confessed as much right in front of us. Likes the high life. Loves Hamlet, but there are clearly limits for her to that kind of love. Polonius: Not the brightest LED in the headlamp. Every teenager's image of their father. Laertes: More muscle than intellect, but could be Hamlet's friend if Hamlet hadn't killed his father and driven his sister to suicide. Will stoop lower than Hamlet will to get revenge. Other roles where doubling is more likely: The Ghost: Angel or demon? Hell only knows. But more concerned about his own death than Hamlet's well-being. Think about it. What good would this revenge do old King Hamlet in Heaven? Who approved this visitation? Does he say a word about Hamlet's rightful place as king? The First Player: Or Player King. Leader of group of actors who perform The Mousetrap (no, not the one by Agatha Christie). Rosenkrantz & Guilderstern: Two characters joined at the hip. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. Hopelessly transparent to Hamlet. Great comic parts. But, of course, they die like most everyone else. Osric: Courtier/fop. Small but delightfully comic part. No particular age. And at least he doesn't die. The grave-digger: Or First Clown. The only character in the play who holds his own against Hamlet's overpowering intellectual humor. Was around when Hamlet was born. Francisco, Marcellus and Bernardo: Three guards, the last two have seen the ghost. All three probably doubled. Marcellus gets the line "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". C'mon great line up for grabs! Second Clown: Or assistant grave-digger. Written out for now. Nice exchange with First Clown, so might put back in if enough show up. Fortinbras: At this point I've written him out (as many directors do) for the sake of keeping the run-time down. But if the right person shows up, I might write him back in. We'll see. Voltimand and Cornelius: Courtiers. Again, written out. Again, we'll see. Reynaldo: Polonius' servant. Again, written out. Again, we'll see. |
