Saturday 19 June at 1pm

This is a play set in pre-9/11, pre-zero tolerance, post-Kennedy assassination, New York.

The character of the city itself forms the pressures that exert themselves upon each character in the play. You could say that the city IS a character in the play, and it leads to the pressure cooker environment that impacts each of the roles. Living in New York is a dangerous thing to do.

CHARACTERS:

Carol Newquist is described by the playwright as a short, thickset, energetic man in his fifties. The physical description isn't the essential factor, and its the psychological elements that are the most important. Carol is a time bomb waiting to explode. He hates his given name, and he hates what the city has done to him and to his family. He bribes the police in the hope that they'll redouble their efforts when tragedy strikes the family. He bribes the priest to try and ensure that God gets a mention in the wedding ceremony of his daughter Patsy. His relationship with wife Marjorie is tolerable at best, vindictive at worst.

Marjorie Newquist is Carol's wife. She is small, energetic, fifties.  She lives in a 'Donna Reed', perfect family, perfect world, headspace, because that's what she'd like the world and her family to be. She tries endlessly and unsuccessfully to keep the peace. There is a visible strain of barely contained hysteria in her makeup.

Kenny Newquist is Carol and Marjorie's son. He is a listless boy/man, early twenties. He has a difficult road to travel, in that he is gay, but pretending otherwise ; he masks his desire for, and wish to be exactly like, his sister Patsy, who for him is the most masculine image in his family circle.

Patsy Newquist is the All-American girl, Doris Day with real guts and determination; she has spirit, exuberance, great feminine strength. With her relationships with men, she knows she is right and they are wrong, and therefore her goal is to change them. She is all-consuming in her approach to life. She's the apple of her father's eye (too much so), the idol of Kenny's existence, the competitor for attention (in her mother's eyes), the centre of attention, the achiever who's gone away from home and who now sees Alfred as her last chance for happiness. She tells us that she is about 27 years of age.

Alfred Chamberlain is Patsy's fiance. He is middle thirties, a big bear of a man, who has detached himself from all emotional involvement. He doesn't know what love is, and he doesn't know what violence is-he just stands there and allows both to strike him. Patsy is almost certainly his last chance to shake himself out of his torpor, to start to feel again, to make changes to the way he conducts his life. He is a photographer of shit (literally) and how he got into that line of work is one of the joys of the play. His relationship with Patsy is absolutely essential to the drama that unfolds.

Judge Stern is asked by Carol to perform the wedding ceremony for Patsy and Alfred. He appears only in one scene, but has an excellent monologue that sets up his background and his values. He provides the sense of tradition and authority, but his views are ultimately too dogmatic and conservative for Alfred and Patsy. He's a portly, well dressed man about Carol's age.

Reverend Henry Dupas is asked by Alfred to perform the wedding ceremony. He is a hippie minister of a questionable church. He can be performed by an actor of various age ranges; it is again the attitude that's paramount. His view of the world is that everything is all right- betrayal, bribery, homosexuality- the concepts of love and family are only right if they are right for a particular person, and don't amount to anything otherwise. He has only one scene, with an exceptional monologue, which ends with Dupas being set upon by all of the wedding guests and the family, who've all been outraged by what he says. He's driven out of the house, saying "it's all right" as he's being beaten. Of all the characters, Dupas enjoys life the most, and he must be played with a constant 'twinkle in the eye'.

Lieutenant Practice is charged with finding answers to the 345 murders that are unsolved in the six months prior to his appearance. They have nothing in common, they are all motiveless, they all remain unsolved. Practice has in fact been rendered insane by all of the pressures he and the police force are under. That is something that must be made clear by degrees and again Practice appears in one scene, with a superb monologue that is an actor's dream. Practice represents Carol's last hold on the world that once was, where the police could be relied upon to keep law and order and were the pillars of society. Once it is clear that even this semblance of order has irretrievably broken down, Carol falls apart.

There are SIX wedding guests ; ages and gender open. They appear in the one wedding scene, but there is a lot of interest in that scene, because we have to build up the reactions to Dupas that lead to the climactic exit of Dupas. There will be no need for the actors who are cast to attend at every rehearsal in the early stages of the rehearsal period, but it must be understood that that will change rapidly as the season approaches and people must be willing to commit their time as the wedding guests are very important to the piece as a whole.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

Familiarity with the script will assist greatly (and in that regard you can call Margaret on 0418 157 552 for a copy of the script), the auditions will be readings from the script. Expect there to be some elements of "workshop" and some directing or redirecting of the scene being read. 

American accents essential.    

 The audition will take place at the venue of Centenary Theatre Group, Chelmer Community Centre, cnr Queenscroft and Halsbury Streets, Chelmer.

The date for auditions are Saturday 19 June, 2010 at 1.00 p.m.   There may be call backs, depending upon how the auditions run, during the week following those dates.

All interested people are invited to call the Director, Gary Kliger, on  0417 012 418 AFTER HOURS for more information.