Auditions for Blithe Spirit

Blithe Spirit
(An Improbable Farce )

Written by: Noel Coward
Directed by: Toshik Bukowiecki

PRODUCTION DATES:
September 26 – October 13, 2018
Tuesday to Saturday* nights – 8 pm curtain (*NO evening show the first Saturday of the run)
Saturday matinees – 2 pm curtain

Actors MUST be available for all performances.

AUDITIONS:
DATES: Sunday, June 10 12 – 3 pm
Monday, June 11 7 – 10 pm

CALLBACKS: Wednesday, June 13 7 – 9 pm

AUDITION and CALL BACKS LOCATION: Rehearsal Room – Langham Court Theatre – 805 Langham Court

Group Audition format: General, open auditions. Everyone will gather in the rehearsal room and have several chances to read for parts and hear others read. Auditions will be kept as casual and fun as possible. Readings will be from the script – sides will be provided. English accents are required. A “Received English” accent workshop will be provided to those cast.

SYNOPSIS:
Charles Condomine’s first wife, Elvira, has been dead for seven years. Charles and his second wife, Ruth, decide to have a dinner party to which they invite Dr. and Mrs. Bradman and Mme. Arcati, a renowned local medium. Charlea, a mystery writer, hopes to gather some information for a book that he is writing about a phony psychic. After dinner, Mme. Arcati performs a séance which everyone finds highly entertaining but no one takes seriously. However, Mme. Arcati insists that something has happened – and it did – it raised Elvira’s ghost! Unfortunately, only Charles can see and hear her and chaos ensues when Charles can’t convince Ruth that Elvira is there. Ruth is finally convinced and the next concern becomes how to get rid of Elvira. Scheming Elvira decides to try to get Charles to join her “on the other side” and tampers with the brakes of the car so Charles will have an accident and be killed. The plan goes awry when Ruth takes the car and ends up being killed instead and her ghost comes back to take revenge on Elvira. Now Charles is stuck with two dead wives who are either at each other’s throats or nagging him. Mme. Arcati is summoned again and she discovers that it is the housemaid Edith, also a psychic, who raised Elvira ghost. Edith is put into a trance and in an attempt to send the ghosts back to the “otherside”, she manages to dematerialize the ghosts but not dispose of them. Charles decides to go abroad to get away from his invisible wives, leaving them to take out their anger on each other and the house.

ROLES:

Charles Condomine – 35 – 55 years old novelist, sophisticated and urbane and somewhat petulant

Ruth Condomine – 30-45 years old, 2nd wife to Charles, smart, practical, attractive

Dr. Bradman – 40 – 70 years old, Charles physician and social acquaintance, conservative and friendly

Mrs. Bradman – 40 – 70 years old, the doctor’s wife, also conservative, fascinated with the occult

Madam Arcati – 45 – 70 years old, psychic medium, zany, larger-than-life, self-confident

Elvira – 30 – 40 years old, ghost of Charles first wife, flighty, petulant, manipulative

Edith – 25 – 50 years old, Condomine’s maid, psychic, ex-military, very serious



Please read the script prior to auditions. Copies are available at the Box Office and require a $10 deposit that will be returned when the script is returned.

NOTE:

Performing at Langham Court Theatre is a major three-month commitment. If you can not be available for the majority of the rehearsal schedule and all of the performance schedule, you should not audition

ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

Interested in other volunteer opportunities for Blithe Spirit? Please email Vinnie Chadwick at: [email protected] to find out more information about volunteering