Audition Sign Up Sheet is Up

You can find the sign up sheet up in the hallway outside of the green room at the Royall Tyler Theatre. Auditions are on Wednesday, April 27th. You will be reading a short scene from Act One of Clybourne Park. I encourage you to review the cast list on an earlier blog post as well as to read the play so you have a good idea of what part you are most interested in auditioning for.

Though sides will be made available, you can also access the sides for each character here in a folder called C.P. sides ACT ONE. You do not have to memorize the sides, but being familiar with the scene and what is going on in the play will surely benefit your audition. You never know, I may ask you to read for a different character, so the more you understand the play, the better! We will be doing scenes from Act Two at the call backs which will be on Thursday, April 28th.

Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions: craig.wells@uvm.edu.

I look forward to meeting you and watching your audition.

Clybourne Park Cast Breakdown

The Characters Act I - 1959

Russ: A man selling his house in the Clybourne Park neighborhood of Chicago

Bev: Russ’ wife

Kenneth: Russ and Bev’s son, a Korean War veteran

Francine: Russ and Bev’s housekeeper

Jim: A neighborhood church minister

Albert: Francine’s husband

Karl: Russ and Bev’s neighbor who represents the Clybourne Park Neighborhood Association

Betsy: Karl’s deaf wife

The Characters Act II - 2009

Tom: A lawyer representing the Property Owners Association

Lindsey: A woman who, with her husband, is buying Russ and Bev’s old home

Steve: Lindsey’s husband

Kathy: Lindsey and Steve’s lawyer

Lena: A member of the Property Owners Association and relative of the family who bought the house from Russ and Bev

Kevin: Lena’s husband

Dan: A contractor working on the home

Clybourne Park is set in one house in two separate years: 1959 and 2009. In Act One, it’s 1959 and Bev and Russ are in the process of moving out of their modest bungalow in Clybourne Park, a completely white neighborhood in Chicago. The house and neighborhood have painful memories for them: there are many rumors going around the neighborhood about their son and his actions during the Korean War, and Bev and Russ want to escape the whispering and criticism. When they receive a visit from their neighbor Karl, a member of the Clybourne Park Neighborhood Association, telling of the neighborhood’s concerns about the new family moving in, Bev and Russ refuse Karl’s request to cancel the deal as they have a different perspective on things since their community has abandoned them.

Act II opens up 50 years later in the same bungalow where a meeting and discussion is taking place about the house. Clybourne Park is now a predominantly black community. Two of the people at the meeting are Lindsey and Steve, who are buying the house with plans to tear it down and build a more modern home. However, Lena, a member of the Property Owners Association and a relative of the black family who bought the house from Russ and Bev, argues against the house being demolished because she feels it’s an important part of the neighborhood’s history. The discussion between Lindsey, Steve, Lena, her husband, and a couple of lawyers soon changes from renovation to racial issues and tensions begin to rise.

The playwright, Bruce Norris, makes this interesting observation about the play: “In Clybourne Park, the first act is a tragedy and the second part is a comedy because the people in the first act all understand each other much more than the people do in the second act. In the second act everyone makes assumptions.”

Seven actors will be cast for the entire production. Actors playing Jim, Karl, and Betsy will use A.S.L. in some scenes.

I'm so excited to be directing the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Clybourne Park this fall at UVM. This play has amazing roles for seven actors and is a true ensemble piece. Please share this blog with friends who may not be on the theatre listserv who might be interested in auditioning.

As some of you may know, Clybourne Park was inspired by the play A Raisin the the Sun (which was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway) and Act One takes place just after the events of that play.

I've included a brief synopsis of Clybourne Park and you can find a copy of the script here. If you have any questions you can reach me at craig.wells@uvm.edu or cewells72@gmail.com.

Here are a few articles from The New York Times that will provide you with additional information:

• A link to an interactive of the set design of the 2012 New York production. 
• A link to a slide show of a few of the costume designs for the 2012 New York production
• An article about integration and gentrification as it pertains to the plot of Clybourne Park.

Auditions

• Auditions will be on Wednesday, April 27th from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM in Royall Tyler Theatre
• Callbacks will be on Thursday, April 28th from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM in Royall Tyler Theatre

All actors will be reading from sides that will be provided prior to the audition dates. Also, three characters use American Sign Language during the first act.

Characters

ACT ONE (1959)

RUSS (white, late 40s)
BEV (married to Russ, white, 40s)
FRANCINE (black, 30s)
JIM (white, late 20s, ASL)
ALBERT (married to Francine, black, 30s)
KARL (white, 30s, ASL)
BETSY (married to Karl, late 20s, ASL)

ACT TWO (2009)

DAN (played by the actor who played Russ)
KATHY (played by the actress who played Bev)
LENA (played by the actress who played Francine)
TOM (played by the actor who played Jim)
KEVIN (played by the actor who played Albert)
STEVE (played by the actor who played Karl)
LINDSEY (played by the actress who played Betsy)
KENNETH (played by the actor who played Jim & Tom)

Performances

Wednesday, Sept. 28 @ 7:30 pm (Invited Dress)
Thursday, Sept. 29 @ 7:30 pm (Opening)
Friday, Sept. 30 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday, Oct. 1 @ 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm

Wednesday, Oct. 5 (brush up rehearsal)
Thursday, Oct. 6 @ 7:30 pm
Friday, Oct. 7 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday, Oct. 8 @ 7:30 pm
Sunday, Oct. 9 @ 2:00 pm (Closing)

Rehearsals

Rehearsals will begin on Monday, August 29th. Rehearsals will be evenings Monday-Friday, and Saturday during the day. There will be a rehearsal on Labor Day, Sept. 5--most likely during the day.