For the first time TAG is doing a Casting Call for all of the shows in the 08/09 Season.
There will be at least 6 Directors who want to see as many people as possible and what talent is available.
It is important that you come prepared with two monologues – 1 serious & 1 comic – no more than 30 seconds to 1 minute long each. The monologues DO NOT need to be from the upcoming shows - choose anything you like.
Below you will find a Synopsis and Character descriptions for all of the shows.
If you plan to attend please call Brad Powell @ 373-4472 to make an appointment.
The History Boys Synopsis
Aug.8-31, 2008 - by Alan Bennet - Directed by Brad Powell
An unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form (or senior) boys in a British boys’ school are, as such boys will be, in pursuit of sex, sport, and a place at a good university, generally in that order. In all their efforts, they are helped and hindered, enlightened and bemused, by a maverick English teacher who seeks to broaden their horizons in sometimes undefined ways, and a young history teacher who questions the methods, as well as the aim, of their schooling. In The History Boys, Alan Bennett evokes the special period and place that the sixth form represents in an English boy’s life. In doing so, he raises—with gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character—not only universal questions about the nature of history and how it is taught but also questions about the purpose of education today.
The History Boys Character List - (Boys only need to LOOK in the age range, not necessarily BE in the age range)
Akthar - From India, can be any ethnicity - 17-18
Crowther - Wants to go into Army - 17-18
Dakin - Good looking, sexy, cocky - 17-18
Lockwood - Religious, quiet, plays piano well - 17-18
Posner - Sexually confused, beautiful singing voice - 17-18
Rudge- Athletic, hardheaded, tough - 17-18
Scripps - Writer
Timms - Chubby, good natured - 17-18
Headmaster - Wants to make points for his school - 50+
Hector - Portly, clever, teaches life s well as history - 55+
Irwin - Young teacher with new ideas - 25-40
Mrs.Lintott - Solid female teacher admired by boys - 50+
The Clean House Synopsis
Oct. 3-26, 2008 - by Sarah Ruhl- Directed by Jacin Harter
This extraordinary play, by an exciting voice in American, drama was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. The Clean House play takes place in what the author describes as "metaphysical Connecticut", mostly in the home of a married couple who are both doctors. They have hired a housekeeper named Matilde, an aspiring comedian from Brazil who's more interested in coming up with the perfect joke than in house-cleaning. Lane, the lady of the house, has an eccentric sister named Virginia who's just nuts about house-cleaning. She and Matilde become fast friends, and Virginia takes over the cleaning while Matilde works on her jokes. Trouble comes when Lane's husband Charles reveals that he has found his soul mate, or bashert in a cancer patient named Ana, on whom he has operated. The actors who play Charles and Ana also play Matilde's parents in a series of dream-like memories, as we learn the story about how they literally killed each other with laughter, giving new meaning to the phrase, "I almost died laughing". This is beautiful and poignant look at class, comedy and the true nature of love.
The Clean House Character List
Lane: In her 50's. The model "woman of success" - troubled about losing her grip on perfection.
Matilde: Late 20's/early 30s. Brazilian - She has a refined sense of deadpan, and a beautiful light inside of her.
Virginia: Lane's younger sister. An intelligent woman who's somehow become an OCD housewife
Ana: In her 60's. Argentinean, impossible, charismatic, and most truly in love with Charles
Charles: Lane's husband. In his 50's. A compassionate surgeon and most truly in love with Ana
Ring of Fire Synopsis
Dec. 5-28, 2008 - by Nancy Moss - Director to be named later
Gina Corelli’s husband Frank has been acting strangely since the army put him and the other men in his squad on restriction, pending an investigation into an incident in Iraq where civilians were killed. It doesn’t help that Frank’s story of what happened differs from that of the other men—or that his best friend died in the incident. Gina’s frustration with Frank’s behavior makes her aware of her attractive Kung Fu teacher, even while she tries her best to help her husband.
The play takes place on and around an American military base in the present. Different groupings of different furniture indicate various spaces. A counter and two stools indicate Bonnie’s kitchen. Later in Act One, a mattress on the floor will be Gina’s bedroom. A small table and two chairs serve as the conference room where Frank and Gina talk and the business area of Mark’s Kung Fu studio. Now, it is the reception area of an office. Diane, the receptionist, is working at her desk. Bonnie enters and looks around.
Ring of Fire Character List
Diane Sims: early 40’s
Bonnie Earle: mid-twenties, southern drawl
Gina Corelli: mid-twenties
Frank Corelli: mid-twenties
Mark Limm: early thirties
Inside Out Synopsis
Jan 30-Feb. 22, 2009 - by Richard Tillotson - Directed by Eden-Lee Murray
Four Ph.D. candidates studying problems of the developing world learn that three of their research grants must be cut, and suddenly issues of limited resources that had seemed academic and remote become intensely real and personal.
Martin is witty, brilliant, and might actually be able to help solve the world's problems of over-population. But he's also a rude drunk who sleeps with co-eds, one of whom burned his thesis and all his notes.
Aparna, a beautiful foreign student from India, is working on a highly successful food project. But the man who might award the grant to her is also in love with her, and this makes her ashamed to accept either his love or the grant.
Elizabeth was orphaned as a child, a formative event that moves her to study homeless refugees. But a disastrous affair with Martin compromises her ability to present her project effectively which further infuriates her. Victor, who was once a nine-year old boat person from Vietnam, now wants to help diseased children in Africa but fears his hardworking merit, is in danger of being lost in the confusions, conflicts, and jealousies of the others.
The decision, "Which one?" rests with three administrators. Two of them, Baxton and Marino, are described early on as "a moray eel and a vampire bat." They live up to their reputations. After forcing the four candidates to endure a painful and futile interview process, these two skate out on their responsibility and leave the choice of "Which one?" up to -- Gordon, a well-intentioned man with an impossible decision who is so compromised by his love for Aparna that any choice he makes will appear self-interested. But he does find a way to make a disinterested choice, one that actually appears to solve everyone's problem.
Or does it? The final scene fast forwards six months to discover expected and wildly unexpected results.
Inside Out Character List
Martin Arzeniti - (Early 30's) Strong leading man presence, ability to play comedy a must—both verbal and physical. Tumbling and some skateboarding involved.
Aparna Sandor - (Early 30's) Ideally, an Indian actress for this role. At the very least the role calls for a convincing Indian accent.
Elizabeth Shipton - (Late 20's) Strong, intelligent woman who knows what she wants—or thinks she does.
Victor Tho - (Mid 30's) Beneath his polite, diligent exterior Victor possesses the steel of an immigrant survivor and knows how to tell a story to make an indelible point.
Hiram Baxton (Mid 50's) Blunt and obtuse. Anthony Marino (Mid 40s) Crafty and sly. These roles call for the ability to play comedy, and create broad but believable characters.
Gordon Taylor (Mid 40's) Must be able to make a conflicted, compromised, academic administrator a sympathetic character (at least sometimes).
Nearly all of the characters have juicy monologues, so ability to memorize is a must. Callbacks will consist of reading from the monologues, so those interested in specific roles should be familiar with one of their character’s speeches. Copies of these speeches will available at the initial auditions.
A Lesson Before Dying Synopsis
April 3,-26, 2009 - by Romulus Linney - Directed by Savada Gilmore
Based on the celebrated novel by Ernest J. Gaines, this wrenching story is an elegant but harsh illumination of the search for grace and dignity. Set in backwoods Louisiana in 1948, an innocent young black man awaits execution for the death of a white man. A plantation school teacher, who questions his own self-worth, must confront the willful convict in the hopes of saving his soul before dying. However, it is the lessons the teacher learns from the condemned man that succeed in exposing purpose in his own life.
A Lesson Before Dying Character List
Grant: The protagonist and narrator of the novel, an elementary school teacher in his mid-twenties.
Jefferson: A sincere, sensitive, young black man of below-average intelligence.
Paul Bonin: The sheriff’s deputy at the Bayonne jail, he is the only white in the novel who truly sympathizes with the black struggle in the South.
Sheriff Guidry: An authoritarian man who runs the prison in Bayonne.
Miss Emma: Jefferson’s godmother. Miss Emma possesses great faith in God. After hearing Jefferson’s lawyer call Jefferson a hog, she becomes obsessed with ensuring that Jefferson dies “like a man.” Miss Emma expresses her emotions freely and demonstrates her strength and resolve during Jefferson’s trial and incarceration.
Reverend Ambrose: The fiery, self-righteous leader of the black quarter’s religious community, and Grant’s primary foil in the novel.
Vivian: Grant’s beautiful, loving, and intelligent girlfriend.
Go here to read more about the characters in A LESSON BEFORE DYING: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lessonbefore/characters.html
Blue/Orange Synopsis
May 29-June 21, 2009 - by Joe Penhall - Directed by David Farmer
In a London psychiatric hospital, an enigmatic patient claims to be the son of an African dictator—a story that becomes unnervingly plausible.
Chris has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder following a psychotic episode. After 28 days in the care of young registrar Dr. Bruce Flaherty, he is due to be released, but Bruce fears that his patient's belief that his father is Idi Amin, and the fact that he insists that oranges are blue, are warning signs of schizophrenia. If Chris is released into the community he could well suffer a terrible breakdown. The scene is set for a struggle with senior consultant Dr. Robert Smith who sees Chris as ready to leave.
Blue/Orange is an incendiary tale of race, madness and a Darwinian power struggle at the heart of a dying National Health Service.
Blue/Orange Character List
The play's three characters are two psychiatrists and the streetwise yet lonely and alienated Christopher, a young black patient who claims to be the son of an exiled African dictator. He is full of anxious volatility, and yet he comes across as more sane than his doctors.
Dr. Bruce Flaherty is in his first year of practice and feels that Christopher may have schizophrenia, both because of his Idi Amin claim as well as the fact that he insists that oranges are blue. He wants to keep him as an in-patient, because if Chris is released into the community, he believes he could well suffer a terrible breakdown.
The sardonic consultant psychiatrist Dr. Robert Smith disagrees. It is not clear if he opposes Bruce's prognosis because too many young black men are diagnosed with schizophrenia or because of the bed shortage in the hospital -- or because of a personal conflict with Bruce over his research work. He makes the case that all psychometric testing has a cultural bias, an ethnocentricity that contributes to the misdiagnosis of those from other cultures. He is a man in his 50s with a career path intent on taking him to a prestigious professorship.
Miso Synopsis
July 24-Aug. 16, 2009 - by Susan Shirwen - Directed by Clare Davidson
When an old Samurai family falls on hard times in famine-ridden 1930's Japan, Kozo, the eldest son, decides on sudden and dramatic action to improve their circumstances. Unfortunately nothing goes to plan and his impulsive decision has dire consequences for all concerned.
Miso Character List
Grandmother Kazue Nagao – she looks gnarled and ancient but is as strong as an ox
Kozo Nagao – the eldest son age 40, a bit of a bull in a china shop. He has a slight limp
Fumiko – Kozo’s daughter age 17, intelligent, delicate and graceful
Shoji - Kozo’s son age 16, gentle, athletic and other worldly”
Noboru Nagao – Grandmother’s younger son, age 33, scholastic
Yoshiko – Noboru’s wife, age 32, beautiful and graceful with hidden power
Masataka – their son age 12, consumptive
Hideki Ono – their neighbor, age 25, young and handsome
