When: Tues. 9/2, 4-6:30; Wed. 9/3 5:45-9:30
Where: Rm. 201 at
Sign up: Theater Studies Door at
Questions: lauren.bremen@yale.edu
We are casting 3 male and 3 female roles – all major roles. In addition, we are looking for a flexible ensemble of 6 performers/puppeteers who will be constantly on stage, bringing the puppets and the production to life. One male role requires strong dance skills!
MAN. The frigid father of a mid-1960's traditional/dysfunctional family. He's having an affair, and spends all his money on his mistress. Jewish, though his family attends a Unitarian Universalist church. Along with the WOMAN, he narrates most of the first half of the play in 3rd person. (a storyteller)
WOMAN. The family's disillusioned mother. She sees everything is falling apart, but can't stop it. Very withdrawn. Lapsed Catholic, though her family attends a Unitarian Universalist church. Along with the MAN, she narrates most of the first half of the play in 3rd person. (a storyteller)
REBECCA. The eldest of the 3 children. 12 going on 13, she's into Catholic boys and not Unitarian Universalism. Wants to be an adult -- hates being one of the kids in the back seat. She's a bit plain, and tends to get overlooked. (child Rebecca is a puppet, controlled by the actress who plays her as an adult)
As an adult, Rebecca has lost her way. She leads a wild life with little regard for herself or others. After her boyfriend discovers she's had an affair, she's locked out of her house, drunk and alone. Despairingly, she lays herself down on a bench, almost covered by snow on a freezing winter night.
CLAIRE. The youngest of the 3 children. 7 and precocious, Claire wants to know why, how or what to believe about everything. She is the golden girl, and the only one to receive any true affection from her father. (child Claire is a puppet, controlled by the actress who plays her as an adult)
Adult Claire has left behind her golden girl days, but not her taste for golden girls. However, on a freezing winter night, she discovers her steady girlfriend has found a golden girl of her own. Locked out and forgotten, she faces the night, and the barrel of her own gun.
STEPHEN. The middle child. 9, frail and effeminate, he never seems to be able to please his father. He has special empathy for his mother. Not knowing why, he seems to like watching the boys at school play games at recess. When a Christmas sermon is given at the Uni-Uni church with a Japanese theme, he becomes transfixed with all things Japanese. (child Stephen is a puppet, controlled by the actor who plays him as an adult)
After getting thrown out of his house by his boyfriend, adult Stephen seeks solace in anonymous sex. He contracts AIDS and dies young. However, in the tradition of Japanese Noh drama, he returns as a Ghost, and comes to quietly save his sisters on a certain freezing winter night. The entire play is told through the perspective of the Ghost of Stephen.
THE MINISTER. The spiritual center of the play. Gives a sermon incorporating the Japanese tradition of the Ukiyo-E (Floating World), which entrances Stephen and allows for the traditions of Japanese theater to meld into the production. He also voices the Mother's parents. When Stephen returns to the world of the living for a day, he does so through a beautiful dance performed by the Minister. The actor playing the minister must have strong dance skills.
The 6 Performers/Puppeteers will work the puppets, create sound effects organically on stage, and play any characters which appear on stage but do not speak. They are rarely off stage, and integral to the show.
see next post for what to prepare for the audition!
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