Roles (9 men, 5 women):
Gordon Page, 40's-50's. Artistic Director. (Leader of the pack, he's in most scenes)
Jack Morris, 20's. Actor. (The Juvenile. Should he quit acting, and go to law school?)
Susannah Huntsman, 30's. Director. (We've all had directors like this one, unfortunately)
Mary Pierre, 20's. Actor. (The ingénue. Earnest to a fault)
Tyler Taylor, 30's-40's. Actor. (Leading roles only, please)
Vernon Volker, 40's-50's, Actor. (Summer stock may be beneath him.)
Richfield Hawksley, 70's. Actor. (Done it all, played them all, if he could only remember.)
Daisy Coates, 60's-70's. Actor. (Has been ready to play Ophelia for 40 years)
Craig Conlin, 30's-50's. Business Manager. (Someone has to watch the money)
Sarah McKay, 40's-50's. Stage Manager. (Efficient, acerbic, never without her drink mug.)
Henry Mills, 30's-40's. Designer. (Must he really create it all with paper and scissors?)
And the inexperienced, overworked, and faithful apprentices:
Karma Schneider
Braun Oakes
Ian Milliken
Gordon Page, 40's-50's. Artistic Director. (Leader of the pack, he's in most scenes)
Jack Morris, 20's. Actor. (The Juvenile. Should he quit acting, and go to law school?)
Susannah Huntsman, 30's. Director. (We've all had directors like this one, unfortunately)
Mary Pierre, 20's. Actor. (The ingénue. Earnest to a fault)
Tyler Taylor, 30's-40's. Actor. (Leading roles only, please)
Vernon Volker, 40's-50's, Actor. (Summer stock may be beneath him.)
Richfield Hawksley, 70's. Actor. (Done it all, played them all, if he could only remember.)
Daisy Coates, 60's-70's. Actor. (Has been ready to play Ophelia for 40 years)
Craig Conlin, 30's-50's. Business Manager. (Someone has to watch the money)
Sarah McKay, 40's-50's. Stage Manager. (Efficient, acerbic, never without her drink mug.)
Henry Mills, 30's-40's. Designer. (Must he really create it all with paper and scissors?)
And the inexperienced, overworked, and faithful apprentices:
Karma Schneider
Braun Oakes
Ian Milliken
Play Description:
In writing Laughing Stock, Charles Morey has drawn on his experiences as the acclaimed director of Salt Lake City's Pioneer Theatre Company. This hilarious farce gives the audience a back-stage look at a struggling third-rate theatre company performing summer stock in an old barn in New England. Faced with eccentric directors, a limited budget, and a challenging schedule, the troupe valiantly tries to keep the theatre afloat. The pragmatic, but weary, artistic director has scheduled three plays to run in repertory (all in rehearsal, to run on alternate nights in the barn theatre): Hamlet, Charley's Aunt, and a new adaptation of Dracula.
Laughing Stock is a farcical send-up of summer stock theatre, combined with an affectionate look at the magic that holds theatre companies together. As Morey states in his introduction to the play, "The humor derives not from the disasters that befall (the characters), but from the manner in which they attempt to cope with those disasters, cover their miscues, and right the sinking ship."
Although the characters in the play will be recognized as types generally found in theatre repertory companies (the juvenile, the ingenue, the leading man, older character actors, etc., they should be portrayed as "real people with real concerns for which we have empathy." The play's characters are members of a true ensemble company, and we hope to assemble a true ensemble cast for Laughing Stock at Country Playhouse to celebrate their misfortunes and their successes.
Auditions 1pm Monday March 7 & Tuesday March 8, at SFCC's Spartan Theatre in Bldg 5.
