[Capdist-auditions] auditions at Home Made Theater

Sun Apr 22 18:55:27 EDT 2007

Text Box: ANNOUNCES 

Text Box: OPEN AUDITIONS
for an October production of Warren Leight’s

Text Box: Side Man

Sunday & Monday, April 29 & 30 

7pm – 9pm at the Spa Little Theater 

A NOTE ON THE PLAY Winner of the 1999 Tony Award for Best Play, Side Man is
an extraordinary mix of comedy and drama that spans 30 years in the life of
a family. The play follows the professional exploits and personal
shenanigans of a group of musicians, beginning in the 1950s--the heyday of
the modern jazz movements of ‘bebop’ and ‘cool’.  In a kaleidoscopic series
of flashbacks, we are introduced to the Glimmer family of New York City:
GENE, the ‘side man’ of the title, is a professional musician whose passion
for jazz eclipses his ability to respond to his family; his wife, TERRY,
follows a sad descent into alcoholism and paranoia; their son, CLIFFORD, is
who is our narrator and confidante, guiding us through the roller-coaster
ride of growing up in a dysfunctional family. The play is written with great
warmth and humor and--while it isn’t a musical--has great music in it.

**A ‘side man’ is a musician who is professionally adept, who can ‘sit in’,
read ‘charts’ who can ‘blow’ but is not a ‘name”. A ‘side man’ makes his
living in professional bands that play popular music and that specialize in
jazz, swing or big band or ballroom styles. The years covered in the play
represent a huge change in popular tastes--i.e. the advent of rock and roll,
television, etc.—which drastically reduced the popularity of the music the
side men played. 

Character Descriptions:

CLIFFORD--to play late 20s--our narrator and host. He sees both the good and
bad in the members of his extended family. He is about to branch out on his
own--and our play is his farewell to the past. He is the one character who
doesn’t age; however, he plays himself as a 10 year old boy. He is a wise,
empathetic observer. He harbors the
secret conviction that his parents were better off without him. He needs to
heal and be healed before the play is over.

GENE--to play 30s to late 50s; --jazz trumpeter, the ‘side man’ of the title
and Clifford’s father. A gifted musician, who never made a name for himself,
loves the music and the lifestyle.  At times, so preoccupied with the ‘inner
music in his head’ that he doesn’t recognize or acknowledge the tangible
world around him. Can be distanced and distracted, he is the loner of the
group, given the nickname of ‘turtle’.  

TERRY--to play 30s to late 50s--wife of Gene and mother of Clifford. As a
young woman, she comes to New York, idealistic, naïve and unprepared for
failure. She is, at first, excitable and openhearted. It is only through
dark times that her dependencies emerge. She discovers that Gene is not
really married to her but to his music. Her frustration and dislocated
passion leads her to alcoholism and eventually madness. She has a great
sense of humor to begin with that turns brittle and harsh.

PATSY--to play 30s to late 50s--a real gal in the Runyonesque sense of the
word. She begins the play as a waitress and ends it as Clifford surrogate
aunt; she is compassionate and wry, empathetic but self-preserving.  Patsy
is well armored for a life in the big city and can roll with the punches.
She also has a developed sense of amorousness and manages to marry or sleep
with (or both) most of the band members. 

The other characters of the play form an extended family, a team. They
recount stories, tell jokes and finish each other’s sentences. These are
also side men.  At the beginning of the play, they all play in the horn
section of Claude Thornhill’s Big Band, then go in and out of unemployment
lines. They are:

AL--to play  30’s to late 50s--confident, fancies himself a ladies man (he
is nicknamed the octopus), vain about his appearance. Al is the
self-appointed manager of this unruly group of musicians. Often more serious
than the others, more practical, Al is the foil to the more antic Ziggy and
Jonesy. Loves the music and has adapted well to the lifestyle.

ZIGGY--to play late 20s to late 50s--has a pronounced speech impediment:
“Can I have crackersh with my shoup?’’ Very dry wit, very caustic, he has
wise crack for everything. 

JONESY--to play late 20s to late 50s--addicted to heroin and for this reason
he appears often to be mostly docile and serene--and comically, in slow
motion. He also appears to have a not-so-secret crush on Terry. He has a
strong sense of style and appears to be very self-possessed, but it is an
illusion; he is covering a great void in his life. He caves in completely
when he’s arrested for possession. Jonesy is ultimately a lost soul in the
play. When the good times run out, his collapse is nearly total.

HMT is looking for actors and actresses who can play characters who age 30
years --beginning in their late 20s, early 30s and stretch into their 60s.
The play begins in 1985 but flashes in and out of events during 1950s, 60’s
and 70s. All of the characters are freewheeling, larger-than-life people and
are capable of great emotional range and mood swings.  The ensemble requires
actors who can move well and a sense of humor is  a plus.  It helps if you
like jazz, or are at least curious. IT IS NOT NECESSARY THAT YOU PLAY AN
INSTRUMENT--but it couldn’t hurt, so let us know if you do!

Scripts will be available, prior to the auditions, at The Saratoga Springs
Public Library Reference Desk.

For the audition: No appointment is necessary.

Please bring a current photo and resume. Photos cannot be returned.

Production Dates: Weekends, October 12th – 28th - Rehearsals begin in early
September

For further information please call Home Made Theater at (518) 587-4427

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