[Capdist-auditions] TONIGHT!!! Auditions for These Shining Lives at Curtain Call Theatre (Latham, NY) - Sun, Nov. 18th at 7pm

[Cindy Bates]

** TONIGHT!! SUNDAY Nov. 18th!! **

Auditions for These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich

Directed by Cindy Brizzell-Bates

 

AUDITIONS: Sunday, November 18th at 7pm

Curtain Call Theatre, 210 Old Loudon Road, Latham

( <http://www.curtaincalltheatre.com/> http://www.curtaincalltheatre.com)

 

Please note: the part of Mr. Reed has been cast.

4 Women/ 2 Men
Auditions will be conducted with excerpts from the script. Please bring a
resume and headshot (if possible).

 

Production Dates and Times:  Feb 22 - March 23 (performances on Thurs at
7:30pm, Fri & Sat at 8pm, Sun at 3pm) 

 

Rehearsals: Begin early January; Typical rehearsal day/times include
Saturday morning or afternoon, Sunday late morning or evening, and Mon-Wed
6:30-10pm but exact dates and times will be arranged based on the actors'
schedules.

Plot: This play, set in the 1920s and 1930s, tells the story of the women
sometimes called "the Radium Girls" who painted the face dials on clocks,
watches and other items using "glow in the dark" paint containing radium.
While at first radium was said to have the qualities of vitamins that make
the body healthier, these women discovered first hand that radium exposure -
much less ingestion - was deadly. But with no protection from the courts to
ensure healthy work places and with their status as women in the
1920s-1930s, their pleas for attention to this horrific situation went
unheard until the radium had ravaged their bodies. After seven years of
court battles, the women finally won the law's validation that radium
exposure and ingestion had indeed served them all death sentences. 

Characters:

 

Note: All Characters except Catherine play multiple roles including Reporter
1, Reporter 2, an Official, Judge 1, Judge 2, Son, Daughter, Company Doctor,
Dr. Rowntree, Dr. Dalitsch, and Leonard Grossman. The suggested doubling is
noted below but final decisions about doubling will be made after casting. 

 

Catherine Donohue (mid 20s): Katie is a strong but sensitive woman. She is
proud, hard-working, level-headed and honest. She is dedicated to her twin
children and her loving husband, but when her family could use some
additional income, her interest is piqued in working. She takes a job at a
local factory and finds she has great talent in quick, accurate painting of
face dials. Initially, her job is quite rewarding. She takes pride in her
work and becomes close friends with women at the factory. At a time when
women just won the right to vote, she enjoys the new social privileges that
making her own money provides. But when her body starts hurting "from the
inside out" she becomes convinced that something at the factory is making
all of the women ill. She champions the women's efforts to get the factory
owners to acknowledge this serious health issue and then reluctantly leads
their legal efforts. 

 

Frances (mid-late 20s): Frances is one of the women who work at the factory.
Her boss considers her to have the "moral backbone" of the women at the
factory, but her friends know that she loves to gossip. Nonetheless, she is
fun, loving, and full of energy - until the radium poisoning takes over her
body. [Can also play Reporter 2, an Official.]

 

Charlotte (mid-late 20s, early 30s): Charlotte also works at the factory
and, until Catherine discovers her own talent, Charlotte is the quickest,
most accurate worker at the factory. She is fast-talking, spirited, and
loves to keep people on their toes. She lives a bit on the edge for her time
and circumstance, going to dance halls to drink, smoke and have a good time.
But at the end of the day, she goes home to care for her mother. [Can also
play Reporter 1]

 

Pearl (mid-late 20s, early 30s): Pearl is the joke-teller at the factory.
She brings a sense of humor to all situations with her bad jokes and loving
spirit. Pearl is a good friend. [Can also play Daughter, Judge 2]

 

Tom Donohue (mid-20s): Tom is Catherine's devoted husband. Tom is a
construction worker who spends his day high on the beams of buildings under
construction. He works hard and appreciates the work his wife does both at
home and at the factory. He is, however, sensitive to the standard gender
roles of the 1920s and 1930s. In the end, though, he loves his wife above
all things. [Can also play Dr. Rowntree, Dr. Dalitsch]

 

Mr. Reed (40s-50s): Mr. Reed is the manager at the factory where Catherine,
Frances, Charlotte and Pearl work. In the beginning of the play, he is a
good man who seems to walk the fine line between authority and support of
his workers. But he is also a small man in that when he sees the factory
making his workers sick, he "toes the company line" rather than
acknowledging the radium poisoning. [Can also play Radio Announcer, Company
Doctor, Son, Judge 1, and Leonard Grossman]


For more information, please call Curtain Call Theatre at 877-7529 or
contact the director at  <mailto:cindy at batesny.com> cindy at batesny.com.

 

 

 

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