AUDITIONS
SEMINAR
by Theresa Rebeck
Directed and Produced by Andrew Boncoddo
Stage Management by Matthew Silverstein
AUDITION DATES
Monday, December 16, 2019 @ 7pm
Tuesday, December 17, 2019 @ 7pm
Callbacks (if needed): Wed., December 18, 7pm
Performance dates:
March 6-21, 2020
(Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM, Sunday 3/8 & 3/15 at 3 PM)
Acme Theater, Maynard’s local community theater, is pleased to announce auditions for its third mainstage show of the season: Seminar by Theresa Rebeck, directed and produced by Andrew Boncoddo with stage management by Matthew Silverstein.
Auditions will be held on Monday, December 16 and Tuesday, December 17 at Acme Theater, 61 Summer St., Maynard, MA in the ArtSpace Building. Callbacks, if necessary, will be held on Wednesday, December 18.
The Story
In Seminar, a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, and the conventions of hearts and minds are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting comedy.
Audition Information:
When:
Monday, December 16th and Tuesday, December 17th at 7pm. Callbacks, if necessary, will be on Wednesday, December 18th at 7pm.
Where:
Acme Theater is located at 61 Summer Street, Maynard in the Artspace building. Parking is available on the street in front of the theater (dependent on the amount of snow and/or any snow emergencies declared by the town) and in the parking lot behind the theater. The main entrance to the theater is in the front of the building. Acme Theater is wheelchair accessible - please contact Andrew Boncoddo at boncoddo@gmail.com for further details.
What To Bring:
Please bring a completed audition form, a résumé, and a current headshot to auditions. Audition forms are attached here or can be obtained by emailing Andrew Boncoddo at boncoddo@gmail.com. Audition forms will also be available at the theater on audition nights. Please include ALL conflicts you have within the provided calendar template included in the audition form. No headshot? No problem! We’ll be happy to take your photo prior to your audition and attach it to your form.
What To Expect:
Auditions will take place at Acme Theater and will consist of cold readings from the script - no appointments necessary. Audition sides will be provided at auditions but can also be made available prior to your audition night. To request audition sides, please email Andrew Boncoddo after November 15th at boncoddo@gmail.com. In your email, please note which night of auditions you plan to attend (if known) and which role(s) you are interested in. Familiarity with the full script is strongly recommended.
All roles are volunteer, unpaid positions.
All those who audition will be notified as to whether or not they are offered a role.
Rehearsals are slated to begin with a read through between Christmas and January 4th and table work during the first full week of January. Those cast in the show should expect 3-4 rehearsals per week from January to tech week. Performances are March 6-21, 2020 with Friday and Saturday performances at 8pm and Sunday matinees on March 8th and 15th at 3pm. Tech will be the week of March 1st and is mandatory for all cast and crew.
Cast descriptions are below. Age ranges for the four students project as mid-20s to mid-30s. The actor portraying Leonard must project as older than the four other characters; think mid-life and well-worn, not elderly. The final casting decisions regarding age ranges will depend on the mix of available talent and chemistry/combinations. Auditioners from all ethnic and social backgrounds as well as all gender identities are welcome.
Characters:
Leonard (late 40s-early 60s) - Fierce, brilliant, contemptuous, magnetic. Leonard upends the lives of his students in a whirlwind. He enjoys nothing more than the idea of shredding the fragile egos of his students in order to wring just one shred of truth out of their work. Fractured by a past scandal and steeped in the self-loathing that comes with it, Leonard still finds a way to appreciate beauty – whether on the page or in his class.
Izzy (mid 20s-mid 30s) – Socially uninhibited, self-involved, opportunistic, confident; Izzy’s initial breakthrough with Leonard and natural charisma sets the wheels in motion for the group’s collective angst and conflicts. Izzy is a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it – most importantly, she’s unafraid of putting plans into action.
PLEASE NOTE: The script calls for brief topless nudity for Izzy (no more than 60-90 seconds over the course of a few lines at the end of Scene One.) To maintain the integrity of the writer’s message, we would prefer the nudity to stay in. However, the director’s top priority is talent; if the best fit for Izzy is not comfortable with nudity, the director will work with the actress, cast, and crew to find a way around it that is agreeable to all parties.
Martin (mid 20s-mid 30s) – The classic hard-scrabble misanthrope with a chip on his shoulder, Martin uses his acerbic wit, projected social ignorance, and disdain for phony people to hide his tortured jealousy of watching people with more means and less talent succeed where he has failed, both in life and in love. His seemingly-platonic hometown relationship with Kate belies a slew of missed opportunities.
Kate (mid 20s-mid 30s) – Defensive yet deferential, Kate comes from an affluent background, balancing her feminist ideals with the need to make peace whenever possible. The torch she carries for Martin in secret (at least she thinks it’s in secret) only adds to her imbalance. The initial reaction to her work from Leonard and the class shakes her values to their core, lights a fuse on her internal turmoil, and forces her to reconsider the effect of her choices on her reality.
Douglas (mid 20s-mid 30s) - The most successful of the four students; not coincidentally, he is also the most well-connected within the writing community, drawing Martin’s ire and Izzy’s interest. Though he has talent, he leans too heavily on “name dropping” as a means to acceptance. Douglas is a man who will use ten words when two will do to project intellectual depth. He ranges from insufferable to surprisingly multi-dimensional over the course of the play.
Acme Theater holds open auditions. For information on our casting policy, please see "View Our Casting Policy" below.