Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris Performance Run Commitment: May 22-June 8, 2014 When: Saturday, March 29, 1pm Where: Manoa Valley Theatre Guest Director Vanita Rae Smith About the show Place: 406 Clybourne Street, near the northwest of central Chicago. A white community in 1950’s Chicago frets about the African American family about to move in. Fast-forward to our present day, and the same house represents very different demographics. Irreverently climbing through the looking-glass of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin In The Sun, these contemporary characters explode into caustic comedy to reveal how far our ideas of race and gentrification have evolved—or have they? Wickedly funny and fiercely provocative, the volatile combination of race and real estate is at the heart of this multiple award-winning comedy/drama. The play is performed by a cast of seven: 3 Caucasian males, 2 Caucasian females, 1 African-American male and 1 African-American female. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Reading the play in advance is strongly recommended. All actors play one role in Act I and a different role in Act II. ACT I (1959) Russ Stoller - white, late 40s, married to Bev; the owner of 406 Clybourne Street in 1969 who has decided to sell the house and move; a long grieving parent over the loss of his son; angry at the local neighborhood that has shunned him and his wife; plays Dan in Act II. Bev Stoller - white, 40s, married to Russ; cheerful woman; likes to entertain; optimistic that she and her husbands lives are about to get better; is often unaware of the impact of her words and actions. She supports the new family coming in no matter their race; plays Kathy in Act II. Francine - black, 30s, married to Albert; Russ and Bev’s housekeeper who is inadvertently pulled into a debate concerning the neighborhood and the possible change of its demographic; she values her dignity; plays Lena in Act II. Jim - white, late 20s; the sometimes overbearing pastor for the Clybourne Park community; asked by the homeowners’ association to convince Russ and Bev not to sell their home to a black family; plays Tom as well as Kenneth Stoller in Act II. Albert - black, 30s; married to Francine; a helpful man who is sometimes unaware of racial tension; trying to keep himself and his wife out of the neighborhood’s argument; plays Kevin in Act II. Karl Linder - white, 30s; a young minister; the leader of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association; he has just visited the Younger family regarding their interest in moving to the neighborhood; adds to the complication at hand with his narrow-minded views; plays Steve in Act II. Betsy Linder - white, late 20s; married to Karl;somewhat naïve, deaf, and very pregnant; plays Lindsey in Act II. ACT II (2009) Tom - white, played by the actor who plays Jim; the real estate lawyer representing the interests of Kevin and Lenas Home Owners Association. Lindsey - white, played by the actor who plays Betsy; pregnant and married to Steve; prospective buyer of the house; fighting to understand why the community is against her renovations and to convince them otherwise. Kathy - white, played by the actor who plays Bev; a real estate lawyer hired by Steve and Lena to help the renovation process on 406 Clybourne Street; tries to keep the proverbial ball rolling. Steve - white, played by the actor who played Karl; married to Lindsey; prospective buyer of the house who wants to tear down the house and build a new one;eager to tell offensive jokes and engage in discussions about race and class; the most obnoxious member of the group, serving as a catalyst that exposes not only his prejudice, but the prejudice of others. Lena - black, played by the actor who played Francine; seller of the house; strong ties to the house in question. She is a member of the Home Owners Association, hoping to preserve the architectural integrity of the neighborhood, and is the niece of the first black woman who moved to Clybourne Park in 1959 as the original owner of the house; she wants to preserve the building. Kevin - black; played by the actor who played Albert; married to Lena; defends his wife’s desire to preserve the neighborhood; he knows how to play the political game of race. Dan - white, played by the actor who played Russ; a workman installing a pipeline behind the house who interrupts the debate when he discovers a mysterious box buried in the yard. Kenneth Stoller - white, non-speaking role; played by the actor who played Jim; appears as the spirit of the Korean War son whowas a hero to his country and has died. Production Schedule rehearsals April 7 - May 21, 2014 performance run commitment May 22 - June 8, 2014 (15 performances), Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 4pm. Possible holdover performance: Saturday, June 7 at 3pm. Performances will be held at Manoa Valley Theatre. Rehearsals will be held at Iolani School, 563 Kamoku Street. The rehearsal schedule will generally be Mondays through Fridays from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays as necessary. Cast members will uniformly receive an honorarium to help defray the out-of-pocket expenses associated with volunteerism and participation in this production. This honorarium is not an offer of employment. About The Director Vanita Rae Smith (Guest Director) has been active in theatre in Hawaii in excess of three decades. Her previous MVT directing assignments are plentiful and include The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Fifth of July, Driving Miss Daisy, Shadowlands, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Ritz, Crimes of the Heart, Agnes of God, The Miss Firecracker Contest, Inherit the Wind, The Road to Mecca, Painting Churches, Grace and Glorie, Scotland Road, Doubt and God of Carnage. She was Executive Producer of Army Community Theatre in Hawaii for more than thirty years, is Director of Windward Readers Theatre, and is an instructor at Pacific Rim School of the Arts. She also currently serves on the board of Hawaii State Theatre Council as its historian. Script Perusal and More Information Scripts are available for perusal on premises at the Manoa Valley Theatre business office, 2833 East Manoa Road, between 9:30 am and 5:00 pm, Mondays through Fridays. For more information please call MVT at 988-6131. Upcoming Auditions Smokey Joes Cafe May 2, 2014 guest director: Brad Powell guest musical director: Keith Griffin
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 02:29:18 +0000
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