By Matt Thompson.
Product Code: AC6000
One-act Play
Comedy | Farce | Satire
Cast size: 1m., 2w., 4 either gender.
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The local theater is producing Medea. With stopwatch in hand, the exceptionally organized and time-conscious stage manager meticulously micromanages every minute of the audition process. After a bit of confusion, our first actor, Kelley, barely manages to speak three words of her monologue before the stage manager cuts her off with a curt THANK YOU! NEXT! Jules, a bubbly musical theater actress, enters and "sings" a unique acappella version of a popular song. NEXT! Without a word, The-Artist-Formerly-Known-as-Question-Mark enters in whiteface. This mime's audition piece consists of staring into space for 30 seconds. NEXT! Sporting all black, with an English accent and a mighty ego in tow, M.R. Irving takes the stage. After some ridiculous warm-ups and an over-dramatic monologue, we learn that his first name is Macbeth. Upon hearing the name of the Scottish play, chaos ensues and all of the actors immediately return to the stage for callbacks. Jules acts out "I'm a Little Teapot" with an interpretive dance. M.R. Irving begins to read the part of Jason from that famous Greek tragedy but finds the dialogue a bit trite and decides instead to recite Bottom's dialogue from A Midsummer Night's Dream. At this point, the stage manager has lost all patience, and we soon find out that one of the actors is not who he/she appears to be. The Audition is theatrical mayhem with a twist that will have you rolling in the aisles!
A fabulous piece for a small or new program. Funny and easy to stage.
Light, fast-moving and full of funny theatrical references!
Cast the stage manager first and be sure he/she is not too negative. "Jules" has to become Lucille Ball and will need additional rehearsal time. We used brushes/drums through her piece.
M.R. Irving, our star of many shows, is in his late 80s, so he used a script because of memory problems but performed in Shakespearean style. It worked well. I used a high stool for the stage manager, and she wore a beret; it looked great.
Jen Baker, Mariner High School, Cape Coral, Fla.