The Twin City Players (TCP) will hold auditions for a staged reading of Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, directed by Paul Mow on Wednesday, July 27 and Thursday, July 28 at 5:30 p.m.
Clybourne Park offers a variety of roles for four men and three women.
Actors are asked to prepare a dramatic monologue of no more than 90 seconds in length to perform in front of the directorial staff. Performers of all ethnic and racial background are encouraged to attend. This play contains adult language and themes that are not suitable for children.
Clybourne Park will be presented as a staged reading during TCP’s first annual Twin Cities Theatre Festival on Friday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Benton Harbor Arts District.
Auditions will be held in the Twin City Players Studio at 600 West Glenlord Road, St. Joseph, Michigan 49085.
About Clybourne Park
Clybourne Park explodes in two outrageous acts set fifty years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as white community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.
Primary Character Descriptions
ACTOR 1
Russ (Caucasian, late 40s) – A man who is unable to get over the loss of his son and is moving out of the house in which his son committed suicide. (Act One)
Dan – Workman beginning the renovations for the home’s new owners. (Act Two)
ACTOR 2
Bev (Caucasian woman, 40s) – Married to Russ. Cheerful woman who wants to help her husband overcome his grief for the loss of their son. (Act One)
Kathy – Lawyer helping the new homeowners negotiate a petition brought against them by the homeowners’ association concerning planned renovations for their home. (Act Two)
ACTOR 3
Francine (African American woman, late 30s) – Russ and Bev’s housekeeper who is inadvertently pulled into a debate concerning the neighborhood and the possible change of its demographic. (Act One)
Lena – Determined to keep her neighborhood a historical district and prevent the new homeowners’ planned renovations. (Act Two)
ACTOR 4
Jim (Caucasian, late 20s) – The local pastor. Asked by the homeowners’ (Act One) association to convince Russ and Bev not to sell their home to a black family.
Tom – Neighbor arguing for preserving the historical look of the community. (Act Two)
ACTOR 5
Albert (African American, late 30s) – Married to Francine. Helpful man, trying to keep himself and his wife out of the neighborhood’s argument. (Act One)
Kevin – Married to Lena. Defending his wife’s desire to preserve the neighborhood. (Act Two)
ACTOR 6
Karl (Caucasian, late 30s) – Determined to preserve his neighborhood and property value by trying to stop the sale of the home to a black family. (Act One)
Steve – Married to Lindsey. The new homeowner who wants to renovate his new house to a larger scale than the historical single-family-home model. (Act Two)
ACTOR 7
Betsy (Caucasian, late 20s) – Karl’s pregnant, deaf wife. Becomes lost in the conversation as it turns more volatile. (Act One)
Lindsey – Steve’s pregnant wife. Hearing. Fighting to understand why the community is against her renovations and to convince them otherwise. (Act Two)
The Twin Cities Theatre Festival is presented by the Twin City Players and sponsored by the New Territory Arts Association and the Lake Michigan College Performing Arts department. Business and organizations interested in sponsoring the event may contact TCP Business Manager Kim Kidd at TCPBoxOffice@gmail.com.
CLYBOURNE PARK is produced by special arrangement with DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE.
