TW6: Callbacks - Sides, etc...

Want some advance help for the readings today?

Please note that this audition will be handled "cold".  This means you will be brought in and handed sides to read.  You will not be sent out with other actors to "prepare" and then come in.

That said, to help you better ready yourselves, note that the following sides will be used today.  

Red Sky at Morning

Side A

p11 - 14

MARCUS

JAKE

ZOE

CALLIE

ISAIAH

LORELEI

Side B

p23 - 26

ABBY

ISAIAH

Side C

p33 - 35

LORELEI

INTERNET GIRL 1

INTERNET GIRL 2

INTERNET BOY 1

INTERNET BOY 2

Side D

p50 - 51

MARCUS

ISAIAH

Side E

p55 - 58

MARCUS

ABBY

LOST_FOR_WORDS

Side F

p7 - 12

JACKY

SAM

Side G

p19 - 22

JACKY

ALEX

Side H

p45 - 51

QUINN

TAYLOR

PEYTON

STEPH

KATRINA

BECCA

CLOWN 1

CLOWN 2

Side I

p65 - 69

JACKY

DASH

GAGE

In addition, there are a large number of actors to see.  In the event I feel I need an additional day of auditions, I will use Thursday 11/30 as a second day of callbacks.  Given both 11/30 and 12/1 are mandatory dates (per the signed packets), this should not impact anyone.  The goal is still to cast by end of the day.  But I will not rush a process that should be given utmost care. And I want to be able to properly respect your work and efforts.

LOST_FOR_WORDS... Evolution

As this affects how I will be looking at casting and how some things will be interpreted in the auditions today, I wanted to share the result of a terrific script development conversation I just had with playwright Jeff Denight.  

They are very excited about how their script is evolving and wanted me to share the following with you:

During the development process, LOST_FOR_WORDS will evolve, resulting in the following: 

JACKY and ALEX will be played by female actors.  SAM will be played by a male actor.  The character of SAM will also go through a journey of questioning his sexuality and how this impacts gender expectations.  The traumas around SAM and TALYOR will be elevated to be more in line with JACKY's journey.

YAY NEW PLAYS!!! 

TW6: CALLBACKS

Teen West Project:  Year Six

Him     Her     Them     Us

CALLBACKS

The following actors are still being considered for roles in the production.  Please plan to be at Callback Auditions:  Wednesday 11/29 from 4p - 8p.

(Please excuse any typos in your names - some handwriting isn’t fully legible.)

Ginger Felberg

Johnathan Price

Aaron Grimshaw

Grace Dotson

Alex Warden

Julia Taylor

Bryce Snyder

Daltry Russo

Theodore Bratschi

Parker Callais

Ashley Stanton

Sophie Chappell

Wolf Morgan-Steiner

Annika Phillips

William Britton

Amy Rodgers

Levi Nixon

Clay McAllister

Maxwell Finke

Cassidy Stevenson

Rivkah Zigman

Maxwell Sivers-Boyce

Jordan L’Amoreaux

Kate Kelly

Lucy Grissom

Zoe Carver

Kathleen Meldrum

Zoe Bennett

Daisy Valdez*

Zoe Maloney-Dunn

Julia Meyers

Raven Wilson

Ethan Mills

Solomon Harris

Jackson Wray

Maddie Bradford

Ella Carson*

*Guardian signature is missing from the audition form.  Please arrive at callbacks with a signed note, stating your guardian gives you permission to participate in the production.  Or, you can have your guardian email me a message at:  matthew.b.zrebski@gmail.com

TW6: More Casting Info!

In preparation for auditions on Tuesday 11/28, please note the following:

#1

There is casting flexibility in LOST_FOR_WORDS depending on how auditions play out and who illustrates the strongest audition and approach to the characters.  The roles of JACKY, SAM, and ALEX will be cast in one of two ways; the character descriptions should, therefore, look like:

JACKY - Male; bi

SAM - Female; straight

ALEX - Male; gay

OR

JACKY - Female; bi

SAM - Male; straight

ALEX - Female; gay

#2

Please remember that the scripts as currently written are the audition drafts. The plays are not complete.  The first weeks of rehearsal will all be about exploration of the scripts, the content, the roles, the interpretations, etc.  The playwrights and a dramaturg will be in and out of rehearsals to assess and take in feedback.  Rewrites will take place and once winter break is over, the staging drafts will be used to put the show on its feet, memorize, and elevate to the full production.  It's a thrilling process to participate in new work development, and we are eager to continue the collaboration with SW2 and offer students the experience of what it's often like to bring new plays to life in the professional theatre world!

TW6: AUDITION INFO

Teen West Project:  Year 6

Him Her Them Us

With its Teen West Project, Playwrights West seeks to develop and eventually publish new theatrical works where aspects of the teen experience are explored and expressed through bold and innovative storytelling.  This annual partnership with Wilson Drama offers a unique opportunity for professional writers to pen plays about teenaged themes with all teenaged characters to be played by teenaged performers. Emphasis is placed on highly theatrical scenarios and style so as to separate theatre from other media like film and television.  There is also the allowance for mature content and a bold exploration of difficult subject matter in order to allow a responsible dialogue to take place amongst the young artists with the guidance of responsible adults.  In this way, theatre transcends entertainment and provokes important conversations within the community of Wilson students, their families, their teachers, and friends.  Him Her Them Us features two plays that explore themes around the subject of gender roles in 21^st century society and how those roles impact the identities of teenagers.  The plays are Red Sky at Morning by Claire Willett and LOST_FOR_WORDS by Jeff Denight. The show will be directed by Matthew B. Zrebski.

AUDITIONS ARE 11/28 and 11/29

The audition packet and the scripts are accessible by clicking:

HIM  HER  THEM  US

or...for hard copies...

Scripts will soon be made available to read in the drama room.

Packets may soon be picked up from the drama room.

Note...

Sign Ups will soon be on the call board.

A Request...

Given the Thanksgiving Break and recent production may not have people fully focused on this upcoming opportunity, please help spread the word. Blast it on social media!  Text reminders!  Talk it up!  There are 24 roles available and we hope to see a huge range of talent at auditions.  The more that come out to audition, the better the show, and the more this incredible program grows!!!

Playwrights West can't wait to get started!

TW6: Auditions Around the Corner

It's around the corner...

Teen West Project:  Year 6

Him Her Them Us

featuring 

Red Sky at Morning by Claire Willett

and

LOST_FOR_WORDS by Jeff Denight

SAVE THE DATES:

Auditions:  11/28, 11/29 

Rehearsals Begin:  11/30

AUDITION PACKETS & SCRIPTS:

Available Monday 11/20

More soon...

Teen West Year 6: First Draft Reading!!!

Teen West:  Year 6

Him   Her   Them   Us

featuring Red Sky at Morning by Claire Willett

and LOST_FOR_WORDS by Jeffrey Denight

In its sixth year collaborating with SouthWest StageWorks at Wilson High School, Playwrights West company members Claire Willett and Jeffrey Denight have each penned a one-act, investigating the themes and challenges associated with gender and coming of age in the 21^st Century.  The plays will be presented as an evening of theatre with an intermission separating them.  One play is more comedic in tone, the other more tragic. 

Red Sky at Morning 

by Claire Willett

(synopsis)

Since freshman year, Marcus and his friends have been getting together once a month to play a pirate-themed role-playing game called “Red Sky at Morning.”  But chaos strikes the group after one member’s sexist comment ends up posted on their high school’s anonymous insult blog, where anyone can say anything about anybody.  To clear his sister Zoe, who is falsely accused of making the post, Marcus attempts to track down the real culprit; but soon everyone’s anonymous internet identities begin to collide with real life, leading them all to question the ways in which our understanding of what it means to “be a man” and “be a woman” in the world are shaped, complicated, and challenged by the online communities we live in. 

L O S T_F O R_W O R D S

by Jeffrey Denight

(synopsis)

As language is policed between and within groups-- at first casually and then with mounting severity-- words begin to lose their power and meaning to the result of a quickly deteriorating world. L O S T_F O R_W O R D S is a modernist drama exploring themes of coming out, self-identifying, role expectations and perfection, and gendered spaces.

The thematic choice for this season is based largely on observations at Wilson High School and in schools across the city and country.  More and more, the definitions and expectations of gender are being challenged and redefined.  The emerging generation is front and center in confronting what may be a paradigm shift in how gender and identity are both claimed and perceived.

The show will be directed by Playwrights West founding member Matthew B. Zrebski.  Him Her Them Us will open on February 15, 2018.

On Tuesday 9/19/17 at 7:00p:

You are invited to come hear the first drafts of these plays.  The readings will take place in the drama room.  We are asking that students take roles and read cold.  THIS IS NOT AN AUDITION!!!  This is just about having fun, taking parts, and hearing the plays out loud.  The playwrights will be in attendance and may have some questions afterwards to help them in their rewrite process.

A sign-up sheet will go up soon on the call board.  Please sign up if you would like to attend and/or read a part.