Auditions for Season One, 2018 at Melville Theatre.
Venus in Fur
by David Ives
Audition dates:
October Saturday 21st 11 am to 1 pm
Sunday October 22nd 2 pm to 4 pm
and November 11th 11 am to 1 pm
Season dates Feb 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 at 8pm and 25th (2pm matinee) March 1, 2, 3 at 8pm
Contact the Director Trevor Dhu via email trevordhutae@gmail.com or call 0409 373 374
Synopsis
A young playwright, Thomas, has written an adaptation of the 1870 novel Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (after whom the term “masochism” was coined); the novel is the story of an obsessive adulterous relationship between a man and the mistress to whom he becomes enslaved. At the end of a long day in which the actresses Thomas auditions fail to impress him, in walks Vanda, very late and seemingly clueless, but she convinces him to give her a chance. As they perform scenes from Thomas’s play, and Vanda the actor and Vanda the character gradually take control of the audition, the lines between writer, actor, director, and character begin to blur. Vanda is acting . . . or perhaps she sees in Thomas a masochist, one who desires fantasy in “real life” while writing fantasies for a living.
Characters/ Roles
Thomas (30’s)
A hot “up and coming” writer-director with a great respect for art and literature; intellectual and entitled, he expects others to live up to the high standards he has set for himself and his work; handsome, tortured, and virile, and is easily brought into the world of his play by his sexual drive; willing to grovel and worship the character’s idea of femininity, and is both excited and terrified of it at the same time; must have the acting chops to handle the character in the play he is directing (a 19th century Austrian aristocrat obsessed with his maid); note: role requires partial nudity.
Ethnicity: All Ethnicities
Requires Nudity: Semi
Vanda: Female, 20-29
An actress; seemingly ditzy and flighty, but she is actually fiercely intelligent in an instinctive way; a manipulator who stunningly transforms in and out of her roles of “desperate actor trying to get the job” and worshipped goddess; highly charismatic and sexual; eventually takes on the dominant position of the character she is auditioning for; funny, sexy, and scary all at the same time; able to switch from quirky girl to seductive woman in the blink of an eye; note: role requires partial nudity.
Ethnicity: All Ethnicities
Requires Nudity: Semi
Rehearsals dates November, December 2017 then post-Christmas and New year 2018, January.
Technical & Backstage Crew Needed
Jumpy by April de Angelis
Directed by Miles Openshaw
A funny, naughty and moving family drama
Tech / Dress Rehearsals: November 12, 13 & 16
Performances: November 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30 & December 1, 2 – 2017
Lighting Technician
Sound Technician
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Managers x 2
If you are interested, and can commit fully to the rehearsal dates and performances, please email me at globetownproject@gmail.com to register interest.
About the Play:
Hilary is fifty years old; she has a routine and unexciting passionless relationship with her husband Mark. The rift between them is wedged firmly and a point of constant contention is 15 year old daughter Tilly. Feisty and rebellious, she has a volatile relationship with Hilary and when Hilary discovers she has been having sex with fellow 15 year old boyfriend, Josh, she goes to visit his parents to discuss the problem.
Here we meet icy Bea, Josh’s Mum, and actor and charmer Roland, Josh’s Dad, who quickly takes a liking to Hilary.
A trip away to Norfolk with Roland, Josh and Hilary’s friend, Frances, sees the family drama come to a head.
Mark has moved out when it turns out Tilly’s fallen pregnant. The two families and Tilly’s pregnant friend Lyndsey have a meeting, where views are aired, blame is portioned and a huge row kicks off.
We meet Cam, a new friend of Tilly’s who throws Hilary a bit off kilter and teaches her that Tilly does love her deeply.
With many surprising (and often hilarious) twists the audience see Hilary on her own journey of self-understanding.