Love! Valour! Compassion!
Auditions
Audition Dates: January 25 & 26, 2003
Thank you for your interest in auditioning. (Download an
audition flyer in pdf format)
Auditions are set for Elden Street Players’ production of Terrence McNally’s
Love! Valour! Compassion! This tender, comic yet serious look at the
relationships among eight gay men during one eventful summer tells a story about
the many sides of friendship that will touch everyone. Funny and emotionally
rich, Love! Valour! Compassion! opened on Broadway in January 1995 and
was nominated for five Tony Award nominations, receiving two – one of which was
for Terrence McNally for his outstanding book of a play.
Auditions will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 25-26 from 12:00-4:00
p.m.
Auditions will be held at the Industrial Strength Theater, 269 Sunset Business
Park Drive, Herndon, VA.
No appointments are necessary.
The director is looking to cast 7 serio-comedic actors, age 20s to 40s. There
are no female roles in this piece. Those auditioning should prepare a two-minute
serio-comedic or comedic monologue. Those who do not have a monologue
prepared may choose to perform a cold reading from one of several monologues
available at the audition table. Dress comfortably for movement. Those
auditioning should be aware that the material has adult gay content, and partial
or full nudity is needed for nearly all parts.
The rehearsal schedule will be Monday through Thursday in the evenings and
Saturdays, beginning January 30, 2002. The show will be presented for 8
performances from March 21 through April 12 at the Industrial Strength Theater
in Herndon, the performing space of the Elden Street Players.
Love! Valour! Compassion! is directed by Christopher Dykton. If you
have additional questions or would like to get involved with the production in
another way, contact the director at (703) 998-0757 or at cdykton@aol.com. We
look forward to seeing you at auditions!
SETTING:
Gregory Mitchell’s house and its wooded grounds by a lake in Dutchess
County, two hours north of New York City.
TIME:
Late 1980s. Three acts play the memory of three holiday weekends during a
summer: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. All the characters
are male and gay.
Cast of Characters
BOBBY BRAHMS, age twenties, blind, Gregory’s younger lover. At the
center of the major plot when he cheats on his lover Gregory with sexy young
Hispanic dancer, Ramon, and ultimately works through this betrayal to repair
their relationship. Patient, kind, and a genuinely humane person, Bobby is
filled with dramatic ironies: he is unable to see and yet he is a most
attractive man and poses some of the keenest insights; kind and loving and yet
he is the one who cheats on his lover; emotionally honest and yet can be the
most remote person. An excellent actor who is youthful, handsome, and can
portray a blind character. Nudity/partial nudity required.
RAMON FORNOS, early twenties, hot Hispanic man who is a professional
dancer and is brought to Gregory’s house by John Jeckyll as a short-term lover. The
outsider to all other relationships and brings the outsider’s view, Ramon is
attracted to Bobby and has a fling with him, thus creating tension in the house
and a rift between himself and Gregory, his host. This breakdown is healed when
Gregory offers Ramon a part to dance the lead in his new piece of choreography.
Ramon is also described as being well endowed. Demands a young, physically fit and
attractive actor who can move well, sing, and can pass as both a dancer and
Hispanic. Dance skills a plus. Nudity absolutely necessary for the role.
BUZZ HAUSER, mid-thirties to forty, a costume sewer for Gregory’s
dance company and is the part originated by Nathan Lane. Flamboyant,
over-the-top, yet real, and not particularly physically fit or ideally
attractive, Buzz could be a stereotypical ‘queen’ if not for his emotionally
aggressive and gritty approach to life and survival. He dated John Jeckyll many
years before, and falls in love with John’s brother James when he visits from
England. He is HIV-positive and his discussions on life and death provide a
dramatic underbelly to the piece. Buzz is also a rabid musical theater queen.
Excellent actor, physically not in the greatest shape, who can portray
incredible passion. Monologuist. Nudity/partial nudity required.
JOHN JECKYLL, forties, British, piano accompanist to Greg’s dance
company. Brings his short-term lover Ramon Fornos, a dancer to the house. At one time
he dated Buzz. Bitter, lonely, acerbic, witty, harsh, think of Noel Coward but
even more whiny, more raw and not as clever. He has a twin brother, James who is
dying of AIDS. Perhaps one of the most difficult roles written within the past
20 years, the actor must portray both brothers, showcasing the similarities and
differences and exploring the different paths that both have taken in life and
specifically, at Gregory’s house. A commanding, chameleon actor who has a
British accent. Monologuist. Nudity/partial nudity required.
JAMES JECKYLL, forties, British, costume assistant at a London
theater, twin brother of John, he is a man who is struggling as he lives with
AIDS. Comes to America to be with his brother, seek medical help, and
miraculously discovers love again with Buzz. Tender, dry-witted, loving, a
philosopher, he is the emotional antithesis of his brother. This actor also
plays his twin brother, John. Perhaps one of the most difficult roles written
within the past 20 years, the actor must portray both brothers, showcasing the
similarities and differences and exploring the different paths that both have
taken in life and at Gregory’s house. A commanding, chameleon actor who has a
British accent. Monologuist. Nudity/partial nudity required.
GREGORY MITCHELL, early forties, a first-rate choreographer and owner
of the house that everyone frequents – he is at the center of all the
relationships. Gregory is nearing the end of his career as a dancer and is at
the top of his skills as a choreographer, a profession at which he has been
highly successful. Lover of Bobby, he is a kind and generous person, a person
with a stammer, and a person who is slow to anger but when pushed is incredibly
volatile. Generally even-tempered but subtexts of doubts as to who he is and his
insecurities pepper his life. He is at the center of the plot – the
unfaithfulness of Bobby with Ramon. A fine actor, good with speech patterns, he
must be physically able to resemble an aging dancer. Physically fit; Plays
tennis, Dance skills a plus. Nudity/partial nudity required.
ARTHUR PAPE, late thirties-early forties, an accountant, partner of 17
years to Perry, part of a classic GUPPY relationship. Perhaps the most
straightforward, balanced and certainly socially conscious of the characters in
the piece, Arthur is content in his life and relationship with Perry, but has a
yearning to break out of his ennui in life and love – a subtle desire for
cheating while not changing his life. A difficult part to render real and
interesting and not trite, it demands a fine actor with a good body who is
older. Nudity/partial nudity required. Plays tennis.
PERRY SELLARS, late thirties-early forties, a lawyer, partner of 17
years to Arthur, part of a classic GUPPY relationship, he is supreme type-A
personality, aggressive, volatile, up-tight in a preppy, WASPish kind of way, yet
loving and generous as a lover and a friend. Opinionated on many issues with a
touch of conservative streak, he is also at the center of most of the
relationships and because of his opinions about everyone in the piece, he
narrates much of the story to the audience. An excellent actor with great
monologue and narration skills, he needs to be physically attractive and
impassioned. Plays tennis.
