The Shadow Box
Auditions
The Elden Street Players opens the 2002-2003 with The Shadow Box by
playwright Michael Cristofer. The play, originally produced in 1975 in Los
Angeles, opened on Broadway in 1977 and won the Tony Award for Best Play and a
Pulitzer Prize for Drama went to Michael Cristofer.
The setting for “The Shadow Box” is three cottages on the grounds of a large
hospital. Here, three tales unfold; each features a person who is dying. Each
person is surrounded by loved ones. All are trying to face and make sense of
death and life.
The first family we meet is the most conventional. Joe, a working class
husband and father, is joined by his wife Maggie, who, in denial of Joe’s
impending death is afraid to enter the cottage. Their teenaged son (or
daughter), Steven (or Stephanie), has not yet been told of his father’s terminal
condition.
The second cottage contains Brian, who is brutally forthright about his
demise; Mark, his doting lover; and Beverly, Brian’s wild ex-wife who comes to
visit.
The third family is a duo, a feisty, blind, and wheelchair-bound mother,
Felicity, and her dutiful adult daughter, Agnes.
The “Interviewer” is the last, and is the least seen, but one of the most
important characters. This character is part of the unseen hospital world that
is studying the people in the cottages. Through examining death and dying
important implications about life, living and hope are revealed.
Audition Dates are:
Saturday, August 10th and Sunday, August 11th from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Call Backs if required are Tuesday, August 13th at 7:30 p.m.
At the Industrial Strength Theater, 269 Sunset Business Park, Herndon, VA.
Call 703-481-5930 or go to www.eldenstreetplayers.com for directions.
Performance Dates are October 25 and 26, November 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16.
All 9 rolls open to multi-cultural casting. No role is pre-cast.
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the play. A modern monologue is
encouraged but not required.
Cast Requirements are:
Men 3-4 Playing Ages 25-50
Women 4-5 Playing Ages 30-70
Young Male or Female 1 Playing 14-16
