Elden Street Players presents "The Seafarer" by Conor McPherson, produced by Janet Bordeaux (producer of Rooms and Flowers for Algernon), directed by Angie Anderson (director of The Weir and Shining City).

Monday, January 14, 2013, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM (registration open at 7 PM) at the Hutchison Elementary School in Herndon. (see directions below)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM (registration open at 7 PM) at the Hutchison Elementary School (see directions below)

Callbacks (If necessary only), Wednesday, January 16, 2013, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Rehearsals will be at the Herndon Town Shop location from January 21 through March 14 (actual days and times to be determined but plan that it could be any weeknights and weekend days from the 21 st to March 8 and all days after that). Performances are March 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24@3 PM, 29, 30, 31@7PM (Easter Sunday), and April 4 (Thursday night), 5, 6. All cast is also required to be at set tear down on Sunday, April 7.

Please bring you calendars with you because you will be required to list all of your conflicts during the rehearsal period of time at auditions and they may not be added to after you are cast. What is approved at auditions is all that will be approved.

Casting 5 men in their late 40s and 50s, Irish, two of whom are brothers, one of whom is blind. Auditions will include cold readings (although cold readings familiarity with the script is encouraged before auditioning). Also, Irish accents will be required so if you are able to do an Irish accent already, please use it in auditions. If auditioning for Richard I do want to see your interpretation of blindness.

These are volunteer, non-paid roles.

James “Sharky” Harkin – erstwhile fisherman/van driver/chauffeur, late 40s, early 50s, younger brother

to Richard.

Richard Harkin – Sharky’s older brother, recently gone blind, late 50s.

Ivan Curry – old friend of the Harkins, late 40s.

Nicky Giblin – a friend of Richard’s, late 40s/50s.

Mr. Lockhart, an acquaintance of Nicky’s, 50s.

James “Sharky” Harkin – in his 40s or early 50s, Irish, younger brother to Richard. Sharky is an alcoholic

who has decided to dry out and help Richard, who was recently blinded in a freak accident. He has

recently come home to his late parent’s house in Baldoyle, above Dublin. Just two days ago though he

was in a bar fight and still shows the war wounds from that, and he is definitely suffering from going

cold turkey. Sharky’s ex-wife is now with Nicky although even Sharky has to admit that he screwed

things up with her. Lockhart has arrived on Christmas Eve to reclaim Sharky’s soul. Sharky is haunted

by a fight with a drunk in an alley a year ago whom he ended up killing and in jail he met Lockhart. He

and Lockhart played cards that night and Sharky won, only to find out that what he had won was his

freedom and his soul, but Lockhart has now come back, now that Sharky is sober, to tell him that he

promised a rematch and now it is time. Sharky is a flawed man who has let his inner demons bring him

to the gates of Hell and now he has to deal with that. He has isolated himself from his friends and family,

had affairs with a married woman, lost more jobs than he kept, and chose drink over his family. The

irony for Sharky is that as soon as he starts to find his soul, it is in jeopardy because of his past.

Richard Harkin – older brother to Sharky so late 50s, also Irish and living in Baldoyle, Richard is the

antithesis of Sharky. Richard never made much of himself but because he stayed with his parents he

inherited the house. He fell on hard times when they died because he never really took care of himself

and when trying to get to some rolls of wallpaper in a dumpster he fell in and hit his head making him

blind. Richard’s heart and soul are good and he has retained his faith in religion and lives his life by it.

He keeps himself surrounded by friends and even still keeps in touch with Sharky’s ex-wife. Everyone

is welcome in his house and he wants to find the Christmas spirit. He is struggling however, with his

depression over becoming blind, which is consuming him and he is having a very difficult time with that

loss of sight. He is also feeling a strike to his pride that he needs help all of the time and especially from

his brother, he feels like a burden on him. But he also wishes his brother had been a better person, had

stuck with the family. The alcoholism that has ruled Sharky’s life probably ruled all of their lives and

probably started with their parents.

Ivan Curry – 40s or 50s, Irish, a childhood and current day friend to Richard and Sharky, Ivan has a wife

and children and lives in the same town in Ireland. Ivan represents a medium between Richard and

Sharky, he has his sins, and the guilt of what seems to be a drunken incident that caused a fire that took

lives, but at the same time he is more innocent than Sharky, but not quite as innocent as Richard. Ivan is

a “seer” with bad eyesight. He lost his glasses and he can’t physically see, and yet he has a keen insight

that puts him in the position of being the “angel on the shoulder” for Richard and Sharky. He is the jovial

friend who will always go drinking with you to the dismay of his wife and he is a bit of a drifter through

life. But he is fiercely loyal as a friend, even to Sharky. He is also eager to help with Richard who feels a

little better imposing on Ivan than his brother. Ivan sees this as being needed and he steps up to that,

in a way thrives with that need. He is also trying to become a better person and redeem himself for the

guilt that he feels. It is because he feels this and because he has faced sin as well, that he becomes the

one who recognizes Sharky’s need to redeem himself.

Nicky Giblin – 40s or 50s, Irish, a friend of Richard’s and currently living with Sharky’s ex-wife in the

same small town. Nicky owns a cheese and wine shop so he is a self-made man but he is from a poor

family and has had to work hard all of his life to achieve what he has. It is that position that “blinds”

him to the fact that Lockhart is just using him to get to Sharky. He is also naïve to the fact that his

relationship with Sharky’s wife, driving Sharky’s car around town, are really driving Sharky crazy.

Nicky appears on the scene really drunk, Lockhart contributed to that, and so for the entire show he

can’t really see what is happening either. He is also battling his self esteem issues as a result of his

impoverished past, even his current relationship is leftovers in a way, and that also served to narrow his

vision when it comes to the company he is keeping on Christmas Eve.

Mr. Lockhart - 50s and Irish even though he is self-professed to be Satan. The Lockhart we see physically

was probably a wealthy and deeply sinning man who already lost his soul to Satan and now his body is

just a vessel for Satan to use to find Sharky for the rematch. As Satan he is all knowing, seeing the sins

and potential sins of men and able to zero in on the next potential soul up for grabs. He is inhabiting

this human form on Christmas Eve to be among people at their most emotionally vulnerable and before

the hope of the season can redeem them. Because it is a human body the drunkenness does begin to

affect Lockhart and therefore he isn’t as sharp when he is finally playing the last hand of poker, and that

is in part what allows him to be duped. He also completely loathes the human existence. He doesn’t like

people, he is annoyed to have to portray one of them. But he is patient and will take as much time as he

needs to acquire a soul. Calculating, devoid of sympathy, and amongst the dregs of humanity, this Satan

can’t “see” that he could possibly lose.

Hutchison Elementary School, 13209 Parcher Ave, Herndon,VA 20170-4333

From the Dulles Toll Road take exit 10 toward Herndon, merge onto Centreville Road and turn left onto Parcher Ave. The school is located right behind the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Park in the first parking lot and enter Door 1. The theater is the first door on the right when you enter the lobby.

Please contact Producer Janet Bordeaux at janetbordeaux@gmail.com with any questions related to this audition.