Auditions for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (VIRTUAL)

Making Light Productions' Community Theatre will be staging a virtual production of CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME with filming scheduled for the week of November 10. Rehearsals will take place virtually Tuesday-Friday, 7-9 PM over Zoom, beginning September 29. Directed by Paul A. Zmolek.

Final filming of the production will take place at Making Light Productions' "green screen room," with each actor filming his/her role individually.

TO AUDITION:
Please submit record an approximately one-minute video monologue via WeTransfer.com to PaulZmolek@gmail.com by September 25, 2020.

The material can be any of your choosing, but please "slate" your audition at the beginning ("Hello, my name is .... and I am ___ years old and I live in ____") in a British accent, as the show is set in England and will be performed with accents. (For further accent practice, check out our Making Light Community Theatre Facebook page for a link to a British accent tutorial :) )

Also email, at the same time as your audition, a brief resume of your theatre experience -- it can be an informal list of shows, roles and/or classes to PaulZmolek@gmail.com.

CALLBACKS:
Callbacks will take place over live Zoom meeting on Sunday, September 27 at 5 PM. Audition sides will be published prior to this date.

ABOUT THE SHOW
Fifteen-year-old Christopher has a mystery to solve. Someone has killed the next-door neighbor’s dog with a garden fork and Christopher is a suspect. Determined to discover who killed Wellington and going against his father’s wishes, Christopher begins an investigation into the dog’s murder, asking questions, and recording his findings in a book. Though he has never previously ventured alone beyond the end of his street, Christopher’s detective work ends up taking him on a frightening journey that tears apart his once familiar world.

ABOUT THE ROLES
(These ages are just guidelines, but actors should be able to play the range suggested. Many roles can be played by either gender, including the leading role.)

Christopher – Seeking an actor, Ages 15 – 20 to play 15. An English teenager who is an outsider due to his unique perception of the world, which he sees in surprising and revealing ways; he notices things in minute detail yet has difficulty understanding social and emotional cues and difficulty empathizing with others; this lack of understanding often makes the world seem frustrating and frightening to him, and he can become agitated and even violent when he has to deal with too many overwhelming external stimuli. Incredibly intelligent but shy and mistrusting of strangers, Christopher feels things deeply but doesn’t know how to express or articulate them.

Siobhan (age 25-40): Christopher’s teacher and mentor, the only person in Christopher’s life with an understanding of his situation. She strives to teach him how society works and how to behave within its guidelines. Constantly negotiating around his anger, she is professional, warm, caring, calm, gentle and self-possessed and also sensitive to his strained relationship with his father. She often serves as the narrator of his story and of his feelings.

Ed Boone (male, age 35-50): Christopher’s father; estranged from his wife, Judy and struggling as a single parent trying to raise his son the best he can. A working class man. Proud, gruff, and brusque, he is unable to convey his emotions and feelings but loves his son deeply. He is a good man but there is a lot on Ed’s shoulders when he first enters the play in pain and near breaking point, though he does not openly express it. He has trouble communicating with Christopher, who often frustrates him. And though he’s naturally practical and much more patient in dealing with Christopher, a difficult situation can make him lose it, sometimes violently. A plumber and heating engineer by trade, naturally good with his hands.

Judy Boone (female, age 35-45): Christopher’s mother; she works as a secretary and is a working class woman with a tough exterior who has no support system to raise her son and blames herself for her inability to cope with him effectively. She has had a hard life and had to fight for things, which she is ready to do, as she is feisty and doesn’t take anything lying down. Loving, yet impatient, she has felt very alone in her situation with Christopher and it frustrates her to a point of absolute desperation. She wishes she knew how to truly reach and care for Christopher. Independent, lonely and proud, she doesn’t easily ask for help and has never had the proper social resources to help her.

Voice #1 (20-50): Mrs. Shears, Mrs. Gascoyne, Woman on Train, and Shopkeeper

Voice #2 (20-50): Roger Shears, Mr. Wise, Duty Sergeant, Man behind Counter, and Drunk One.

Voice #3 (20 – 50): A Policeman, Mr. Thompson, London Policeman, Man with Socks, and Drunk Two.

Voice #4 (35 – 50): Reverend Peters, Uncle Terry, Station Policeman, and Station Guard.

Voice #5 (20 – 50): No. 40, Lady in Street, Information, and Punk Girl.

Voice #6 (40 – 60): Mrs. Alexander, Posh Woman.