JOBS
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Contract starts 18th October 2010
Closing date for applications 3rd September
Interviews: 20th September
For details please call 01524 598506
or email info@dukes-lancaster.org
CASTINGS
"The Snow Queen"
By Mike Kenny adapted from Hans Christian Anderson's original story.
Director – Joe Sumsion
Designer – Alison Heffernan
Music – Mark Melville
Dates - rehearsals 1-26 November 2010
- playing dates 26 November 2010 – 8 January 2011
Hans Christian Anderson’s classic coming of age tale is brought to life in a spectacular production combining live performance, puppetry, film and animated projections.
The cast of five, with the exception of the actress playing Gerda, will all play multiple roles. Strong singing voices essential for all parts, experience of puppetry desirable for some parts.
Submissions from actors from diverse cultural backgrounds are encouraged.
Pay - TMA/Equity contract. £359 per week. Subsistence £125 per week.
Auditions in London 2/3 September and Lancaster 6 September.
Please send hard copy submissions to Jacqui Wilson, The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 1QE, or via Spotlight Link by Wednesday 18 August.
Character breakdown:
Gerda (Female) – Playing age 11 – 14, strong singer, experience of puppetry an advantage. The central role, this is the story of Gerda’s journey to rescue her friend from the Snow Queen. Brought up in a sheltered village environment, the character is innocent but must grow up quickly as she becomes independent and ventures out into the wider world.
Kai (Male) – Playing age 13, strong singer, experience of puppetry an advantage, good movement and physical skills, feel for comedy, ability to play multi-roles. No longer a boy but not yet a man, Kai is full of ambitions and frustrations - a village boy ready to hit the city. The character goes through the torments of adolescence and finally comes of age. Also plays other characters as cast.
Grandma (Female) – Playing Age 45+, strong storyteller, good comedy skills, strong singer. Grandma is a fantastic storyteller; she also watches over Gerda on her coming of age journey to find Kai. Grandma pops up in a range of animal guises and disguises – a crow, a penguin and many others.
The Robber Woman, The Crow (a puppet) + many others (Male) – strong comic roles, nearly all dominant and domineering. Experience of puppetry an advantage, good physical skills, strong singer, ability to play multi-roles.
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The Snow Queen (filmed) + other roles as cast (Female). The Snow Queen will be presented through pre-filmed sequences and animations. Striking looks, alluring presence, strong singer, also experience of puppetry desirable and ability to play multi-roles. Comedy skills an advantage.
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"Quicksand"
By Zosia Wand
Quicksand is a love story set amongst the first and second generation Polish community in Ulverston, a market town on the shores of Morecambe Bay. It is a moving and funny play about an extraordinary family and about the choices our circumstances force us to make.
It is a co-production between The Dukes and Theatre-by-the-Lake and will be performed in Lancaster and Keswick. The three female characters were all born in Poland and it is therefore essential that they have convincing Polish accents. Music and song are an integral part of the production.
Submissions from actors from diverse cultural backgrounds are encouraged.
Director – Joe Sumsion
Designer – Alison Heffernan
Music – Mark Melville
Dates - rehearsals 4-28 January 2011
- playing dates at The Dukes, Lancaster: 28 January – 12 February 2011
- playing dates at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick: 15th February – 26th February, 2011
Pay - TMA/Equity contract. £359 per week. Subsistence £125 per week.
Auditions in London 3 September and Lancaster 6 September.
Please send hard copy submissions to Jacqui Wilson, The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 1QE, or via Spotlight Link by Wednesday 18 August.
The characters
Renata, 53, Female, Polish born, has lived in England for 25 years. Renata runs a Polish café/deli and rents rooms to Polish migrants. She is a matriarch – dominant, opinionated, funny and well used to having things her own way. During the play she will be challenged and affected by family revelations. An excellent Polish accent required, also a feel for comedy, also some lines spoken in Polish. Singing not required.
Ula, 51, Female, Polish housekeeper to Renata. A quiet, loving presence in the background, holding things together, bullied by Renata and taken for granted by Leo. Ula is a mother figure for Leo, having brought him up for many years. Ula is musical – the actress must be a strong singer.
Leo, 22, Male – Renata’s English son who has lived in this country all his life. Training to be a lawyer, Leo is charming, spoilt, restless and hates his job. He’s also embarrassed by his mother’s rental property, although he’s happy to rely on the income to fund his lifestyle. His life will be transformed when he falls in love with Elka, then devastated when this relationship fails. Singing not required.
Elka, 28, Female, Polish migrant worker recently arrived in Ulverston. An attractive and mysterious young woman who has come to England to be reconciled with her mother who abandoned her as a small child. Elka falls in love with Leo and eventually meets her estranged mother. An excellent Polish accent required, also some lines spoken in Polish. The actress must be a strong singer.
