AUDITION NOTICE:
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Amy Fox
Stage Managers Judi Liebert & Danna Boshak
WHEN: SUN. JAN. 12th @ 7:00 PM; TUES. JAN. 14th @ 7:30 PM
WHERE: STUDIO PLAYERS, 14 Alvin Place, Upper Montclair, NJ
973.744.9752
This witty and buoyant comedy of manners is brilliantly plotted from its effervescent first act to its hilarious finale. Men-about-town, John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, pursue fair ladies Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Matters are complicated by the imaginary characters invented by both men to cover their on-the-sly activities. The Importance of Being Earnest is a masterpiece of high comedy, sparkling with provocative observations.
Sides will be provided and can be viewed at www.studioplayhouse.org
Performance Dates: March 14-29, 2014.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
**All Characters MUST have Upper Class British Accents**
John (Jack/Ernest) Worthing: (male, 25-45) A seemingly responsible and respectable young man who leads a double life; he has created an imaginary brother, but really an alter ego (Ernest) to maintain his country respectability for the sake of his young ward Cecily; Jack has fallen in love with Gwendolyn and the issue of his ‘name’ creates havoc
Algernon Moncrieff: (male, 25-40) A wealthy charming, and idle playboy of sorts and Jack’s best friend; Algernon is brilliant, witty, selfish, amoral, and given to making delightful but often contradictory pronouncements
Gwendolyn Fairfax: (female, 20-35) A model of high fashion and society; Gwendolyn speaks with authority on matters of taste and morality; she is sophisticated, intellectual, cosmopolitan, and utterly pretentious; Gwendolyn is fixated on the name Ernest and says she will not marry a man without that name
Lady Bracknell: (Female, 45+) The wealthy matriarch of the family; Algernon’s snobbish, mercenary, and domineering aunt and Gwendolyn’s mother; Lady Bracknell married well, and her primary goal in life is to see her daughter do the same; she is cunning, narrow-minded, and authoritarian
Cecily Cardew: (female, 18-25) Jack’s ward; Cecily is probably the most realistic character in the play; like Gwendolyn, she is obsessed with the name Ernest, but she is even more intrigued by the idea of wickedness; Cecily is in love with the fictional Ernest and has invented an elaborate romance and courtship with him
Miss Prism: (female, 40+) Cecily’s governess; Miss Prism is an endless source of pedantic clichés; she highly approves of Jack’s presumed respectability and harshly criticizes his “unfortunate” brother; Miss Prism seems to have a softer side as she entertains romantic feelings for Dr. Chasuble
Rev. Canon Chasuble: (male, 50+) The rector on Jack’s estate; Dr. Chasuble entertains secret romantic feelings for Miss Prism
Lane: (male/female, any age) Algernon’s manservant
Merriman: (male/female, any age) The butler at Jack’s Manor House
