AUDITION NOTICE
FUDDY MEERS
written by David Lindsay-Abaire directed by Keith Hoovler
WHEN: Sunday, January 11, and Tuesday, January 13, 7 to 10 PM; callbacks - Thursday, January 15, 8 to 10 PM; Read Thru - Sunday, January 18, 7 to 10 PM
WHERE: 60 Woodland Road in Maplewood.
REHEARSALS: Tuesdays and Thursdays through Final Dress on 3/5.
PERFORMANCE DATES: March 6 – 14, Fridays and Saturdays 8 PM; Sunday, March 7, 2 PM. Set-up Saturday is February 28th at 10 AM; Strike is March 15th at 10 AM. Cast members will be required to attend.
Fuddy Meers is a dark absurdist farce about all that is imperfect and flawed in the human condition. In this world, everyone is broken in some way. At the outset of the play, we meet Claire as she awakens each morning to her own imperfection of Psychogenic Amnesia. Her memory is erased at night while she sleeps, forcing her to piece together the puzzle that is her life the next morning. She begins a journey, through a world determined for the most part by the men around her, revealing to us the deeper dysfunction that is at the heart of the modern life.
While on the surface this is a farce, one should also look at this piece as a search for the connection of memory to relationship. In order to elicit the deeper disturbing humor of Fuddy Meers, actors must focus solely on the authenticity of their characters objectives, and not on “playing” the comedy inherent in the story.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Each of these characters, at their core are tragic personages, who have something missing or broken in their makeup. It is these missing and broken elements that make all of these characters a great challenge for any actor.
Claire - (Late 20s to mid 40s) She is the centerpiece about which this excursion into the absurd, revolves. Our good natured, "little Blank Slate”. She sees the world fresh, each day without any of the baggage that pesky memories sometimes carry. This “fresh", first time around feel, must be ever-present for her. An actor’s sense memory is the key to her movement through this story, as she reconstructs her life.
Richard - (Mid 30s to early 50s) At the outset, Richard exudes the confidence and clarity of task, of a person who is seemly in command of his environment. He has built himself a fine house of cards that is destined to collapse under the slightest hint of stress. He is a human sine wave. In, then out. Up, then down. In control and out of it.
Limping Man - (early 30s to late 40s) Talk about your scarred man who has something to hide. Of all the characters in this play, he is the most enigmatic, and hard to explain motivationally. At first he seems to be the only one with a plan, but he is whole unable to force events to conform to it. Is there something else here at play here?
Millet - (early 30s to late 40s) Who doesn’t sometimes wish they had an alter ego, who could verbalize those secret thoughts. Binky, the puppet is all those things Millet knows he is not. How does an actor discern motivation when there are two interests at play? How many opportunities does an actor get to bring this kind of duality to life. Just who is the sidekick in this relationship? Study of the ventriloquist greats to maintain the character partition which is essential.
Kenny - (14 to 18 years) Young, stoned and angry is no way to go thru life. Unless, that is if this is the life you have been given. As events unfold, Kenny’s behavior seems to some extent, to be the only reasonable alternative. It leaves to question that one’s response to their environs can sometimes become their handicap.
Heidi - (late 20s to late 30s) The lengths a person will go to, and the risks they takes to be loved, exposes an empty void within. Like Claire, she has become swept up in the schemes concocted by the men around her. The only difference is her awareness of what got her to this point, and her willingness to continue on.
Gertie - (Late 50s to early 70s) If one were pick the most self-sufficient of all these characters, it would be without a doubt, Gertie. She is pivotal in setting Claire's record straight and she is the only woman who is wholly independent of any man. While she has suffered a stroke, it must not hold back or impede her internal wholeness. It’s everybody else who has a problem, but not her.
All sides are available on the website. We hope to see you there!
