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Friday, March 25, 2016

CIRCLE PLAYERS TO HOLD AUDITIONS FOR MEDIEVAL COMEDY

AUDITION NOTICE:

IncorruptibleIncorruptible
written by Michael Hollinger
directed by Eric Walby.

WHEN: Sunday, 4/17 7-9pm,  Monday, 4/18 7-9pm,  Callbacks, if necessary, on Wednesday 4/20 7-9pm
WHERE: Circle Playhouse, 416 Victoria Ave, Piscataway
Questions may be submitted to the theater at circleplayersnj@gmail.com.

Performances are June 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th, 2016, at 8PM, and Jun 26th, 2016, at 3 PM.

Welcome to Priseaux, France, c. 1250 A.D.: The river flooded again last week. The chandler’s shop just burned to the ground. Nobody’s heard of the wheelbarrow yet. And Saint Foy, the patron of the local monastery, hasn’t worked a miracle in thirteen years. In other words, the Dark Ages still look pretty dark. All eyes turn to the Pope, whose promised visit will surely encourage other pilgrims to make the trek and restore the abbey to its former glory. That is, until a rival church claims to possess the relics of Saint Foy—and “their” bones are working miracles. All seems lost until the destitute monks take a lesson from a larcenous one-eyed minstrel, who teaches them an outrageous new way to pay old debts.

Cast Breakdown

  • Charles (50s) – Abbot and leader of the Priseaux Monastery for the past 13 years. Charles is compassionate and has the best intentions, but when the livelihood of the church is threatened, he begins to succumb to the pressures and compromise his values for the greater good.
  • Martin (40s) – The 2nd in command at the Monastery. Martin will do anything necessary to help the church survive – so that it will still be around when he steps into the Abbot position after Charles. Martin lacks the patience, sympathies, and people skills one would expect a monk to possess.
  • Olf – One of the monks. Olf is a bit dim witted and childlike, but very loyal to church and the leaders. He is also the brawn and does much of the hard labor chores at the monastery. There is always a sense that he’s not completely following what is happening around him.
  • Felix (20s -30s) – The newest monk at the Priseaux Monastery when the play begins. Felix is often the moral compass as the actions of the monks become more and more questionable. Though in his past he was known to have “a weakness of the fairer sex”, he now takes his vows very seriously, including obedience.
  • Jack (20s – 30s) – The opportunistic eye patch wearing travelling minstrel “husband” to Marie. Although he does not have any faith of his own, he is later blackmailed into becoming a monk. During a performance scene in the play, Jack needs to juggle, play the guitar (or similar minstrel instrument), and sing – but thankfully not all at the same time.
  • Marie – (20s – 30s) – The pretty travelling minstrel “wife” of Jack and daughter of the Peasant Woman. Her true love drowned years earlier, and now Marie is not happy with what her life has become nor what she needs to do to earn money. There are several physical comedy moments, including being carried in a sack by other actors, and Marie should also be able to dance and sing.
  • Peasant Woman – (50s – 60s) – Marie’s mother, she is desperately poor and is seeking help in any and every way she can think of – including praying to the local saint. She encourages Marie to make money anyway that she can (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), but vocally disapproves of her relationship with Jack.
  • Agatha – (40s – 50s) – Charles’ sister and Abbess of a competing church in Bernay. She has no shame, no tact, and celebrates the failures of her brother and his monks. She plows her way through every scene she is in.