* OPEN CALL AUDITION NOTICE *

Ottawa Little Theatre
presents

The Columnist
Drama
Written by: David Auburn
Directed by: Sarah Hearn

Production Dates:
May 27 – June 13, 2020 at 7:30 pm (Wednesday – Saturday) and matinees on May 31 and June 7, 2020 at 2:30 pm (Sunday)
All actors must be available for all performances

Open Call Audition
Saturday, February 15 at 2:00 pm
Please arrive at 15 minutes early in order to fill out your audition card – onstage readings will commence at 2:00pm sharp.
Call backs if required.

Synopsis:
From the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning author of Proof, this play is a drama about the press and power, sex and betrayal. At the height of the Cold War, Joe Alsop is the US’s most influential journalist, beloved, feared, and courted by the Washington elite. But as the 60s dawn and America undergoes dizzying change, the intense political dramas in which Joe Alsop is embroiled become deeply personal as well.

Audition Location:
Ottawa Little Theatre
400 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa
(Please use 235 Besserer Street entrance.)

Cast of Characters:
All the characters in this play were real people although some names have been changed; as far as we know, only one remains alive today. The action takes place between 1954 and 1968 in various locations from Moscow to Washington to Saigon; all actors will therefore age as appropriate to their character. Ages listed below are stage ages, and refer to the time passage of the play and the amount of time the character appears on stage.

Please note that the character of “Philip” will be doubled by the actor cast as “Andrei”.

Joe Alsop (45-60) – A brilliant, articulate, irascible, sarcastic, journalist who has built his reputation on both his family connections (first cousin to Eleanor Roosevelt) and his firm grasp of and fascination with world politics. He is a deeply closeted homosexual (except for scene 1), who marries Susan Mary in a marriage blanche. He is the elder brother of Stewart, not smarter but more willing to pay the heavy price of his personal life for fame and power. The actor playing Joe will have to start scene 1 in bed and shirtless (under the covers).

Susan Mary Alsop (38-45) – A widow with a teenage daughter, a good friend of Joe’s who has often acted as his official hostess, described by Joe as “sparkling and bright”. She is the consummate Washington hostess. She is willing to give up intimacy in marriage because she loves Joe and loves the Washington world of power and influence.

Stewart Alsop (40-50) – Joe’s brother and, until recently, his writing partner. He has left the world of high-powered journalism to write for the Saturday Evening Post because he gets to write what he wants and because he’s tired of playing second fiddle to Joe professionally and financially. He is often on the receiving end of Joe’s sarcasm and criticism but he loves his brother and ends up running interference for him as Joe’s politics become increasingly irrelevant and his personal life threatens to become public knowledge.

David Halberstam (28-35) – One of the first young journalists who wrote negatively of the US’s involvement in Vietnam. He is extremely confident, and very critical of Joe’s politics and his position on Vietnam. He represents the future of US journalism.

Abigail (14-20) – Susan Mary’s daughter. She gets along very well with Joe, who takes his role as step-father very seriously. We first meet her as a 9th-grader, very politically immature, and see her develop into a Vietnam War protesting hippie.

Andrei (25-40) – A Soviet citizen. At the beginning of the play, he and Joe have a sexual encounter in Moscow, when we discover he is a “honey trap” for the KGB. At the end of the play, he is a diplomat at the Soviet Embassy in Washington; this is quite a transition. The actor playing Andrei will be required to appear partially nude in scene 1, starting out only in underpants and dressing fully by the end of the scene.

Philip (20) – Abigail’s boyfriend, described as a “proto-hippie”. He appears for a brief moment in Act 2 and has only a single word line. He will be doubled by the actor playing Andrei.

 


 

Audition sides

Halberstam & Stewart

Halberstam & Stewart 2

Joe

Joe & Abigail

Joe & Abigail 2

Joe & Andrei

Joe & Andrei 2

 

Joe & Stewart

Joe & Stewart 2

Joe, Stewart, Susan Mary, Abigail

Joe & Susan Mary

Susan Mary & Stewart