* OPEN CALL AUDITION NOTICE THE COLUMNIST*
Ottawa Little Theatre presents
The Columnist
Drama
Written by: David Auburn
Directed by: Sarah Hearn
Production Dates:
March 30 – April 16th, 2022 at 7:30 pm (Wednesday – Saturday) and matinees on April 3 & 10, 2022 at 2:30 pm (Sunday)
All actors must be available for all performances
Open Call Audition
Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 2:00 pm
Please arrive at 1:30 pm in order to allow time for vaccination verification, and to fill out your audition card – onstage readings will commence at 2:00pm sharp.
Call backs if required.
Please Note:
This is part of an open audition for roles in two upcoming shows: Burn and The Columnist. Actors interested in either show should arrive at the appointed time (1:30 arrival at the Besserer Street entrance for a 2pm start).
The Ottawa Little Theatre requires that all visitors, patrons, volunteers (including on stage and backstage), and staff be fully vaccinated. This means that actors arriving for the auditions will be asked to provide proof of double-vaccination status, along with photo ID. Masks are required within the building, except while performing.
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”.
Note: The characters of Joe and Susan Mary were cast in earlier auditions (as this show was scheduled to have been performed in 2020), as such only the roles of Stewart Alsop, David Halberstam, Abigail and Philip/Andrei will be auditioned on November 27th.
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