*OPEN CALL AUDITION NOTICE *
Ottawa Little Theatre
presents
To Kill A Mockingbird
Written by Harper Lee
Adapted by Christopher Sergel
Directed by John Collins
Performance Dates: February 15 – Mar 4, 2017
Wed to Sat nights – 7:30 pm curtain; Sun Matinees February 19 & 26 – 2:00 pm curtain
All actors must be available for all performances
AUDITION DATE: Saturday, October 22, 2016 2:00 pm – 5 pm
AUDITION LOCATION: Ottawa Little Theatre
400 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa
(Please use Besserer Street entrance.)
Sides will be provided at the auditions.
SYNOPSIS:
Nine-year old Scout’s world is turned upside down when her widowed father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defends a young black man accused of raping a white woman. As tensions erupt and neighbours take sides in the life-and-death case, it is Scout’s clear-eyed courage in the face of ignorance and bigotry that ultimately brings hope to a damaged community.
Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has captivated readers since 1960 when it was first published at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Set against the backdrop of entrenched prejudices and deep inequality in the segregated world of small-town Depression-era Alabama, its plea for tolerance and human decency helped change the way America viewed itself. Christopher Sergel’s acclaimed adaptation brings to life the compassion, humanity and childish wonder of Lee’s great work.
ROLES:
Jean Louis Finch (Scout) – Female age 9-11, a young girl about to experience the events that will shape the rest of her life, she should, ideally seem as young as nine. Scout is courageous and forthright. If a question occurs to her, she’ll ask it.
Jeremy Finch (Jem) – Male age 13-14, he is a few years older than his sister Scout, and like his sister – perhaps even more than his sister – he’s reaching out to understand their unusual and thus not conventionally admirable father. Probably the strongest undercurrent in Jem is his desire to communicate with his father.
Charles Baker Harris (Dill) – Male age 13-14, small, blond and wise beyond his years, he is about the same age as Jem. Dill is neater and better dressed than his friends. There’s an undercurrent of sophistication to him, but his laugh is sudden and happy. Obviously there is a lack of his own home life, and he senses something in Atticus that’s missing from his own family relationship.
NOTE FOR CHILDREN’S ROLES: Dependant on available candidates, these roles may be doubled or understudied. All children cast – whether as principal, double, or understudy – will have several performance opportunities.
Atticus Finch – Male age 45-55, he’s tall, quietly impressive, reserved, civilized and nearly fifty. He wears glasses and because of the poor sight in his left eye, looks with his right eye when he wants to see something well. It’s typical of Atticus that when he found out he was an extraordinary shot with a rifle, he gave up shooting – because he considered it gave him an unfair advantage over the animals. He’s quietly courageous and without heroics, he does what he considers just. As someone comments about him “we trust him to do right”.
Calpurnia – African American Female, age 40+, proud and capable, she has raised the motherless Scout and Jem. She’s a self-educated woman and she’s made quite a good job of it. Her standards are high and her discipline as applied to Scout and Jem is uncompromising.
Maudie Atkinson – Female age 45-50, younger than Atticus, but of his generation, she’s a lovely sensitive woman. Though belonging to the time and place of this play, she has a wisdom and compassion that suggests the best instincts of the South and that period.
Stephanie Crawford – Female age 35-40, she’s a neighborhood gossip, and she enjoys it to the hilt. There’s an enthusiasm in her talking over the people of her town that makes it almost humorous. Sometimes she says things that are petty, but partly it’s because she simply can’t keep herself from stirring things up.
Mrs. Dubose – Female age 70+, she’s an old woman – ill, walking with difficulty, her pain making her biting, bitter and angry. However, she’s fighting a secret battle within herself, a battle about which few people are aware and her existence has in it a point of importance for Jem and Scout.
Arthur Radley (Boo) – Male age 35-40, he is a pale recluse who hasn’t been outside his house in fifteen years. It takes an extraordinary emergency to bring him out, and once out he’s uncertain about how to deal with people, and with his mission accomplished, he’s eager to return to his sanctuary.
Tom Robinson – African American Male age 25-30, handsome and vital, but with a left hand crippled by a childhood accident and held against his chest. He’s married to Helen and they have young children. He faces up to a false charge with quiet dignity. There’s an undercurrent of kindness, sensitivity and consideration.
Heck Tate – Male age 50-60, the town sheriff and a complex man. He does his duty as he sees it, and enforced the law without favor. The key to this man’s actual feelings is revealed in his final speeches to Atticus, and this attitude should be an undercurrent to his earlier actions.
Judge Taylor – Male age 60, the judge is a wintry man of the South, who does what he can within the context of the time to see justice done in his court. While he tried to run his court impartially, his sympathy is with Tom.
Reverend Sykes – African American Male age 40-45, the minister of the First Purchase Church, called that because it was paid for with the first money earned by freed slaves. He’s an imposing man with a strong stage presence. He should have a strong “minister’s” voice.
Mayella Ewell – Female age 18-21, she’s a desperately lonely and overworked young woman whose need for companionship – any companionship – has overwhelmed every other emotion. However, when her effort to reach out explodes in her face, she fights just as desperately for what she thinks is survival.
Bob Ewell – Male age 35-45, father of Mayella, a little bantam-cock of a man who lives with his large family by the town dump. As Harper Lee describes their situation – “The town gave them Christmas baskets, welfare money and the back of their hand”. Bob thinks this trial will make him an important man, and when Atticus destroys his credibility, Bob’s rage and frustration border on paranoia.
Walter Cunningham – Male age 40, a hard-up farmer who shares the prejudices of this time and place but who is nevertheless a man who can be reached as a human being. He also has seeds of leadership for when his attitude is changed during the confrontation with Atticus, he takes the others with him.
Mr. Gilmer – Male any age, he’s a public prosecutor who is doing his job in trying to convict Tom. In many ways his manner is cruel and hurtful, and yet under all this, he too has unexpressed doubts as to Tom’s guilt, and his heart isn’t really in this conviction. Still, he goes after it, and it’s a hard thing.
Court Clerk – Male any age
The roles of Mr. Gilmer and Boo Radley may be played by one actor. The roles of Judge Taylor and Mr. Cunningham may be played by one actor.
ADDITIONAL – NON-SPEAKING ROLES:
We are looking for 2-3 African American adults of any gender and any age and 2-3 Caucasian adults of any gender and any age to fill out a couple of scenes at every performance. Some rehearsal time will be required. You will be asked at the audition if you would accept one of these non-speaking roles, should you not be cast in a speaking role.
If you have any questions, please contact the Director, John Collins, iamjdcollins@gmail.com
Audition Sides are available below by Character name:
atticus