FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lisa Joyce, 503-485-4300
Feb. 23, 2018 [email protected]
Pentacle Theatre to hold open auditions for George Orwell’s 1984
What: Open auditions for 1984, adapted by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall, Jr., and William A. Miles, Jr. from the novel by George Orwell
When: 1 p.m., Saturday, April 7.
Where: Pentacle Theatre, 324 52nd Ave. NW, off Highway 22 about 6 miles west of downtown Salem.
Casting: Seeking a wide variety of ages for eight to 14 roles, depending on doubling of parts. Most roles can be played by either male or female actors.
For a full list of parts, genders and ages, please visit the Pentacle Theatre website at pentacletheatre.org. Click on “Auditions” at the top of the page.
Auditions:
Actors will read from the script, copies of which are available on loan at the Pentacle Theatre Business Office, 145 Liberty St. NE in downtown Salem for a $10 refundable deposit. Call 503-485-4300 to arrange for pickup.
Those auditioning should bring a list of calendar conflicts through July 28. If you have a conflict on the audition date, please contact the director, below, to arrange an alternate date.
Callbacks (if needed): To be announced.
Rehearsals: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at Pentacle Theatre’s rehearsal studio in downtown Salem. The director will set weekend rehearsals and work sessions as needed.
Show dates: Friday, July 6, through Saturday, July 28.
About the show: 1984 is a full-length drama adapted for the stage from the classic dystopian novel of misplaced government authority written by George Orwell.
As Orwell said, “I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive. The moral to be drawn from the dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one: Don’t let it happen. It depends on you.”
1984 depicts the horrors of man’s fate in a society where Big Brother is always watching, and where everything that is not prohibited is compulsory. (Source: Dramatic Publishing)
Cast of Characters: Seeking a wide variety of ages. The director will cast eight or more male and female actors able to play 14 parts, doubling certain roles as needed. All roles except Winston Smith, O’Brien, Julia and Landlady may be cast without regard to gender. The roles include:
- Loudspeaker Voice: (M or F)
- Parsons, middle-aged: jovial, stupid.
(M or F) - Syme: pale, timid, scholarly, hesitant and self-effacing. (M or F)
- Winston Smith: intelligent, disagrees with much of what he encounters. (M)
- Messenger: teen. (M or F)
- Coffee Vendor: teen. (M or F)
- First Guard: (M or F)
- Second Guard: (M or F)
- O’Brien: Coarse, humorous, with a certain charm. (M)
- Julia: attractive, prim. (F)
- Big Brother’s Voice: (M or F)
- Goldstein’s Voice: (M or F)
- Gladys, teen: a member of the Children’s Spies organization. (M or F)
- Landlady, older: unkempt, badly dressed, one of the “proles.” (F)
- Martin: may double as Guard (M or F)
- Waitress/Waiter: rather slovenly. (M or F)
For more information: If you have questions or have a conflict on the audition date, please contact director Jenni Bertels, 971-388-2772.
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