Audition Notice:

RUMORS
by Neil Simon
Directed by Brynn Tyszka

Auditions: Sunday, September 21st from 1-4pm
Callbacks: Monday, September 22nd from 6-9pm

THE AUDITION:
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY — please email info@blackfriars.org for an appointment by Friday, September 19th at 12pm (late submissions may not be seen prior to final consideration).

***BLACKFRIARS HAS A MISSION TO HIRE LOCAL ARTISTS—we do not provide transportation, meals, or housing***

We will be scheduling initial auditions in three 60-minute groups. You will be assigned to a group at the time of your appointment request—we will do our best to accommodate time constraints. Please arrive having read the play, and be familiar with the characters. There is a link to a PDF of the script at the bottom of this page. For the audition, you will perform cold reads with a reader in the order in which you arrive and sign in.

Please bring a headshot/photo, resume, and your calendar to complete the rehearsal conflicts (YOU MUST FILL OUT A COMPLETE CONFLICT CALENDAR AT AUDITIONS).

THE PROCESS:
Rehearsals: begin in earnest as early as Monday, October 27th; Blackfriars rehearses 4-6 times/week on nights and weekends (schedule pending cast and team conflicts)
Tech: December 6-10 (NO CONFLICTS)
Shows: December 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 (NO CONFLICTS)

*Thurs-Sat - 7:30 curtain; Sundays - 2:00 curtain; hold dates for possible added shows are December 20th and 27th at 2PM (NO CONFLICTS)

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: Casting 10 actors of varying ages/ethnicities/genders; there is a one-time stipend of $500.00 for all performers. Physical comedy is a MUST for all performers.

CHRIS GORMAN: female, any ethnicity, 30s-40s | An elegant and attractive woman. Married to Ken. A bit high strung.

KEN GORMAN: male, any ethnicity, 30s-40s | A well-spoken, handsome attorney. Married to Chris. A bit high strung.

CLAIRE GANZ: female, any ethnicity, 30s-40s | An attractive gossip-monger. A Westchester, New York housewife type. Married to Lenny.

LARRY GANZ: male, any ethnicity, 30s-40s | An accountant who has just wrecked his brand new BMW. Irascible, sarcastic, and very likeable. Married to Claire.

ERNIE CUSACK: male, any ethnicity, 40s-60s-- A smug psychiatrist. Married to Cookie.

COOKIE CUSACK: female, any ethnicity, 40s-60s | A cooking show host with a bad back. She has a very dramatic, physical personality. Married to Ernie.

GLENN COOPER: male, any ethnicity, 30s-50s -- An ambitious, polished man preparing for a run for the state senate. A Kennedy-type. Married to Cassie.

CASSIE COOPER: female, any ethnicity, 20s-30s | A jealous type who believes in the healing power of crystals. Glenn’s trophy wife. Insecure, sexy, shrewish.

OFFICER WELCH: any gender, any ethnicity, 30s-50s | A vigorous, straight-talking, veteran police officer.

OFFICER PUDNEY: any gender, any ethnicity, 20s-30s | A rookie cop.

There can be no conflicts during tech week or performances. If you are involved in another show that overlaps with any part of this process, please email us the conflicts at info@blackfriars.org prior to signing up for auditions. Initial auditions & callbacks will take place at Blackfriars Theatre, 795 E Main St, Rochester 14605.

Blackfriars practices color-conscious and body-positive casting.

VIDEO AUDITION
The deadline to submit an audition video is FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th AT 12PM (late submissions may not be seen prior to final consideration). Please provide video of yourself performing TWO short scenes from the script (2 pages or less, each scene). You may read for 2 different characters, but please perform with someone else reading off-camera (do not read a two-person scene by yourself). If you're not available for callbacks, we may request additional scenes to record and send in by 6:00 p.m. on Sept 22nd.

QUESTIONS? Visit our AUDITION FAQs page! If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for please email info@blackfriars.org.