ROVER DRAMAWERKS ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS
Sherlock Holmes and the West End Horror
by Anthony Dodge and Marcia Milgrom Dodge
directed by Paul McKenzie
Auditions:
Saturday, August 19 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sunday, August 20 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Appointments are required. For an appointment time, please email
audition14@roverdramawerks.com.
Auditions will be at Rover Dramawerks, located at 221 W. Parker Road, Suite 580 in Plano, at the northwest corner of 75 and Parker Rd. in the Ruisseau Village Shopping Center.
Brief Synopsis:
A theatre critic has been murdered! Holmes and Watson are soon visited by aspiring Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who entices Holmes to take the case. Featuring some of the most famous literary luminaries of the day, this is a rollicking whodunit!
Roles: 6 men, 1 woman, 1 either
All ages (and noted requirements), are from the script. Don't let that stop you from auditioning if you think you can play the part! Seeking dynamic actors capable of easily switching from character to character (sometimes with different accents) while performing as some of the most known figures of the turn of the century.
All of the players must have a command of the dash, wit and bravura acting style of Victorian Melodrama's rich voices with a great facility for language and dialects.
Player 1 (Male 35 - 45) plays:
Sherlock Holmes, Handsome, dashing, masculine, mercurial, cerebral, stoic, unflappable, enigmatic - a super-hero for the 19th Century. Must be a strong physical actor; sly and agile. A matinee idol. ABSOLUTELY NOT Basil Rathbone!
Also plays Rupert, the Rat Catcher: An eccentric, overbearing, bombastic keeper of rats.
Player 2 (Male, 40-50; must sing/Baritone) plays:
Dr. John Watson, Handsome, Debonair, a bit of a dandy. Enjoys his celebrity as a famous writer of the day. Romantic leading man. His relationship with Holmes is very much a long-term marriage. ABSOLUTELY NOT Nigel Bruce!
Player 3 (Male, 40; Must sing/Tenor) plays:
Mr. George Bernard Shaw - 40 affable, arrogant, Irish
Wilde's Hanger-on
Mr. George Grossmith - A great star, costumed as The Grand Duke.
Mr. Henry Irving - The grand actor/manager, bombastic, terribly dramatic. Intolerant of his inferiors.
Player 4 (Male, 35 -45) plays:
Prologue Man 1 - (see McCarthy)
Inspector Lestrade - cocky, working class Policeman. Work hard to best the great Holmes.
Flower Seller - Eliza Doolittle
Wilde's Hanger-on
Mr. W.S. Gilbert - Pompous perfectionist, with great authority.
Mr. Bram Stoker - a strange, deep-voiced, un-inflected Irishman.
Mr. Jonathan McCarthy - Lewd, gluttonous with an evil laugh.
Player 5 (Male, 30-40) plays:
Prologue Man 2 (See Dr. Eccles)
Mrs. Hudson - Scottish (Mrs. Doubtfire)
Policeman 1
Mr. Oscar Wilde - 30, big, lusty, incredibly candid. Very much the private self. Does not suffer fools - revels in his arrogance and cruel humor.
Knife-Seller
Herbert the Doorman - the quintessential obsessive fan, Cockney, eager beaver;
H.G. Wells
Dr. Benjamin Eccles - cautious, haunted, Standard British.
Sir Arthur Sullivan - Elegant, a bit frail from his illness, highly cultured, very dependent on Gilbert.
Literary Figure (Jonathan Harker) - Melodramatic Style. Heightened, Haunted.
Player 6 - (Male. 35-45) plays:
The Cabbie - Lower class, gruff
Dr. Brownlow - Older man, from another time. Old fashioned to the rest of the character's modern sensibilities.
Wilde's Hanger-On
Mr. Richard D'Oyly Carte - Elegant, meticulous; highly protective of Gilbert; runs the D'Oyly Carte Opera company with a firm hand, no-nonsense.
Male Theatregoer
Ms. Ellen Terry - the leading artiste of the day, elegant and lovely. Not played campy. Delicately portrayed, with fun.
Second Literary Figure (Count Dracula) - Transylvanian, Melodramatic style
Dying Eccles - Raspy voiced, guilt-ridden, elegant. (Amplification necessary.)
Player 7 (Female, 20s; Must sing / Soprano) plays:
Prologue Woman, (See Jessie)
Mr. Stanley Hopkins - Ambitious young policeman. From Leeds
Strand Magazine Sandwich-board man
Boise - High British, slightly fey.
Female Theatregoer
Carpenter, At the Lyceum
Miss Jessie Rutland - the loveliest ingénue in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, raised in Woking
Mr. Achmed Singh - Indian Shopkeeper. Broken-hearted but not broken in spirit. Can have some anger. Deeply in love with Jessie. Must use Indian dialect.
Third Literary Figure (Mina) - Highly melodramatic style, she's under Dracula's spell, erotic.
Player 8 (Male or Female, any age) plays:
The Pianist - elegant. A virtuoso at melodrama also subtlety in playing. Must be proficient in 19th century repertoire and a skilled accompanist.
Policeman 2
Street-seller
Mr. Francois Cellier - loyal to Sir Arthur, annoyed with Gilbert. A serious musician.
All roles are available.
Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Those auditioning for singing roles will asked to sing a 30-section snippet of a song.
Other information:
- Email
audition14@roverdramawerks.com for an appointment time, and access to a script will be made available to you. Be familiar with the script before coming to auditions.
- Be prepared to read from the script.
- Please bring a resume and head shot.
- References may be required.
- Actors and technicians will receive stipends.
- Rehearsals will be in Plano starting on or around the week of September 10. Exact rehearsal schedule TBA but all conflicts must be noted at time of audition.
- Please visit the website at
www.roverdramawerks.com or call (972) 849-0358 for more information.
Sherlock Holmes and the West End Horror will run October 26 - November 18, 2017 at Rover Dramawerks - 221 W. Parker Rd., Suite 580, Plano 75023.
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