Open Auditions Announced for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Written by Kate Hamill, Based on the novel by Jane Austen

Directed by Michael Wright

AUDITION DATES – SUNDAY AUGUST 28, 6:30-9 p.m. and MONDAY AUGUST 29, 6:30-9 p.m.  No appointment needed.

AUDITIONS will take place at the MALLORY TOWN HALL (across from the Sherman Playhouse), 9 Route 39 North (next to the fire station), in Sherman, CT.   NOTE: Please do not come into the Playhouse (Rehearsals for CARRIE are in full swing!)
If you can’t make the auditions then video submissions should be sent to douxwright@gmail.com anytime from Sunday August 28 thru Tuesday August 30. 

REHEARSALS BEGIN: OCTOBER 2

TECH WEEK:  NOVEMBER 27-30

PERFORMANCES:  DECEMBER 1 (preview), 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17

This isn’t your grandmother’s Austen!  Jane Austen’s classic story, adapted with edge and energy for a new era, explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life.  The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn?!  Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life.

The production is looking for 8 actors to play multiple roles (Note: the roles of LIZZY and DARCY will not be doubled). 

Please note: Character age range and/or gender identity need not necessarily match the actor’s.  All characters speak in an RP British dialect or regional/international accents.  Every role is open to all ethnicities.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN

FEMALE CHARACTERS:

1.) JANE BENNET: Late 20s/ early-mid 30s. The eldest and most beautiful Bennet daughter. Kind, idealistic, diffident. Always tries to do the right thing. Can be a bit shy. Very close with Lizzy. Doubles with MISS DE BOURGH – Lady Catherine’s sickly, overbred daughter; communicates mostly in one-word phrases. A nasty, overindulged little gremlin. Rather keen on marrying Mr. Darcy.

2.) LIZZY BENNET: Late 20s – early 30s. Clever, spirited; can be sharp-tongued and cynical. Gets flustered, which makes her klutzy. Prides herself on good judgment. Bit of a goofball. Not particularly beautiful. NOT interested in “catching a man”.

3.) LYDIA: 16. The youngest Bennet. Lively, highly impressionable. Can put on airs. Enjoys balls, boys, and being right. Likes to matchmake; overindulged by her mother. Prides herself on cleverness. Doubles with LADY CATHERINE: 50s. Patrician Caesar-meets-drill sergeant. One of the richest women in England. Everything is beneath her, but nothing is beneath her notice. Capable of being quite casually cruel; thinks she gives excellent advice. Unused to defiance; accustomed to flattery. Capable of being quite coquettish with men of her own social class – of which there are, perhaps, two in the world.

4.) MRS. BENNET: 50s-60s. The matriarch of the Bennet family. The business of her life is to get her daughters married. High energy, high drama, high stakes constantly. Fancies herself a master strategist. Mostly a silly woman of variable temper; serious hypochondriac.

MALE CHARACTERS:

1.) MR. DARCY: Late 30s-40s. One of the richest men in England. Too proper for his own good; awkward in most social contexts. Prides himself on self-control and good judgment. Not always great with words; says the wrong thing with some regularity.

2.) MR. BINGLEY: 30s-40s. Loves the world and the world loves him. Wealthy. Inclined to exaggeration; impossibly good-natured, and thus easily led. A bouncy, impetuous golden retriever of a man. Doubles with MARY: Late teens-20s. The third Bennet girl, the runt of the litter; prone to pendanticism and sulking. She likes playing the piano (badly) and demonstrating her learnedness. She dislikes being forgotten or left out.

3.) WICKHAM: 30s-40s. An unfairly handsome and charming gentleman serving as a Lieutenant in the local regiment. Raised with Mr. Darcy, whom he resents; has fallen from grace a bit since his upbringing. Knows just what to say, and just how to say it. Very good with the ladies. Doubles with MISS BINGLEY: 20s-30s. A very rich young woman, sister to Bingley. Fancies herself very witty. Rather beautiful; impossibly elegant. Determined to land Mr. Darcy, and despises Lizzy Bennet. Doubles with COLLINS: late 20s-40s. Rector to Lady Catherine, whom he worships like a God and is desperate to impress. A self-important academic. He tries hard to be impressive – unfortunately, he has an idiosyncratic quirk wherein he cannot quite, ever, land on the right word.

4.) MR. BENNET: 50s-60s. The patriarch of the Bennet family. Finds amusement in absurdity; often looks for a respectable escape from the chaos of his family life. Disappointed in his marriage; engages in the kind of long-term psychological warfare that unhappy couples practice. Quite fond of a few of his daughters. Doubles with CHARLOTTE LUCAS: Late 20s-30s. A practical girl with a good sense of humor. Not from much money. Like Lizzy, not particularly beautiful. Capable of being quite dry and wry. Ends up married to Mr. Collins whom she tolerates with some measure of success.

Be prepared to provide a list all possible conflicts.  Rehearsal schedule will be respectful of performers’ time and conflicts.

Wear comfortable clothing for movement.

Auditioners can prepare one very short comic monologue if they wish (45 seconds – 1 minute), but it is not required. 

AUDITION SIDES can be found here:  P&P Sherman Audition Sides

All actors must provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to audition.

The Sherman Playhouse is a non-Equity theatre company located at 5 Route 39 North (next to the firehouse) in Sherman, CT.