Auditions

by Tim Firth

Co-directed by Pam Batt and Linda Herrick

Performance Dates: November 4, 5, 6, 7

Auditions will be held:

Aug. 26 1:00pm-4:00pm, Hidden Cypress Santee Room

An informational meeting about the show will be also held on August 19 at 10:00 am in the Hidden Cypress Santee Room.  Attendance is not mandatory, but it would be beneficial to understand more about the show.

Calendar Girls is a comedy featuring many strong female characters and a few male supporting roles.  After the death of her best friend Annie's husband from cancer, spirited Yorkshire housewife Chris Harper hatches a scheme to raise money for a memorial to him. Chris encourages Annie and their friends from the Women's Institute (WI) to create a calendar -- with the novel detail of using the middle-aged women of their village as tasteful semi-nude models. The idea stuns their husbands, but the success of the calendar goes beyond their wildest dreams, and soon they have raised the money needed...and much notoriety.  

This is an ensemble cast with no typical lead roles, offering many opportunities to shine on stage.  There are 10 female characters and 4 male parts.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:

Chris (in her fifties): Chris is the life of the party. She is at home in a crowd and loves to be the center of attention. She and Annie are best friends and are like naughty schoolgirls when they are together.

Annie (in her fifties):  Although Annie and Chris are best friends, Annie is more a conformist and less confrontational than Chris. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet. Together these two are greater than the sum of their parts. They would be lesser humans had they not met each other. 

Jessie (in her late sixties/seventies): Jessie has been a teacher all of her life. She is a stickler for grammar. She loves life and doesn’t care much for glamour. She is married forever to a husband who is never surprised by what she does.

Cora (in her forties):  Was the vicar’s daughter.  She went off to college and came back pregnant with her tail between her legs, but she is not downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack but never plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan that raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself. Her relationship with her daughter is more akin to that between Chris and Annie. 

Celia (somewhere between thirty-five and fifty):  A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall.  She is particularly enamored of Jessie, and despite the fact Jessie has very little time for most Celias of this world, there is a rebelliousness in Celia to which Jessie responds. 

Ruth (in her forties):  Ruth is a people pleaser, but not a pushover. She is Marie’s right hand and works hard for the WI. The other women are protective of her, sensing there is more to her than she shows.

Marie (in her fifties):  Marie is the uptight WI chairman.  The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar. 

 

Lady Cravenshire (in her sixties):  Lady Cravenshire doesn’t relate to the WI girls – they seem from the world of her estate workers.  When she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance. Largely white or cream to outplay the others, with a bigger hat than Marie.

 

John (in his fifties):  John is Annie’s husband and a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off. 

Rod (in his fifties):  Rod is married to Chris which can be a challenge, but he loves it. He likes his drink, but is not a drunk. Good friends with Annie’s husband John. He works hard to make his business a success.

Lawrence (in his late twenties):  Lawrence is a shy young man who is an amateur photographer and helps to shoot the photos for the calendar.

Liam (in his late twenties):  Liam is a wannabe director who wants to use the girls in a commercial for detergent. This is not the job he wanted. He hopes to go on to better things. 

Elaine (in her twenties):  Elaine is a beautician from the Craven Health Spa.  She is very condescending to the older women.  

Brenda (in her sixties):  Brenda is the guest speaker for the WI. None of her lectures are at all interesting, and Annie and Chris have a hard time not laughing at her talks about the absurd topics.

Sides for the audition can be found at the link below 

An electronic copy of the script is also available by contacting Linda Herrick @ linda.bluffton@gmail.com or by phone on 843-295-6104.