Page 1
Festival Productions 2013
Following our successful return to the Festival circuit in 2012 with Pinter’s One for the Road, this
year we are entering 2 plays – Trifles by Susan Glaspell – a fascinating early feminist drama and
Moving Scenes – a new play written by Guild member Michael Taylor.
Our directors Chris, Mike and Claudette very much hope that as many people will come along to
audition for these two short plays. Being part of the Festival production is a great experience –
whether as an actor or working on the technical or creative side of things.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the auditions.
Page 2
Trifles by Susan Glaspell
Directed by Chris Harris
About the Play
We're in early 20th century backwoods America. A man has been strangled and his widow is in the
house - but she's not confessed and there's no evidence. A neighbour can testify only to discovering
the body and the widow's strange behaviour. The wives of this witness and of the Sheriff have come
to collect clothing to take to her: they are mercilessly patronised by the lawmen for the 'Trifles'
which seem to make up the whole of their lives as women. But then they - not the men - discover
the evidence. What should they do with it?'
A copy of the script can be read online here (http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccernew2?id=GlaTrif.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&p
art=all)
The Wikipedia article on the play is a very useful source of information about this fascinating play http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifles
Roles Available
From Glaspell’s original notes:
Sheriff Peters and Mr. Hale are 'men in middle life'. The former is an overworked local official, while
the latter - the 'witness' - has key early speeches.
The county Attorney is: 'a young man'.
Mrs. Peters: 'a slight, wiry woman, a nervous face'.
Mrs. Hale: 'is larger and would ordinarily be called more comfortable looking, but she is disturbed
now and looks fearfully about'.
While a younger Attorney is indeed desirable, other desired physicality as described can be
scrapped, revered and/or subsumed within the acting.
Page 3
Moving Scenes by Michael Taylor
Directed by Mike Taylor with Claudette Sherlock
Synopsis
Debbie and Robert start living together in their early-to-mid 20s, embarking on adult life in their new
flat. They unpack their books, talking about the future with their hopes, ambitions and fears. They
discover that amongst their shared hope, they have some differences in their attitudes towards
relationships.
A decade or so later, their relationship has fallen apart and Debbie is preparing to leave their flat to
start again in a new country, while Robert is still wedded to the past. They pack their books and their
belongings, reflecting on what was good and what went wrong, considering how things might have
been under other circumstances. Debbie fails to communicate her precise intentions to an unwilling
Robert, who believes the relationship can still be saved.
The action switches between the two stages in their lives, with overlapping stories echoing across
the years. The two scenes are not intended to be factually portraying parts of their lives; rather they
exist in the personal experience of the characters - so the older couple’s story might represent the
younger couple’s fears and fantasies; whilst the younger couple’s story can be seen as the older
couple’s memories.
The characters
Younger Debbie - F (20s)
Younger Robert - M (20s)
Older Debbie - F (30-40s)
Older Robert - M (30-40s)
As the two stories are not literal truth, Claudette and Mike are more interested in casting actors who
can portray versions of the same characters rather than casting to a close physical likeness.
Why would you audition for a play by a first-time writer?
Moving Scenes is a short play - between 30 and 35 minutes long in performance. It was written by
Mike to portray some of the most emotional periods in our life, with the explicit intention of creating
well-balanced interesting roles for female and male actors who enjoy fully engaging with text and
the creative process.
There are very few stage directions in the script: the hope is that the movement, the physical and
textual interpretation will be developed by the actors, Claudette and Mike working as an ensemble.
Whilst the script is dense, we intend this to be a physical play, with all the movement and energy
that break-ups and burgeoning romance entail. Much of the atmosphere will come from the actors
and the directors working with a developing text.
The version currently in circulation is an early draft - it’s in the process of revision now, and
throughout the early stages of rehearsal will be subject to further change. It is not being presented
as a “done-deal”. In addition to adjusting the text in response to rehearsals and workshops, changes
may be made in order to accommodate the cast characters.
We will work around the actors’ commitments (for example, Pride and Prejudice), exploiting the
small cast’s availability.
Page 4
Audition dates and process
All are welcome at our open auditions in March.
Auditions dates are:
Thursday 21 March
7.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue – Main Hall, Summertown United Reformed Church, Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7HN
Saturday 23 March
10.30am – 12.30pm
Venue – Lower Hall, South Oxford Community Centre, Lake Street, Oxford, OX1 4RP
Wednesday 27 March
7.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue – Lower Hall, South Oxford Community Centre, Lake Street, Oxford, OX1 4RP
Please come in time for the start of the session and be prepared to stay for 2 hours.
We will be auditioning for both plays at the same time – you are free to audition for one or both.
You can attend more than one open audition if you wish, although those attending for the first time
will have priority in reading. We often find that early auditions are sparsely attended and later ones
very busy - so if you can come to an early one, do!
Please look at the audition form
here(http://www.oxfordtheatreguild.com/pages/resources/resource_docs/auditionee_details.pdf)
and bring a copy filled in with your details (blank forms will be provided on the night) including any
availability issues. We will also take your photograph, purely to help the director when building the
family groups.
Audition pieces
You will not be asked to prepare an audition piece before the audition. A number of extracts from
the plays have been selected which will form the basis of the first round auditions. There will be
plenty of copies of the scenes available at the auditions.
Each audition will begin by a short welcome from a member of the Guild committee and auditionees
will get into small groups to prepare specific extracts together, with some guidance from the
directors. They will then show their pieces to the audition group as a whole.
The aim is to create a relaxed, fun atmosphere for the auditions – we want to see everyone at their
most comfortable and confident.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Guild Secretary at
simon.tavener@oxfordtheatreguild.com
For more details of the Guild audition policy, please check
here(http://www.oxfordtheatreguild.com/pages/resources/resource_docs/audition_policy.pdf).
Page 5
Rehearsals and performance
Rehearsals will be arranged according to the needs and availabilities for each production – the
directors will liaise with their casts in order to draw up the schedules.
We will be entering the productions into three festivals
Kenton Theatre – Henley – 6 – 11 May
Oxfordshire Drama Network – Abingdon – 2 – 8 June
Corn Exchange – Wallingford – 11 – 14 June
Exact performance dates/times will be confirmed as soon as the festival programmes are made
available to us.
Page 6
Join the Crew
If you are not an actor there are plenty of opportunities to get involved, and to work on the
production. We will be very pleased to hear from you if you can offer experience, or just plain
enthusiasm in the following areas:
Props
Wardrobe
Make-up and hair
Sound and Lighting
Stage Management
To volunteer for the crew then contact the Guild Secretary at
simon.tavener@oxfordtheatreguild.com
It can be just for the fun of it or to add to your CV for future studies.
All crew will be expected to join Oxford Theatre Guild. See here
(http://www.oxfordtheatreguild.com/pages/membership/membership_2012.html) for membership
details.