THE WESTERN RESERVE PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR…
The Amish Project
By Jessica Dickey
Directed by Molly Cornwell
The Amish Project kicks off our By The People Contemporary American Play Festival September 11-13! The Amish Project is a fictional exploration of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in an Amish community, and the path of forgiveness and compassion forged in its wake.
Saturday June 13th from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Monday the June 15th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday June 13th from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. & Monday the June 15th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
At the Western Reserve Playhouse, 3326 Everett Rd, Richfield, OH 44286
Rehearsals:
Rehearsals will begin later in July and typically run Sunday through Thursday, 7-10pm based on cast availability. Please bring all conflicts for the rehearsal and performance process; additional conflicts not noted on your audition form will not be accepted.
Performances:
September 11, 12 & 13th (Friday through Sunday). At this time, we are unable to cast actors who have conflicts with scheduled performances or tech week, September 6-10.
ALL ROLES ARE OPEN to all gender identities, races, ethnicities, body types, ages, and abilities. No equity contracts are available at this time. All positions are volunteer. None of these parts are precast. All levels of actors welcome!
Roles Available:
***We encourage actors of all experiences, ethnicities and ages to audition. [Originally written as a one-woman show performed by the playwright, Western Reserve Playhouse’s production will be performed by a cast of THREE actors. one actress to play two Amish girls, one to play three non-Amish “English” females, and one actor to play two non-Amish English males.
[THE AMISH PROJECT by Jessica Dickey is about forgiveness. As described by the publisher Samuel French, Inc., “it is a fictional exploration of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in an Amish community and the path of forgiveness and compassion forged in its wake.” The shooting took place in 2006 at West Nickel Mines Amish School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Five girls were murdered and the killer, a non-Amish male, took his own life. This play made its debut at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2008.
There are seven major characters in The Amish Project, each one giving a unique perspective.
Characters:
Two Amish girls:
Velda – 6 year old Amish girl, sister of Anna; victim of the shooting; energetic, charming, precocious.
Anna – 14 year old Amish girl, sister of Velda; victim of the shooting; sensitive, intuitive, observant.
Three Non-Amish “English” women:
Carol – 31 year old wife/widow of shooter; mother of two young boys; confused, angry, conflicted, pained.
America – 16-year old Pregnant Hispanic girl; works in local grocery store. Feisty, brave, smart, empathetic.
Sherry Local – 53, resident of Nickel Mines. Biased, Opinionated, unkind.
Two Non-Amish “English” men:
Eddie – 33 year old gunman. Emotionally unstable, conflicted, obsessed with intrigue of Amish girls.
Bill North – 50’s; Scholar and professor on Amish culture, as well as friend and spokesman to several Amish families affected by the shooting.
What to prepare:
A 1-2minute speech thematically relevant to the play
Please bring all conflicts for the rehearsal and performance process; additional conflicts not noted on your audition form will not be accepted.
VIDEO SUBMISSIONS will be accepted and due to cornwellmolly49@gmail.com & august@thewrp.org by [second audition date] at 10:30PM.
The play is available to be read here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11FJRBf9SPXRo5SSJjz0l8fFrPSTjVLnn/view?usp=sharing
How to sign up:
Please sign up for a 10 minute audition slot below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4BA5AB2FABF8C52-64300409-auditions
If you have any questions about the audition process please do not hesitate to contact the artistic director, august@thewrp.org
The Amish Project was originally presented in the New York International Fringe Festival in
association with Nora Productions, and further developed and produced by Cherry Lane Theater, Angelina Fiordellisi, Artistic Director.
World premiere produced by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in association with Nora Productions.