Auditions – The Curious Savage
by John Patrick
Directed by Ashton Botts
Audition information
General Auditions: Saturday, March 26, 2022, 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
CALLBACKS: by director invitation only – Sunday, March 27, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
General Auditions and Callbacks will be held at OCTA, 500 East Loula, Olathe, KS.
Production dates
June 10-26, 2022
Fri/Sat at 8:00 p.m. | Sun at 2:00 p.m.
Rehearsal schedule
Please find the rehearsal schedule here. Rehearsals will be Monday-Thursday, from 7-10 p.m. and Sundays from 2-5 p.m. Note that rehearsals May 9-12 will be held at the Jewish Community Center (5801 W 115th St, Overland Park, KS 66211). Rehearsals May 16 onward will be held at OCTA, 500 East Loula, Olathe, KS.
Audition notes
Click here to reserve an audition time and here to complete your audition form. Please complete your audition form prior to auditions. Each 10-minute slot has room for 3 people. Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your audition time. However, if you arrive at the theatre earlier than 15 minutes before your reserved time, we ask that you wait in your car to keep the lobby clear. Please bring a mask to wear when waiting in the public/lobby areas. We will have a few on hand if you forget.
The director has set the following safety guidelines: Those auditioning will be asked about their vaccination status at auditions/callbacks. They will be asked for vaccination documentation. Please bring a mask to wear when in the OCTA space. We will have a few on hand if you forget.
What to prepare:
Please prepare a memorized 60-90 second comedic or playful monologue. THE CURIOUS SAVAGE is set in 1950 and is considered a heartfelt comedy. Please keep this in mind when choosing your monologue. If you are having trouble selecting a piece, the director has provided monologues here that auditioners may use for their audition. Note that these monologues are not from the show.
About the show
Mrs. Savage has been left ten million dollars by her husband and wants to make the best use of it, in spite of her grown-up stepchildren’s efforts to use it for themselves. The stepchildren commit Mrs. Savage to a sanatorium, hoping to “bring her to her senses.” In the sanatorium Mrs. Savage meets various social misfits, people who need the help Mrs. Savage can provide. Contrasting the kindness and loyalty of psychiatric patients with the avarice and vanity of “respectable” public figures, it calls into question conventional definitions of sanity while lampooning celebrity culture.
Character descriptions:
NOTE: Actors of all ethnicities, abilities, ages, and gender identities are welcome and encouraged to audition. Age ranges are approximate and not intended to exclude actors from consideration.
THE SAVAGES
Mrs. Ethel P. Savage (60+): Mrs. Savage is a witty, kind-hearted, blue-haired woman with a shifted viewpoint of humanity. She has inherited ten million dollars from her late husband and has chosen to give it away to those less fortunate or to fulfill others’ random, yet important lifelong dreams.
Titus (30s-40s): He is the eldest step-son of Mrs. Savage. Titus is the least popular senator in Congress.
Lily Belle (30s-40s): Lily Belle, the middle step-child, was once married to a Slovak prince, and has remarried five times since then. A celebrity heiress, she is arrogant, chic, and self-assured. When Lily Belle first met Ethel, she bit her new stepmother’s finger and has promptly been just as vicious ever since.
Samuel (20s-30s): The youngest step child of Ethel, Samuel has the distinction of being the judge with the most overturned decisions in the U.S.
THE RESIDENTS
Florence Williams (20s – 40s): The elegant “mother” of the Cloisters, she believes she has a five-year-old son named John Thomas; in fact, John Thomas is a doll. During Mrs. Savage’s stay at the Cloisters, Florence believes that John Thomas has the measles.
Fairy May (early 20s): Fairy is a compulsive liar who is obsessed with having others love her. She is unkempt throughout the play but believes herself to be stunningly beautiful. She is also very childlike, behaving and speaking in the tone of a six-year-old.
Jeffrey (20s – 30s): Once a military pilot, Jeff was shot down in the war, surviving a crash that killed all his men. He carries emotional scars from the crash. He plays the piano but is too shy to do so around other people.
Hannibal (20s – 50s): Hannibal, once a statistician, was fired and replaced by an electronic calculator. He has since taken up the violin and needs some practice. He is a kind man with a vast array of knowledge stored in his sometimes sarcastic head.
Mrs. Paddy (40s – 60s): Mrs. Paddy paints with the quality of Hannibal’s violin playing. She paints only seascapes, which strikes Hannibal as “odd, because she’s never seen the ocean.” The other patients say that Mrs. Paddy stopped talking when her husband told her to “shut up” one day, and she hasn’t spoken since. She only speaks to announce what she hates. She hates “everything in the world.” She has given up electricity for Lent.
THE STAFF
Dr. Emmett (30s-60s): The staff doctor for this wing of the Cloisters, Dr. Emmett is kind and warmhearted, and he works hard to help his patients.
Miss “Willie” Wilhelmina (20s-30s): Miss Willie is an administrative assistant and nurse. She is extremely kind and understanding towards all the residents of the Cloisters and shows a special affection toward Jeff.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Cast members are required to assist with strike following the final performance. Cast members may also be asked to assist with costume pieces and set work days.
QUESTIONS
Please direct questions to director Ashton Botts at ashton.j.botts@gmail.com