Auditions – The Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy
The Real Inspector Hound
By Tom Stoppard
Black Comedy
By Peter Shaffer
Directed by Jessica Franz-Martin
AUDITION DATES/TIMES*:
Saturday, January 20 th , 2024, 1:00-4:00pm.
Olathe Civic Theatre Association, 500 E. Loula, Olathe, KS
*Please note we will not take any new auditioners in the final 30 minutes of the day.
Please arrive with your audition form, a resume and headshot (if you have them).
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. You will have time to work on the
scenes with your scene partners before performing. Auditioners are asked to read the script
in advance to be familiar with the scenes. If you are unable to attend either date, please
contact the director at Sabrynef@yahoo.com to coordinate an alternative time to audition.
The Real Inspector Hound script
Black Comedy script
Download the audition form here.
CALLBACKS (by director invitation only):
Saturday, January 27th, 2024, 1:00-5:00pm.
You will be notified by email if you are invited to callbacks. Please plan on being there the entire time.
PRODUCTION DATES:
April 19th – May 5th
Fri/Sat at 7:30pm | Sun at 2:00 pm
REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will begin March 11th, 2024. Typical weekly rehearsal schedule will be Sunday – Thursday, 7-10pm.
Tech rehearsal on Sunday, April 14th, 2024 will be all day.
No conflicts will be accepted during dress / tech week without prior approval from the director.
SYNOPSIS:
This show comprises of two one-acts, starting with The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare In Love/Leopoldstadt), intermission, then Black Comedy, by Peter Shaffer (Amadeus/Equus). The same ensemble will be used for both acts.
We start with The Real Inspector Hound, a witty comedy that brings laughs while glancing at the nature of free will. Attending the premiere of a new murder mystery, two feuding theater critics soon find themselves drawn into the play-within-a-play! In the hilarious spoof of Agatha Christie-style mysteries that follows, the mists roll in around isolated Muldoon Manor, and the critics become implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman.
Our second act will be Black Comedy: A young sculptor and his fiancée have “borrowed” some expensive antique furniture from a neighbor’s flat without permission to impress an elderly millionaire art collector. When the power fails, the neighbor returns early, uninvited guests show-up and matters descend into near-chaos. Throughout the act, light & dark are transposed, so when the stage is lit the characters are in darkness, and only when the stage is dark can the characters see each other & their surroundings.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
The Real Inspector Hound:
Moon – (Any gender identity, any ethnicity, 30-50) Frustrated theatre critic, always living in the shadow of another critic, named Higgs.
Birdboot* – (male-identifying, any ethnicity, 30-50) Well established theatre critic and a womanizer, who often has affairs with actresses whilst married to Myrtle.
Play-within-the-play:
Mrs Drudge – (female-identifying, any ethnicity, 30-60) Hired help at Muldoon Manor and obliging provider of exposition. Possible Cockney accent.
Simon Gascoyne* – (male-identifying, any ethnicity, 20-40) Has had affairs with both Felicity and Cynthia, dies half way through the play, and returns as a theatre critic.
Felicity Cunningham – (female-identifying. any ethnicity, 20-40) Friend of Cynthia, sporty, headstrong. Seemingly sweet and charming, but capable of ruthless revenge.
Cynthia Muldoon* – (female-identifying, any ethnicity, 20-40) Lady of the manor, still mourning her disappeared husband – despite having an affair with Simon. Could lean slightly towards femme fatale archetype.
Major Magnus Muldoon – (male-identifying, any ethnicity, 30-50) Ex-military brother-in-law to Cynthia (whom he fancies), but may not be what he seems. In a wheelchair for most of the show, Canadian accents welcome.
Inspector Hound – (any gender identity, any ethnicity, 30-50) A police officer coming to investigate, classic detective, becomes a critic later in the show.
*The script calls for kissing between Cynthia & Simon, and Cynthia & Birdboot.
Black Comedy:
Brindsley Miller — (male-identifying, any ethnicity, 20-30). Carol’s fiancé. A young sculptor, intelligent, but nervous and uncertain of himself.
Carol Melkett — (female-identifying, any ethnicity, 20-30). Brindsley’s fiance. A young debutante, used to getting her way.
Miss Furnival — (female-identifying, any ethnicity, 30-70s). An air of primness, refinement and tight British control. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that she may have a more wild and free-spirited side than at first appears.
Colonel Melkett – (any gender identity, any ethnicity, 40-60s). Carol’s commanding parent. Brisk, barky, yet given to sudden vocal calms which suggest a deep alarming instability.
Harold Gorringe — (male-identifying, any ethnicity, 20-40s). The bachelor owner of an antique-china shop, and Brindsley’s neighbor, Harold comes from the North of England. His friendship is highly conditional and possessive: sooner or later, payment for it will be asked. A specialist in emotional blackmail, he is older than Brindsley by several years.
Schuppanzigh — (any gender identity, any ethnicity, 30-60). A German refugee, cultivated, and effervescent. They are entirely happy and delighted to be in England, even if it means being employed full time by the London Electricity Board.
Clea — (female-identifying, any ethnicity, 20-30). Brindsley’s ex-mistress. Dazzling, bright and mischievous. Enjoys a challenge.
Georg Samberger — (any gender identity, any ethnicity, 40-70). An elderly millionaire art collector, easily identifiable as such. Like Schuppanzigh, also German.
All characters (unless noted) will have RP British dialect.
NOTE: While the characters are written with he/him or she/her pronouns in the original scripts, we welcome gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to audition for the roles they most identify with. We will also list race/ethnicity when specific to the character but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities.
Additional Notes (Set build/strike/costumes):
Cast members are required to assist with strike following the final performance, as well as a cast build day, TBD. Cast members may also be asked to assist with costume pieces.
Actors will be required to navigate stairs down to the dressing room and up a spiral staircase to reach backstage.
QUESTIONS:
If you have any questions you cannot answer through this audition notice or the Facebook audition event, please email director Jessica Franz-Martin at Sabrynef@yahoo.com.
*OCTA celebrates our cultural and intellectual richness and is committed to promoting diversity in all aspects of our organization. Non-traditional and equal-opportunity casting is encouraged.