SPRINGFIELD – Auditions will be held Nov. 15 and 17 for the LLCC Theatre/Theatre in the Park collaborative spring production of Shakespeare’s, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
The Saturday, Nov. 15 audition will be held at Western Oaks Baptist Church, 5345 Old Jacksonville Rd.
It will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. Auditions will run from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
A second round of auditions will take place Monday, Nov. 17 from 4-7 p.m. in the lower level of Sangamon Hall South on the LLCC campus.
Auditions will include reading from the script and movement exercises, so actors should wear comfortable clothing.
College students and community members are encouraged to audition.
People auditioning are encouraged to read the play, which is can be found online.
Those interested in backstage duties, stage management or serving as assistant to the director should drop by auditions for a brief conference with the director.
Anyone wishing to audition who cannot attend should email [email protected].
“We are looking for three to four young women, two to three women of any age, six to eight young men, three middle-aged men, and a person to play one of Shakespeare’s most notable roles: Crab, the dog,” said director Mark Hardiman, LLCC professor of theatre. “We are also considering casting some traditionally male roles with women who can do physical comedy.”
The production will be staged May 29, 30, 31, June 4, 5 and 8 in Kelso Hollow at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site.
“We have worked with Theatre in the Park in the past on three successful projects in the indoor theatre. This time we are in a full-on collaboration on this Shakespearian comedy as part of the regular TIP season,” says Hardiman.
“The Two Gentlemen of Verona” is one of Shakespeare’s earliest and briefest plays.
“The production will be done in the style of ‘commedia dell’arte,’” says Hardiman. “It is from ‘commedia’ that we acquired the term, ‘slapstick.’ In all, the production will be bold with swashbuckling swordplay and hilarious bumps and pratfalls.
“We are working with a woodworker right now to build for us the slapsticks in the style of the 1600s for the production.”
The production will feature the traditional Italian half-mask for the older characters and bold physical characterizations for them as well as the clownish characters in the play.
In juxtaposition, the young lovers are performed without mask and become the character with whom audiences most identify.
Commedia draws upon physically stylized characters often from animal types with extreme features. It pokes fun at some of our most lovable character types like the miserly old man, the braggart soldier and the impish and wise servant, from whom the patchwork-dressed clown Harlequin is derived.
LLCC Theatre is committed to education in theatre, emphasizing not only performance but also growth in those involved in the production.
Those participating may choose to register for college credit or participate through LLCC’s Community Education program.
