Auditions for Honor Project in Creating Collective Feminist Theatre

Auditions for Honor Project in Creating Collective Feminist Theatre
A reading of Dance Nation by Clare Barron
A reading of John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower
A workshop and staged reading of a new play by Lyndsey Bourne

Conceived and directed by Fiona Selmi ‘21

The Williams College Department of Theatre invites you to audition for Honors Candidate Fiona Selmi’s series of staged readings conducted over Zoom this semester.  All participating students will be offered the .5 credit for participation in the project. All enrolled students, whether remote or on campus, are encouraged to audition.

Audition Materials available here! 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NKV5703W2zVytJ8Vn9YlJhNKWwNE8eLO?usp=sharing 

This casting call is specifically for the staged readings of Dance Nation and John Proctor is the Villain  and an additional casting callback will happen in March for the new play workshop with playwright Lyndsey Bourne, but general interest in the project is welcome. Please note that each script has different needs and wants for actors, so it may not not be possible for every actor to participate in every element of this honors project. Additionally, please indicate in your video if you might be interested in a particular element of this project other than performing.

To audition, please send a 1-2 minute video, introducing yourself, your interest in creating theatre collectively, and one of the sides provided from either Dance Nation or John Proctor is the Villain. Callbacks for Dance Nation will be conducted synchronously over Zoom the week of February 22nd. Auditions can be sent to ad19@williams.edu. Please send by February 23rd 5pm for consideration.  

Director’s Note: This honors project considers how contemporary theatre about young, femme-identified persons can be used as a catalyist for community and coalition building among early-career, femme-identified theatre artists. 

Brief Descriptions of Plays:

Dance Nation by Clare Barron 

Saturday March 6 and Sunday March 7, 8-10 hours of rehearsal time 

A group of 13-year olds on a competitive dance team, claw their way to the top of the Boogie Down Grand Prix competition and strive towards being the “best” in every sense of the word. 

Content Warning: violence, self-harm, corse language, and descriptions of sex and sexual violence. 

Casting Breakdown 

 

John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower 

Saturday April 3 and Sunday April 4, 8-10 hours of rehearsal time 

A group of high school students in Applachain Georgia read the “The Crucible” in their hybrid English and sex-ed class (budget cuts) which begins to become uncomfortably revelant admist scandal and revelations. The line between witch and heroine blurs in this post-Me Too examination of power, love, and sex education. Content Warning: sexual assault and violence 

Casting Breakdown 

A new play by Lyndsey Bourne 

Saturday May 1 and Sunday May 2, 29 hours of rehearsal time (March-April)

A collaborative workshopping process and staged reading of a new play by playwright Lyndsey Bourne. As a culmination of Fiona’s honors project, the goal of this process is to both workshop a new script and create an experimental model of coalition building among a group of young femme-identifying people. 

Please reach out to Fiona Selmi, ffs2@williams.edu with any questions!