Audition Listings

A Man for all Seasons, (Oshawa Little Theatre)

Auditions:  October 4, October 11

Callbacks:  October 16

Show: “A Man for all Seasons” by Robert Bolt
Genre: Play/Historical drama
Director: Geoffrey Coulter
Producer: Claire Crossman
Stage Manager: Ellie Patte

SHOW SYNOPSIS: A re-telling of the historic events surrounding Sir
Thomas More, the Chancellor of Medieval England, who remained silent
regarding Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Because More
would not take an oath which essentially endorsed the king’s separation
from the church in Rome, the Chancellor was imprisoned, tried, and
eventually executed. The play asks, “How far would you go to remain
honest to yourself and would you stake your life on it?”

AUDITIONS DATES:
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 from 7:00 – 10:00
Tuesday October 11, 2016 from 7:00 – 10:00
CALL BACKS:
Sunday October 16, 2016 from 7:00 – 10:00

All auditions are booked timed auditions – please log onto the Theatre
Website at http://www.oshawalittletheatre.com and click on the “Auditions” tab
to register. If you experience any difficulties or have any questions, please
contact the producer, Claire Crossman, at cacrossman@bell.net

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS: Please prepare a 2 – minute dramatic
monologue from any piece of classical literature (no Shakespeare, please!)
written before the 20th century (e.g. works by Aeschylus, Plato, Jonson,
Marlowe, Chaucer, Dante, Dafoe, Bronte, Dickens etc…) There will also be
cold readings from the script.

Location: Oshawa Little Theatre, 62 Russett Ave., Oshawa, ON

REHEARSAL DATES: Rehearsals will be Tuesday and Thursday evenings 7-
10:00pm and Sunday afternoons 1-5pm beginning on Thursday October 20,
2016.

No rehearsals will be scheduled after the 20th of December for the
Christmas Holidays. Rehearsals will resume on January 3rd, 2017. Additional
rehearsals may be scheduled for December 27 and 29 based on availability
and director’s discretion.

PERFORMANCE DATES: February 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 (matinee), 16, 17, 18
Cast must be available for all performances and must be members of
Oshawa Little Theatre in order to rehearse and perform.

CASTING INFORMATION:
THIS SHOW WILL REQUIRE ACCENTS (ENGLISH, FRENCH).

The Common Man (35 – 55 years)
Portrays a variety of small characters – Tavern owner, jailer, servant, jury
foreman, and executioner. When not a separate character, the Common
Man helps set the scene for the audience. He talks to the audience directly,
like a narrator.

Sir Thomas More (45 – 55 years)
The protagonist, or main character. He is incapable of sacrificing his moral
conscience to save his life. His conscience is more important to him than
life itself. He is more existential than religious, definitely not eager to be a
martyr. More loves the world of the law. He knows that laws are what keep
everyone safe. Without agreed upon laws men would have no protection.
To More, only God is ranked higher than society’s laws.

Richard Rich – 30s
A young nobleman. Mostly interested in gaining riches and stature. He has
no interest in listening to his conscience. His focus is on material gains of
power and riches and will do what he must to achieve his ends. His fortunes
rise at the same time that More’s fall.

Duke of Norfolk (Thomas Howard, uncle to Anne Boleyn) (55 – 65 years)
Nobleman and friend to More. Concerned with More’s welfare. Doesn’t
understand that it would be impossible for More to defy his own
conscience and sensibilities. Ultimately, he aids in his friend’s destruction.

Alice (45 – 55 years)
More’s wife. She’s illiterate and happy that way. She is unable to
understand why More won’t just do as the king demands. She finally
accepts his reasons without understanding them.

Margaret (20 – 30 years)
More’s daughter, sometimes called Meg. Unusually well-educated by her
father and others, given that few females received a classical education in
this time period. She comes closest to understanding him. During the
timeframe of the play, Margaret marries the man she loves, Will Roper.

Cardinal Wolsey (50 – 65 years)
A commoner who rose to be a powerful church official in the reign of King
Henry VIII. He has powers equal to the King but is not trusted by the
common people or the King himself.

Thomas Cromwell (40 – 55 years)
A lawyer who worked for Wolsey before being taken in by the King. He has
no sense of guilt or shame. Upon command of the King, he happily
performs “unpleasant deeds” to others.

Eustace Chapuys (55 – 65 years)
The Spanish Ambassador to England. Although born in Belgium, he is a
good friend and supporter of Queen Catherine, pressing for her rights and
privileges. He frequently masks his political agenda with an interest in
religion.

Attendant of Chapuys (25 – 30 years)
The attendant of Chapuys appears to have a lot in common with the
Common Man characters. He is basically someone to whom Chapuys can
speak his mind.

William Roper (25-35 years)
Suitor and then husband to Margaret. He is anti-Catholic (Lutheran) in part
of the play, but then becomes a Catholic like his wife.

Henry VIII (late thirties)
King of England, he is fit and robust, before his appetite got the better of
him. Some of his actions are those of a man without a conscience. But, he
does have a conscience. He just turns the world upside down and inside out
in order to make his actions moral. What Sir Thomas More thinks of him is
extremely important to him because he knows that More is a moral man.
More’s acceptance of what the King does would make the King appear to
be a moral man also. He is only in one scene of the play, but much of the
play’s dialogue centers around him.

Woman (35 -55 years)
The person who tried to bribe Sir Thomas More with a silver cup causing
him to want to get rid of it immediately.

Thomas Cranmer (40 – 55 years)
Archbishop of Canterbury (1533-1555) because King Henry VIII liked the
course of action that he promoted to assure that the King succeeded in
divorcing Queen Catherine. A “yes man” in all senses.