AUDITIONS FOR - ON GOLDEN POND, Written by Ernest Thompson, directed by Roy Hammond and Stage Managed by Linda Sellner to take place at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre at 817 Saint Paul Street - Baltimore , MD 21202 on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 7:00pm
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 7:00pm (If necessary, call backs will be Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 7:00pm)
www.spotlighters.org - 410.752.1225
Rehearsals will start on March 22, 2009.
(Performance dates are May 1, 2009 - May 31, 2009, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm with one Thursday performance on May 28, 2009 at 8:00pm. There will be performances on Mother's Day and Memorial Day weekend. Rehearsal schedule will include
a break for Easter holiday.)
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
Norman Thayer: actor able to convincingly portray 79 - 80 years old, vigorous appearance, wry sense of humor, very assured, retired Professor of English. He has a glib, dry, and sharp wit. Crusty, but not truly mean spirited. Usually wears "baggy pants and sneakers and a sweater." His hair is white. He wears glasses. He walks slowly but= upright. On the one hand he is boyish and peppery, having hung onto his vigor and his boyish humor, but at the same time, he is grand, as he has a manner, a way of speaking and of carrying himself that seems to belong in another era. It is a larger-than-life quality, an extra dimension of size that old men seem to take on. Norman 's health is good, a touch of arthritis, palpitations, gout, and a few other slight irregularities notwithstanding. He is flirting with senility, but he knows it, and he plays it to the hilt. Norman likes to play with people's minds, keep them on their toes. Conversation with him usually becomes a game of one-upmanship, and Norman usually comes out ahead. He is lovable but crotchety, and
can be very difficult to get along with. He also appears to carry a whole bag of Archie Bunker-type prejudices, but how passionately he believes in them is questionable. One sometimes has the feeling that they are not bred into him, but simply something that he throws out for effect.
Ethel Thayer: actress able to convincingly portray 69 years old, very loving, determined, wife. At age 69 she is still filled with energy and optimism and is a woman with a calm strength. She is, "small, but energetic beyond belief." She is Norman 's opposite in many ways. She fills the empty spaces when he grows quiet. She and Norman are best of friends, with a keen understanding of each other, after 48 years of marriage. Ethel's bubbly demeanor is partially due to her awareness that Norman is getting morose and depressed and that she needs to lift him out of it, but it also reflects her natural tendency to see the glass "half full." In that sense, she is the perfect foil for the taciturn Norman . She knows how to manage his moods and run interference when he's less than charming with others.
Charlie Martin: actor able to convincingly portray 44 years old, local mailman, strong Maine accent, very open, a "laugher." He is a life-long family friend with rustic charm. Often this laughter hides his disappointment with the path his life has taken. He is a big, round man, weather-beaten face, smiling eyes. In his own rustic, simple, thoughtful way, he is quite charming. Charlie works for the Post Office, has been delivering the mail by boat to the houses along the lake shore and to the girls at Camp Koochakiyi ever since Chelsea, the Thayers' daughter, and he were children. He never married, as he was never able to find the equal of Chelsea on whom he has had a great crush his whole life. He has a warm, easy, infectious laugh, which continually peppers his conversation.
Chelsea Thayer Wayne: actress able to convincingly portray 42 years old, daughter/divorcee, edgy, dry sense of humor. She is Norman and Ethel's only child. She has not yet dealt with her bitterness towards her father or her mother's attitude of never being there for her. She is quite pretty, a bit heavy, athletic-looking, tan, a nervous type, something dark about her, but she has her father's humor. Charlie Martin has been in love with her since they were children. Chelsea and
her father have been somewhat estranged or alienated for years, and the reasons for this are revealed as the play progresses.
Billy Ray: actor able to convincingly portray 13 years old, bright, energetic, good sense of humor. He is Bill's 13-year-old son. He is a bit awkward but eager, bright and flippant. His bravado comes not from a sense of entitlement, but from a sense of loneliness. His flippancy is only to
cover his awkwardness. He is eager and bright. His hair is long and his posture is terrible. He is the son of Bill Ray, Chelsea 's latest boyfriend. Billy's arrival changes the whole course of the play, since Norman, caught up in his youth and energy, and quite fascinated with him, develops a healthier outlook on life, and the two become fast friends. One also gets the sense that Billy is the link that will bring Norman and daughter Chelsea back together.
