AUDITIONS on Monday night, 2/19/2007 at 7:30 pm (Callbacks TBA) Production Dates will be April 13-21. First produced in 1968, followed by a 1970 production at Lincoln Center, NYC, "A Cry of Players" is the imagined story of Will Shakespeare's life as a young man in the small English country town of Stratford-on-Avon before he moved to London to pursue a life playing and writing for the stage. A story inspired by Will: a fun, accessible introduction to Shakespeare the man as he might appear to us today. Lust for life, friendship and good times were the order of the day for even the most downtrodden folks of Elizabethan England, and Shakespeare and his family were no exception. (William Gibson also wrote THE MIRACLE WORKER.)

CAST
15 male: Ages 12-70 (Five of the male parts are Players in the Acting Company that comes to Will's town)
4 female: Ages early 20s, mid-20s, and 35+ and one small girl 4-6

Plus, townspeople

(The part of Will should be someone in early 20s, strong acting background; Frank Langella played the original. Likewise Anne should be a strong actress, Anne Bancroft originated the role.)

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

Will: 21 years, loony, poetic, passionate, bitter, vital
Anne: Comely, harassed, motherly woman, loving and strong-willed (27-30)

Fulk: middle-aged, filthy, one-armed, drunk veteran
Meg: equally filthy, Fulk’s counterpart, his “old-lady”
Richards: Sir Thomas’ Gamekeeper, resentful fellow, feral
Susanna: 4 yrs old, Will and Anne’s daughter; sweet, bright
Sir Thomas: Austere mayor of the town, possibly most well-educated
Berry: Obtuse,thick-headed,just-following-orders, sheriff/bailiff
Roche: Elderly teacher, kind, somewhat timid
Sandells: 30s, Former suitor of Anne’s, still cares, protective of her
Jenny: Young, buxom, lusty yet naive barmaid,daughter of Hodges
Hodges: Tavernkeep/ostler, middle-aged, sourpuss
Old John: Father of Will, in his heyday a well-respected alderman and glovemaker, now somewhat vague
Gilbert: Will’s older brother, a hillbilly-type lout (spits, picks teeth)

PLAYERS
Will KEMP: Head Player (the Earl of Leicester’s Men), tough, intelligent, witty
John HEMING: Mid-late 20s, laid-back
Thomas POPE: 30s? Older parts in the troupe
NED: A vain, yet noble & serious actor
ARTHUR:12-14, boy who plays the Female parts in the Troupe
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Contact director, Miriam Barnett at sarosch@hotmail.com if you have questions.

Dates:

auditions: February 19, 2007 7:30 PM

performance: April 13, 2007 8:00 PM

April 14, 2007 8:00 PM

April 20, 2007 8:00 PM

April 21, 2007 8:00 PM