Auditions for Noises Off will be held on December 1st & December 2nd from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Hart County Community Theatre (83 Depot Street, downtown Hartwell)!

About the Play

The Story: In a provincial English town, a theatre troupe rehearses a touring production of a comedy, Nothing On. Unfortunately, almost nothing is going right – the cast can’t remember their lines, they mix up their blocking, misplace props, and they’ve lost sight of why they’re acting!

“Noises Off ” is a play within a play. It is about an ambitious director and his troupe of mediocre actors. The cast and crew are putting together a silly comedy titled, “Nothing On” – a single-set farce in which lovers frolic, doors slam, clothes are tossed away, and embarrassing hi-jinks ensue.

The three acts of “Noises Off ” expose different phases of the disastrous show, “Nothing On”:

• Act One: On stage during dress rehearsal.
• Act Two: Backstage during a matinee performance.
• Act Three: On stage during a delightfully ruined performance.

What to Prepare

• Please prepare a 1-2 minute comedic monologue.
• If you would like to come prepared, you can print and bring along this Audition Form.

Note, this is an open call. Registration will begin at 6:30PM  with auditions at 7PM.

Character Breakdown

Some actors play two characters. One onstage character and one off-stage character.

FEMALE CHARACTERS

Dotty Otley / Mrs. Clacket:
(Off stage Dotty): A late-middle-aged American actress. Forgetful. Dating Garry, though she attempts to make him jealous by meeting with Freddy.
(On Stage Character: Mrs. Clackett): A Cockney Housekeeper for the Brent’s home in England. Hospitable, though slow.

Brooke Ashton / Vicki:
(Off Stage: Brooke): A young inexperienced American actress. Pays no attention to other performers, either in performance or backstage. She seems as though she is not really present – like she is somewhere else inside her head. Is always losing her contact lenses. One-third of a Lloyd–Poppy–Brooke love triangle.
(On Stage Character: Vicki): An English woman who works for Inland Revenue and is trying to woo Roger.

Belinda Blair / Flavia Brent
(Off stage Belinda): Cheerful and sensible, a reliable American actress. She may have feelings for Freddy.
(On Stage Character: Flavia Brent): Phillip Brent’s English wife. She is dependable, though not one for household duties.

Poppy Norton-Taylor: American Stage Manager. Emotional and over-sensitive, and envious of Brooke, whom she understudies. Carrying Lloyd’s child. One-third of a Lloyd-Poppy-Brooke love triangle.

MALE CHARACTERS

Lloyd Dallas: The director of the play, Nothing On. Temperamental. One third of a Lloyd–Poppy–Brooke love triangle.

Garry Lejeune / Roger:
(Off stage: Garry): An American actor who never finishes a sentence. Always is completing sentences with, “you know…” Easily fired up, repeatedly tries to attack Freddy after believing that Dotty was cheating on him with Freddy. Speech affectations disappear onstage but are everpresent offstage. Dating Dotty.
(On Stage Character: Roger): An English Real estate agent who is attempting to rent Flavia’s and Phillip’s home, but uses it for his own personal benefit.

Frederick Fellows /Phillip Brent / Sheikh :
(Off stage: Freddy): An American actor with a serious fear of violence and blood. Gets nosebleeds easily. Often questions the meaning of his lines and moves. Blames himself often for things going wrong.
(On Stage Character: Phillip Brent): An Englishman who lives out of the country with his wife Flavia to avoid paying taxes. He enters the country knowing that if he is caught by Inland Revenue, he will lose most of the year’s income.
(On Stage Character: Sheikh): A Middle-Eastern, Interested in renting Flavia’s and Phillip’s home and is the spitting image of Phillip.

Selsdon Mowbray / Burglar:
(Off Stage: Selsdon Mowbray): An elderly alcoholic Englishman who hides his bottles onstage. If he is not in sight while rehearsing, the stage crew must find him before he passes out. Is hard of hearing when he wants to be.
(On Stage Character: Burglar): Old Cockney man in his seventies, breaking into the Brent’s home. Timothy Allgood: An over-worked American Assistant Stage Manager. Understudies Selsdon and Freddy.

Performance Dates

Friday, Feb 23 – 7:30pm
Saturday, Feb 24 – 2:30pm
Saturday, Feb 24 – 7:30pm
Sunday, Feb 25– 2:30pm

Friday, Mar 1 – 7:30pm
Saturday, Mar 2 – 2:30pm
Saturday, Mar 2 – 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar 3 – 2:30pm