Early History Of Fire – Equity Principal Auditions

WHO: The New Group

SEEKING: 
Danny:
Early – mid 20s. Working-class Midwestern man. Former high school athlete; has a strong physical presence. Intelligent and intuitive, but hides these parts of himself, almost ashamed of them. In consequence, he's full of anger, sometimes aggressive, and deeply conflicted. The hurt and rage of the boy whose mother died when he was young is never far away. Searching for a way out, he's afraid of it too; he wants a way to change that will allow him to hold onto himself, and his friends.

Pop:
German, mid – late 60s. An educated immigrant, with an accent. Exile who carries a kingdom with him wherever he goes. Cast out of Germany for being outspoken against Hitler, he has ended up a working-class man in the Midwest, a world he occupies with bemused disdain, his ambitions thwarted, his true life elsewhere. Yet he must live where he is and defend what he no longer has, enjoying the adulation of Benji, a kind of fool to his king, and finding danger and threat in his love for his son, Danny.

Jake:
Early – mid 20s. Working-class Midwestern man. Long-time, close friend of Danny and Terry. A big talker, given to brotherly competition and goading with his friends, and out for excitement. Smart enough to know that Danny is changing, he’s not smart enough to know why. Confused and betrayed by whatever is coming, he’s dangerous; violence looks and feels like freedom. Fears that being a teenager was the best part of his life. Deeply threatened by Karen.

Terry:
Early – mid 20s. Working class Midwestern man. Long-time, close friend of Danny and Jake. A peacemaker, good-natured and playful, and prone to go along. He needs their bond, and always tries to resolve their differences. His nature is simpler than that of Danny and Jake: while Danny is pulled to his future and Jake to his teenage years, what Terry misses is real childhood, the lack of responsibility or consequences. The adult world is something he doesn’t even want to understand.

Benji:
40s-50s. Working-class Midwestern man. Idolizes Pop, and follows him around. Excitable and uncontrolled; races everywhere. Aspires to be smarter and richer than he is, but is also essentially happy and content. He is someone who, in the years of the play, would have been thought of as “simple”.

Shirley:
Mid – late 20s. Working-class Midwestern woman. Grew up with Danny, Jake and Terry. Once dated Terry. Has since married and divorced – and then her ex-husband died in a car crash. Now a prostitute, but not hardened. Still friends with the guys, and sweet on Terry.

Fritz:
Early teens. Working-class Midwestern boy. Knows Danny from town. Sharp and ambitious, and knows his own mind. Not one to be intimidated.

Karen:
CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible (emergency) replacements, should any become necessary. Early 20s. Upper middle class, somewhat polished. Born in the Midwest, she has gone east to school, where she attended Bryn Mawr. In the world of the play, she comes from money – but it’s a very small world. Brainy and delicate, fierce and bold, she has the soul of a daredevil, a tightrope walker, lacking perhaps the necessary balance and resilience. But her intelligence and rich emotions have both convinced and compelled her to walk the tightly stretched rope under her. Fascinated with Danny and his world.

REQUIREMENTS: Please prepare a contemporary, dramatic monologue, 2 minutes or less. Please bring a picture & resume, stapled back-to-back.

WHEN: 1st reh: 2/20/12. 1st preview: 3/21/12. Scheduled close: 5/12/12.

PAY :$486/week minimum

HOW TOO APPLY: 

When:

Equity Principal Auditions:
Thursday, October 20, 2011
10:30 AM – 6:30 PM
Lunch from 2 – 3.

Where:

Theatre Row Studios
411 West 41st Street
New York City
Ring bell for admittance.