AUDITIONS
AUDITION NOTICE. Quills auditions will be held August 10 – 11, 2019. New Moon announces auditions for Quills, by Doug Wright, directed Gene Elliott at The Evergreen Theatre, 1705 Poplar Ave. AUDITION SIDES AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
Pertinent Information:
Production: Quills, by Doug Wright
Audition Dates: August 10 – 11, 2019. Saturday at 3:00, Sunday at 6:00. Possible callbacks Monday, August 12 at 6:30.
Location: Evergreen Theatre, 1705 Poplar Ave.
Directed by: Gene Elliott
Audition Material: Readings from the script. Sides will be posted on website soon.
Needed: 4 men, 3 women, also a chorus of inmates (Character age/details below) ALL ROLES ARE AVAILABLE
Special Note: Full nudity will be required for the role of the Marquis
Rehearsal Dates: Beginning of January, 2020, some mid-December table reading possible.
Production Dates: February 7 – 23, 2020
More info: 901-484-3467
Characters
The Marquis de Sade — (40s – 50s) a brilliant, possibly mad writer of edgy erotica. Both passionate and petulant, he is a contrary figure who manipulates everyone inside and outside the asylum. (NOTE: this character will require full nudity)
Abbe de Coulmier — (20s – 40s) a gentle kindly man, given the unlikely task of taming the Marquis, halting his incendiary writings, and encouraging him to embrace a new morality.
Dr. Royer-Collard — (50s – 60s) in charge of the Charenton Asylum, he seeks order at any cost, including torture. The doctor is a man for whom reputation and appearances mean everything.
Renee Pelagie— (30 – 50s) the disgruntled, socially ambitious wife of the Marquis who seeks to silence her husband in order to restore her sullied name.
Madeleine LeClerc — (20s – 30s) a seamstress working at Charenton alongside her blind mother. She delights in the Marquis’s sordid tales.
Monsieur Prioux — (20s – 30s) a renowned architect in charge of remodeling the doctor’s house to meet the desires of the doctor’s wife.
Madame Royer-Collard – (20s – 30s) The Doctor’s wife, a woman of considerable appetites.
Lunatics — A chorus of inmates will be utilized. All ages and types welcome.
Synopsis: The Marquis de Sade is put in an asylum for his sadomasochistic pornographic writing. The asylum is overseen by the Abbe de Coulmier . After confiscating the Marquis' quills and paper, the Abbe is surprised to find lascivious new stories circulating in public. The source? A lusty young seamstress named Madeleine has been smuggling material out of the asylum. The Abbe is driven to increasingly desperate acts to silence the Marquis.
Winner of an Obie Award. "…Doug Wright's raffish new comedy, part theater of the ridiculous, part comedy of manners and part Grand Guignol, successfully blends intentional archness, grotesque exaggeration and bold humor to create a theatrical experience of real wit." —NY Times. "Exuberant theater-making…gory, depraved, revolting and—uh-oh—sentimental. On top of all that, the play has something to say about censorship and what happens when you try to suppress art…Smirky, gross-out fun with a purpose. It's an amazing show." —Variety. "Cunningly structured and gorgeously written, with every phrase turned to a high, gleaming polish. Quills is a superb piece of writing." —Village Voice.
AUDITION SIDES
Please prepare the following scenes. PDF LINK HERE.
Pertinent Information:
Production: Quills, by Doug Wright
Audition Dates: August 10 – 11, 2019. Saturday at 3:00, Sunday at 6:00. Possible callbacks Monday, August 12 at 6:30.
Location: Evergreen Theatre, 1705 Poplar Ave.
Directed by: Gene Elliott
Audition Material: Readings from the script. Sides will be posted on website soon.
Needed: 4 men, 3 women, also a chorus of inmates (Character age/details below) ALL ROLES ARE AVAILABLE
Special Note: Full nudity will be required for the role of the Marquis
Rehearsal Dates: Beginning of January, 2020, some mid-December table reading possible.
Production Dates: February 7 – 23, 2020
More info: 901-484-3467
Characters
The Marquis de Sade — (40s – 50s) a brilliant, possibly mad writer of edgy erotica. Both passionate and petulant, he is a contrary figure who manipulates everyone inside and outside the asylum. (NOTE: this character will require full nudity)
Abbe de Coulmier — (20s – 40s) a gentle kindly man, given the unlikely task of taming the Marquis, halting his incendiary writings, and encouraging him to embrace a new morality.
Dr. Royer-Collard — (50s – 60s) in charge of the Charenton Asylum, he seeks order at any cost, including torture. The doctor is a man for whom reputation and appearances mean everything.
Renee Pelagie— (30 – 50s) the disgruntled, socially ambitious wife of the Marquis who seeks to silence her husband in order to restore her sullied name.
Madeleine LeClerc — (20s – 30s) a seamstress working at Charenton alongside her blind mother. She delights in the Marquis’s sordid tales.
Monsieur Prioux — (20s – 30s) a renowned architect in charge of remodeling the doctor’s house to meet the desires of the doctor’s wife.
Madame Royer-Collard – (20s – 30s) The Doctor’s wife, a woman of considerable appetites.
Lunatics — A chorus of inmates will be utilized. All ages and types welcome.
Synopsis: The Marquis de Sade is put in an asylum for his sadomasochistic pornographic writing. The asylum is overseen by the Abbe de Coulmier . After confiscating the Marquis' quills and paper, the Abbe is surprised to find lascivious new stories circulating in public. The source? A lusty young seamstress named Madeleine has been smuggling material out of the asylum. The Abbe is driven to increasingly desperate acts to silence the Marquis.
Winner of an Obie Award. "…Doug Wright's raffish new comedy, part theater of the ridiculous, part comedy of manners and part Grand Guignol, successfully blends intentional archness, grotesque exaggeration and bold humor to create a theatrical experience of real wit." —NY Times. "Exuberant theater-making…gory, depraved, revolting and—uh-oh—sentimental. On top of all that, the play has something to say about censorship and what happens when you try to suppress art…Smirky, gross-out fun with a purpose. It's an amazing show." —Variety. "Cunningly structured and gorgeously written, with every phrase turned to a high, gleaming polish. Quills is a superb piece of writing." —Village Voice.
AUDITION SIDES
Please prepare the following scenes. PDF LINK HERE.
- pg. 11 – 13 RENEE PELAGIE, DR. ROYER-COLLARD
Start: “I don’t know which has plagued me more.”
End: “Now is the time to secure your epitaph.”
- pg. 16 – 19 COULMIER, DR. ROYER-COLLARD, MARQUIS
Start: “These knick-knacks are of minimal concern”
End: “ENOUGH!”
Note: those reading for Marquis prepare both the regular scene and as one continuous monologue.
- pg. 30 – 31 DR. ROYER-COLLARD, MONSIEUR PROUIX
All of scene 6
- pg. 35 – 37 COULMIER, MARQUIS
All of scene 8
- pg. 42 – 45 MADELEINE, MARQUIS
All of scene 11
- pg. 51 – 53 COULMIER, DR. ROYER-COLLARD
All of scene 2 (Act 2)
- pg. 54 – 56 COULMIER, MARQUIS
Start: “You wish to know the sum impact of your work?”
End: “Would that I were so easily silenced.”
- pg. 57 – 58 MONSIEUR PROUIX, MADAME ROYER-COLLARD
All of scene 4 (Act 2)
- pg. 68 – 70 COULMIER, MADELEINE, MARQUIS
All of scene 8 (Act 2)