Auditions
Photography: Laura Dorn
Oedipus and Antigonê
by Sophocles
Translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald
Adapted and directed by Kelly Wilson
Production week, 23-28 March, 2020,
Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Cast:
MALE (5)
OEDIPUS (40), doctor and leader of Thebes / Antigonê Chorus 1
CHAUFFEUR (60+) / MESSENGER 2 & Antigonê Chorus 2
Oedipus Chorus 6-HAIMON (20/30), son of Creona
PROBATE LAWYER / POLYNEICÊS (28), son of Oedipus and Jocasta & Chorus 3
MESSENGER & Oedipus Chorus 4 / ETEOCLÊS (26), son of Oedipus and Jocasta & Chorus 4
FEMALE (5)
JOCASTA (58), wife of Oedipus / Antigone Chorus 5
CREONA (45/55), sister of Jocasta, mother of Haimon, career politician, leader of Thebes
Oedipus Chorus 1 / ANTIGONÊ (15/25), daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta
Oedipus Chorus 3 / ISMENÊ (10/20), daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta
Oedipus Chorus 2-PERSONAL ASSISTANT (20/30), secretary for Creona
MALE or FEMALE (2)
TEIRESIAS (60+), a blind seer
Oedipus Chorus 5-SENTRY (20/30), a security guard
Audition Information:
Auditions will consist of a digitally recorded reading of one of the monologues from the production (included in the audition packet) and a 1-2 minute song of your choice, as some members of the chorus will be singing during the production.
Please familiarise yourself with the monologue so that you can look away from the page from time to time, but it is not necessary to completely memorise the entire passage. I want to hear how you speak the language and see how you portray the character.
You may send a recording without any singing, if you don’t want to be considered for a singing role.
A copy of the self-tape should be emailed by Wednesday, 15 January to Kelly Wilson at adaptivitytheatrecompany@gmail.com. If you are unable to complete a self-tape, you may email to request an audition in person before the 15 January deadline.
Call-backs will be held on Monday, January 20 from 6-8pm, location TBA. Call-backs will involve cold readings of scenes with other potential cast members.
Rehearsals:
A read-thru of the script will occur sometime at the end of January, at which time actors will receive their scripts. Rehearsals will be held 2-3 times a week, for 3 hours, beginning at 6pm, preferably between Monday-Thursday, perhaps Fridays or Saturdays, depending on the availability of the cast. At the conclusion of the production, 20% of the box office earnings will be split evenly between the actors as payment for their services.
Directorial Interpretation:
In this production, the narrative action, which originally took place in ancient Greece, is advanced to the year 2050. Thebes is now a modern city recovering from the verge of annihilation. Dr. Oedipus has been a compassionate and fair leader of Thebes since he arrived twenty years ago, during the bio-terrorist attack by the perpetrator known as ‘The Sphinx’, responsible for the pandemic of 2030 that Oedipus eradicated. In a desperate hope to maintain health and prosperity in their community, the Theban people have resumed their worship of the gods of ancient Greece. Jocasta assists her husband Oedipus in running a doctor’s surgery from an annex of their own home as they work to continue Thebes’ recovery.
However, it seems there has been another outbreak of plague: crops are failing, cattle are sick, babies are stillborn and people are dying from unknown causes. Oedipus calls upon the blind seer, Teiresias, to discover the cause of the pestilence and to determine what the gods would have them do in order to survive. When Teiresias finally meets with Oedipus, his prophesy sets in motion a series of events that will forever change the lives of his wife, Jocasta; his sister-in-law, Creona; his nephew, Haimon; and his children, Polyneicês, Eteoclês, Ismenê and Antigonê.
This performance is notable in its reimagining of Oedipus as a doctor and its portrayal of Creon as a woman, known as Creona, played by the same actor in both Oedipus and Antigonê. The audience witnesses the agony that befalls a well-meaning, yet naïve, doctor who assumes that the cause of his city’s suffering has nothing to do with himself. Likewise, Creona, a career politician, leads Thebes with the best of intentions, but her decisions and actions demonstrate the pride and misplaced idealism that parallels the problems that plague politics today. As the result of these adaptations, the thematic content of the production produces a chilling modern significance.