Upcoming Audition Opportunities
At LIT and Lakewood Playhouse

LIT/LPH Spotlight Production: Something Wicked This Way Comes
To reserve your audition slot, call (253) 588-0042
Any question: call, or email boxoffice@lakewoodplayhouse.org

Show Description:

One strange and dark year long ago, Halloween came early. It came on Oct. 24, three hours after midnight, to be precise. The exact same time that Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow show rolled into Green Town, Ill. As the town clock chimes 3:00, James Nightshade and William
Halloway leave their beds to watch the train pull in, but there is no one manning the locomotive and no one in the cars behind. Yet the siren song of a calliope beckons all with impossible dreams and youth regained. First lured by its promises, the two boys will soon discover the diabolical truth about the carnival. Behind the Egyptian mirror mazes and the spooky cast of characters, including the Illustrated Man and deadly Mr. Dark, the cost of wishes can be the stuff of nightmares. Only Jim, Will and Will's father can save the town from the sinister carnival that threatens to destroy it and them. Adapting his own literary classic for the stage, Ray Bradbury weaves a classic tale of good and evil, perfectly capturing the wonder of youth and Octobers of skies orange and ash gray at twilight. For those who still dream and remember, the show is about to begin.

Auditions:

• Sunday, September 12th , 2021 (6pm - 9pm)
• Monday, September 13th , 2021 (7pm - 10pm)
• Callbacks: Tuesday, September 14th , 2021 (6pm-9pm)
• Please call the box office to schedule an audition appointment (253) 588-0042, or email boxoffice@lakewoodplayhouse.org

Rehearsals:

• Wednesday, September 15th – Thursday, November 4th
• Mondays-Thursdays, 6:30pm-9:30pm, and Saturdays for 4-5 hrs. (Time dependent on cast’s availability/schedules, but most likely 10am-2pm)
• Please note: there will potentially be 1 Sunday rehearsal on Oct. 31st , but if it takes place, it will be 12:30pm-4:30pm so that everyone will be able to return home and go Trick-or-Treating for the early evening.

Performances:

• November 5th , 6th , 11th , 12th , & 13th at 7pm
• November 7th & 14th at 2pm
• Potential Student Matinee: November 9th at 10am

Requirements:

• 1 - 2 Minute Monologue of Any Type
• All casting will be based on the actors’ ability to play the age range and gender identity of the characters, not the specific age, ethnicity, and gender identity of the actor him/her/themselves.

Characters:
Will Halloway

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 12
• Description: Will is naturally obedient and wary of getting involved in difficult situations; nonetheless, he takes on an active role in fighting the carnival's evil power. Of the two boys, Will is the more cautious and innocent. Unlike Jim, he does not feel the need to grow older, and he is not particularly tempted by the carousel. As Jim becomes more and more obsessed with the carnival, Will begins to assert himself more and displays a greater wisdom and intelligence. He also develops a close relationship with his father, Charles, from whom he is initially quite distant. Will represents the power of love to overcome even the strongest evil.
• Must be able to climb ladders and be on a raised (6-8 foot) platform.
• There will be physical interaction with Charles Halloway and Jim.

Jim Nightshade

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 12
• Description: Jim is brooding and brash, acting as a foil for Will's cautiousness and practicality. He wants to know everything and is obsessed with the idea of growing up. The carousel, with its ability to make people older, therefore makes him vulnerable to the carnival's temptations, but he is ultimately saved by his friendship with Will. By the end, however, Jim begins to accept his age and the limitations - and joys - that come with it.
• Must be able to climb ladders and be on a raised (6-8 foot) platform.
• There will be physical interaction with Will and Jim’s Mom.

Charles Halloway

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 54
• Description: Charles is Will's father. He is fifty-four years old and feels every year of it. No longer the athletic young man that he used to be, in the beginning of the play Charles looks at his son and grows depressed, wishing to become the boy he once was. Like Jim, he is drawn to the carnival and the promise of the age-altering carnival. Charles, however, wants to ride the carousel backwards. As the story progresses, Charles develops a closer relationship with his son, but it isn’t until Charles accepts his age and mortality that he is able to defeat the Dust Witch and destroy Mr. Dark, which he manages to do with the power of love and happiness. He becomes a fighter in his own right by the end of the play, along with gaining the admiration, love, and friendship of his son.
• Must be able to climb a ladder and pretend to slip.
• There will be physical interaction with Mrs. Halloway, Mr. Dark, the Dust Witch, and Will.

Mr. Tetley

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 25-50
• Description: The owner of the United Cigar Shop in Green Town. Mr. Tetley hears faint calliope music in the air the night before the carnival arrives in Green Town, and the iron grille under which Will and Jim hide from Mr. Dark and the freaks is in the street directly outside his shop. Mr. Tetley also sells Charles the cigar that he uses to ward off the Dust Witch by blowing smoke in her face, overwhelming her sharp senses.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.
• Will potentially need to be able to be 1 of 4 people that carry Mr. Electrico on a litter (a.k.a. sedan chair).

Crosetti

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 35-50
• Description: Green Town’s barber. Mr. Crosetti suffers an attack of nostalgia when he smells cotton candy in the air before the arrival of Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show, and Will fears that Mr. Crosetti has taken a ride on the carnival’s carousel. Through his character, we are reminded that, while Jim and Will's struggle is central to the story, the carnival holds sway over many of the adults in town. Mr. Crosetti’s fate is never revealed, however, and there is only a sign outside the barber shop that reads: “CLOSED ON ACCOUNT OF ILLNESS.”
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.
• Will potentially need to be able to be 1 of 4 people that carry Mr. Electrico on a litter (a.k.a. sedan chair).

Lightning Rod Salesman

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 40-70
• Description: He gives the boys a complimentary lightning rod because he worries for their safety. He gives in to temptation by being seduced by the allure to see the Ice Woman’s beauty. Later, he reappears as The Dwarf, an insane being transformed by carnival with no memories of his former life.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.

Policeman

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 25-45
• Description: The Policeman is brought to the carousel by Will and Jim, who think they can save Mr. Cooger after he is mummified by them accidentally breaking it. He is present when Mr. Dark re-introduces Mr. Cooger as Mr. Electrico, and represents the difficulty of the boys convincing the adults that the carnival is evil.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.
• Will potentially need to be able to be 1 of 4 people that carry Mr. Electrico on a litter (a.k.a. sedan chair).

Miss Foley

• Female identifying
• Playable age range: 50-60
• Description: Middle-aged spinster - Miss Foley is the boys' schoolteacher. Like Charles, Miss Foley yearns to be younger and is drawn to the age-changing power of the carnival. Her nephew, Robert, is staying in her house for the week, though Robert turns out to be none other than Mr. Cooger in disguise. Miss Foley ultimately rides the carousel backwards until she is transformed into a little girl.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.

Mrs. Halloway

• Female identifying
• Playable age range: 44
• Description: Will’s mother, who is ten years younger than her husband, Charles, is truly happy and content in her life. Her youth makes Charles feel old, but regardless of her age, Charles describes her as “immortal,” like all women who give birth to children. Will and Mr. Halloway deliberately protect her from the carnival by not telling her what is happening.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.
• Will potentially need to be able to be 1 of 4 people that carry Mr. Electrico on a litter (a.k.a. sedan chair).
• There will be physical interaction with Charles Halloway.

Jim’s Mom

• Female identifying
• Playable age range: 40-45
• Description: Jim’s mother is the mother of three children, but sadly, Jim is her only surviving child. It is implied that Jim’s abusive father is also dead (or run off), and she wants Jim to have lots of kids when he grows up so that they can all visit her. Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.
• Will potentially need to be able to be 1 of 4 people that carry Mr. Electrico on a litter (a.k.a. sedan chair).
• There will be physical interaction with Jim.

Girl

• Female identifying
• Playable age range: 7-9
• Description: Miss Foley ultimately rides the carousel backwards until she is transformed into a little girl with all her memories intact, unable to return to her former life and with no one to take care of her. The boys find her sobbing under a tree and promise to help her, but when they return she is gone.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.

Mr. Dark

• Androgynous
• Playable age range: 30-50
• Description: Mr. Dark - along with Mr. Cooger - is the proprietor of the carnival. He is a sinister man who bears tattoos all over his body, one for each person of those whose soul he has taken. He has been alive for an untold number of years, leading carnivals across the country. Mr. Dark is personification of evil. He uses the carnival to lure unsuspecting souls to evil, and once the carnival goers succumb to their desires and the temptation of the carnival, they are transformed into one of Mr. Dark’s sideshow freaks. He rides the carousel to stay young. His carnival feeds off of the fears and desires of others, and as the leader of the carnival, it is assumed that Mr. Dark does the same. His body is covered in tattoos that writhe and dance as he flexes his muscles; therefore he is also known as the Illustrated Man. When the boys learn the evil secret of the carnival, he hunts and kidnaps them. In the climax of the play, Charles hugs Mr. Dark and uses positive emotions against him, "starving" him of the fear and desires that he needs to survive, and thus killing him.
• There will be physical interaction with Charles Halloway and the Dust Witch.

Cooger/Electrico 

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 30-45
• Description: Mr. Cooger is the co-owner of the dark carnival. The boys hide in a tree as he mounts the carousel and rides backwards, transforming himself into a boy of twelve. They follow him to Miss Foley's house, where he masquerades as her nephew, Robert. He frames Jim and Will as robbers and then runs back to the carousel to make himself older. As he rides the carousel, the boys take over the control and age him until he is a shriveled mummy. The boys think Mr. Cooger is dead, but Mr. Dark resurrects him with a 100,000 volt jolt, dubbing him "Mr. Electrico".
• Will need to ride around in a circle on the carousel.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.

Robert/Young Cooger

• Male identifying
• Playable age range: 8-11
• Description: Robert is Mr. Cooger transformed into an evil, deceitful young boy.
• Will need to ride around in a circle on the carousel, and throw a vase through a “window”.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.

Dust Witch

• Female identifying
• Playable age range: 25-60
• Description: A blind soothsayer/evil spell-caster, her eyes are sewn shut, but she can "see" by waving her hands and fingers, sensing not just obstacles but also emotions. She pilots a balloon to mark Jim Nightshade's house for the benefit of Mr. Dark, and she is also sent by Mr. Dark in a failed attempt to kill Charles. However, her increased sensitivity to the presence and emotions of other people makes her vulnerable to positive feelings. Charles uses this weakness to overcome her attempt to end his life, and ultimately kills her with a bullet carved with a smile.
• There will be physical interaction with Charles Halloway and Mr. Dark.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.

Ice Woman

• Female identifying
• Playable age range: 18-30
• Description: Also billed as “The Most Beautiful Woman”, she is a manifestation of temptation for men who covet the possession of a beautiful woman. She is displayed in a block of ice, calling to men in their minds to come thaw the ice and see her beauty/possess her.
• Will also double as generic townsperson and carnival folk.
• Will potentially need to be able to be 1 of 4 people that carry Mr. Electrico on a litter (a.k.a. sedan chair).

• Will be “displayed” on a plank placed on 2 sawhorses.