If you would like to audition but cannot attend on 6th May please email contact@stac-worcester.com or speak to Marc.

Scripts can be borrowed for up to four days only from Bygone’s by the Cathedral and should be returned by the morning of 5th May in time for them to be collected for the audition. Bygones opening hours are 9:30 -5:30 Mon-Sat (Except 1-2 on Saturdays)

Wardrobe, technical and backstage crew will also be needed

Characters
Willy Loman – An insecure, self-deluded traveling salesman. Willy believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, but he never achieves it. Nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. When Willy’s illusions begin to fail under the pressing realities of his life, his mental health begins to unravel. The overwhelming tensions caused by this disparity, as well as those caused by the societal imperatives that drive Willy, form the essential conflict of Death of a Salesman.

Biff Loman – Willy’s well-built thirty-four-year-old elder son. Biff led a charmed life in high school as a football star with scholarship prospects, good male friends, and fawning female admirers. He failed math, however, and did not have enough credits to graduate. Since then, his kleptomania has gotten him fired from every job that he has held. Biff represents Willy’s vulnerable, poetic, tragic side. He cannot ignore his instincts, which tell him to abandon Willy’s paralyzing dreams and move out West to work with his hands. He ultimately fails to reconcile his life with Willy’s expectations of him.

Linda Loman – Willy’s loyal, loving wife. Linda suffers through Willy’s grandiose dreams and self-delusions. Occasionally, she seems to be taken in by Willy’s self-deluded hopes for future glory and success, but at other times, she seems far more realistic and less fragile than her husband. She has nurtured the family through all of Willy’s misguided attempts at success, and her emotional strength and perseverance support Willy until his collapse.

Happy Loman – Willy’s thirty-two-year-old younger son. Happy has lived in Biff’s shadow all of his life, but he compensates by nurturing his relentless sex drive and professional ambition. Happy represents Willy’s sense of self-importance, ambition, and blind servitude to societal expectations. Although he works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store, Happy presents himself as supremely important. Additionally, he practices bad business ethics and sleeps with the girlfriends of his superiors.

Charley – Willy’s next-door neighbor, Charley owns a successful business and his son, Bernard, is a wealthy, important lawyer. Willy is jealous of Charley’s success. Charley gives Willy money to pay his bills, and Willy reveals at one point, choking back tears, that Charley is his only friend.

Bernard – Bernard is Charley’s son and an important, successful lawyer. Although Willy used to mock Bernard for studying hard, Bernard always loved Willy’s sons dearly and regarded Biff as a hero. Bernard’s success is difficult for Willy to accept because his own sons’ lives do not measure up.

Ben – Willy’s wealthy older brother. Ben has recently died and appears only in Willy’s “daydreams.” Willy regards Ben as a symbol of the success that he so desperately craves for himself and his sons.

The Woman – Willy’s mistress when Happy and Biff were in high school. The Woman’s attention and admiration boost Willy’s fragile ego. When Biff catches Willy in his hotel room with The Woman, he loses faith in his father, and his dream of passing math and going to college dies.

Howard Wagner – Willy’s boss. Howard inherited the company from his father, whom Willy regarded as “a masterful man” and “a prince.” Though much younger than Willy, Howard treats Willy with condescension and eventually fires him, despite Willy’s wounded assertions that he named Howard at his birth.

Stanley – A waiter at Frank’s Chop House. Stanley and Happy seem to be friends, or at least acquaintances, and they banter about and ogle Miss Forsythe together before Biff and Willy arrive at the restaurant

Miss Forsythe and Letta – Two young women whom Happy and Biff meet at Frank’s Chop House. It seems likely that Miss Forsythe and Letta are prostitutes, judging from Happy’s repeated comments about their moral character and the fact that they are “on call.”

Jenny – Charley’s secretary

As a member we value your thoughts and ideas,so,if you have never been to one before please do come along,we don’t bite.  And please bring any scripts or ideas of plays you may want the company to consider.

Tea and coffee and biccies will be supplied and we never go on any later that 9.15, when we adjourn to the pub

This is open to both members and non members.  Hope to see you there

Chris Isaac (Play Selection Committee Coordinator)

Auditions for the following parts will be held on Wednesday 11th January at 7:30pm in the foyer of the Swan Theatre.

Audtion pieces in brackets

Catherine Holly: a deeply traumatised and vulnerable woman in her late 20s/early thirties. A fantastically written part for an actress willing to explore mental health conditions and able to take the audience through a vivid exploration of trauma and regret.(Scene 4)

Doctor Cukrowicz: (Dr. Sugar) a handsome young doctor in his early 30s willing to consider a sizeable financial donation from Mrs. Venable in order to advance his medical expertise. On one level determined to help Catherine through therapy but on the other level seemingly willing to park the amorality of a lobotomy for cash…a great role as he seems literally on the horns of a dilemma…money or morality. (Scene 2)

George Holly: Catherine’s brother. Stupid, insensitive, dressed in Sebastian’s (late cousin) clothes filched from Sebastian’s bedroom. He is what we might call a chinless wonder on the “make”. Ghastly. (Scene 4)

Miss Foxhill: Mrs. Venable’s long-suffering Personal Assistant. Busy Body, efficient of any age (Scene 3)

Sister Felicity: a Nun/nurse from the Mental Hospital in full Nun Garb described by T Williams as “in a sweeping white habit which should be starched to make a crackling sound”. A battle axe with a control over Catherine. Any age though older would be better. (Scene 2)

Scripts are available to borrow from Bygones Antique Shop, next to the Cathedral. They should be kept for no more than 4 working days and returned in time for the audition.  Please familiarise yourself with the text before the audition if possible.
Bygones’ hours of business are 9.30am – 5.30pm. (Except Saturdays 1pm – 2pm)

Non-members may audition but must join the company if cast.

There are still a number available for the matinee should you prefer not to have a late night.

 Ad Hoc Theatre presents “Take your seats” – Diverting Dialogues from Promenade,Pullman and Park.
Aug 25th and Aug 26th – Worcester Arts Theatre Workshop
Sept 2nd – Lyttleton Rooms Malvern.
Performances start at 7.30 and tickets are available on the door!

Another member saw the show at St John’s library on August 20th and would highly recommend it!

If you would be interested or know someone who might be please speak to Angela Lanyon or email contact@stac-worcester.com

Performances will be from 5th-10th December 2011 and rehearsals approximately two evenings per week.

Tickets are £6.50 and not refundable.

Please also let Amber know if you would require a lift or be prepared to drive other members.

If you need to get in touch with Amber please contact her directly or email contact@stac-worcester.com

The following message was received from WAC shortly after the event:

To all at Swan Theatre Amateur Company

I would like to express my thanks for an excellent evening on Sunday. Howerd would certainly have enjoyed it. All those who played any part in it are to be congratulated for their performances, both on stage and back stage.

As Howerd’s successor as Chair of Worcestershire Association of Carers, I have a hard act to follow. Your generosity in offering a share of the proceeds to WAC is much appreciated, and I hope that the Association continues to receive widespread support.

With best wishes for your future success.

Colin Archer