Audition Notice - Medea by Euripides

Burjesta Theatre
Wed 26th Nov 2014 at 6pm
Wed 3rd Dec, 6pm for women, 8pm for men
The Casa, Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ

7 Shows at The Casa, St Luke's Bombed Out Church & Unity Theatre, March/April 2015

‘the most brutal and vengeful of tragedies’ by ‘the most tragic of tragedians’.

For our Spring 2015 production we will be putting on an original adaptation by Liverpool-based writer and poet Jonathon Bibby of Euripides’ ‘feminist’ play, Medea.

Open Auditions will be held over two consecutive Wednesdays –

1st Audition – Wednesday 26th November, 6pm
2nd Audition – Wednesday 3rd December, 6pm for women, 8pm for men.
If you are interested in being considered for a part you will need to attend both workshops which will take place at The Casa, Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ

*** PLEASE NOT THE FEMALE LEAD FOR THE CHARACTER OF ‘MEDEA’ HAS ALREADY BEEN CAST.
*** PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT THIS IS UNPAID WORK

We will be performing Medea at The Casa on the following date in March – Friday 20th or Saturday 21st; Monday 23rd; Friday 27th; Saturday 28th.

In April we will be performing the play at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church on Saturday 18th with a matinee and an evening performance.

The week following on Saturday 25th April we will be performing it at The Unity Theatre.

You will need to be available for all performances in March and April. Following the auditions and casting there will be a script read through on Monday 15th December, 6.30pm at The Casa. Rehearsals will commence from Saturday 10th January onwards with a ten-week rehearsal process. Depending which part or parts successful actors have the rehearsal schedule may be twice a week (one weekday evening and a Saturday daytime for example), just once a week (a weekday or a Saturday daytime), or perhaps just three or four sessions initially within the rehearsal process prior to run-throughs.

Below, please find, details regarding the audition process, the play itself and the characters within the play. For more information contact us in the first instance by sending an email to info@burjesta-theatre.co.uk and we will try to answer your queries.

And here is a link to an online version of Medea if you wish to familiarize yourself with Medea - perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0114

Audition Process –

Week 1 – 26th November – There is no need to prepare anything, though it may be helpful to have had a look at Medea on the online link above. We will introduce you to the play, some of its themes and look at some scenes from the play as well as doing some introductory work on the Greek Chorus. This workshop will allow participants to decide whether ‘Medea’ is for them and whether they wish to continue into Week 2. At the end of the 1st session we will hand out monologues and duologues from the play as auditions pieces to prepare for the week following when you would be required to perform them off-script.

Week 2 – 3rd December – Audition sessions will be staggered this week with women being asked to attend between 6pm and 8pm and men from 8pm till 10pm. Participants will be asked to perform the audition pieces given out at the previous session off-script. We will also be auditioning women for the Chorus (the Chorus in Medea is made up entirely of women).

Medea – The Play

Written in 431 BC by Euripides (surely the most subversive and progressive of Classical Greek playwrights), Medea is a shocking play with quite possibly theatre’s greatest female protagonist.

Medea, lover to Jason (of Argonauts fame) is a woman, a foreigner and an exile living in Greece. When abandoned by Jason who wishes to advance himself by marrying King Creon’s daughter, she exacts a terrible revenge killing first the king and his daughter before, controversially no doubt, killing her own two sons to Jason.

Characters

Find below a list of characters making up the play with an indication of how big a part each character entails.

Greek Chorus –

Aside from individual parts we will also be looking to cast approximately 8 women to make up our chorus. We want to stress how absolutely dynamic and at the forefront of the production will be the Chorus. If you are involved in the Chorus you will have more stage time and influence on the performances than many of the ‘main’ characters. So avoid the mistake of seeing a part in the Chorus as a ‘support’ role – the Chorus is absolutely intrinsic and key to the success of the play.

Medea – lead woman – already cast
Jason – lead man – involved in 3 scenes – rehearsal requirements = major
Nurse – woman – involved in 2 scenes – rehearsal requirements = medium
Tutor – man or woman – involved in 2 scenes – rehearsal requirements = minor
King Creon – man – involved in 1 extensive scene – rehearsal requirements = medium/minor
King Aegeus – man – involved in 1 scene – rehearsal requirements = minor
Messenger – woman or man – involved in 1 extensive scene – rehearsal requirements = medium/minor
Chorus – 8 women – involved throughout play – rehearsal requirements = medium/major

If you care to audition we look forward to seeing you at the auditions. As a courtesy we ask anyone intending to attend to let us know in advance via email, facebook or text.

Regards Burjesta

For further information:

Website www.burjesta-theatre.co.uk
Facebook at either 'Burjesta Liverpool' or 'Burjesta Theatre'
Email to info@burjesta-theatre.co.uk
Phone on 07913 449 396