Auditions for All Over at Spotlight Theater

For Immediate Release

        Spotlight Theater is very pleased to announce auditions for All Over , a rarely performed work of emotional drama by one of America’s most respected and thought-provoking playwrights, Edward Albee, three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and multiple Tony Award-winner, including the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.  Like much of Albee’s great work (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance, Three Tall Women, The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, The Zoo Story & Tiny Alice among many more), All Over  is an intense, emotionally complex piece that offers actors a unique opportunity to explore a wide range, and subtle shadings of emotion while giving life to Albee’s provocative ideas and unique, and often volatile, situations. 

    The story of All Over  is deceptively simple on the surface: in the master bedroom of a town house a famous and immensely successful man lies dying, literally on his death-bed, surrounded by his wife, his mistress, his best friend and business associate, his feckless son and self-absorbed daughter, and attended on by an elderly physician and nurse, while members of the media who have taken over the first floor, hungrily await the latest updates on his condition.  But as they wait for what seems to be the great man’s inevitable end, his “loved ones” recollect past loves, rekindle old wars, make unexpected alliances, and seek some sort of understanding, fulfillment or closure, until they are given word that it is “all over.”   

    A cast of 10 is required including 4 roles for women (characters’ age range: 36-76), 5 roles for men (characters’ age range: 26-86), and 1 role that could be a man or woman (character age range: 35-55).  (Characters’ ages do not have to be actors' actual ages, and actors of any race and ethnicity are encouraged to apply).  More detailed character information is below.
    Rehearsals (3 per week) and performances are at our theater in New Lenox, IL.  Rehearsal schedule, based on the availability of those cast, to be announced after auditions.  The performance dates are May 4th–6th & 11th–13th (with the possibility of an extension).  Actors will be paid a small stipend.
    Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.  No prepared monologues required.  Auditions will be held on Monday, March 12th and Tuesday, March 13th from 6:30-10:00 P.M. (no appointments necessary) at Spotlight Theater Studio, 22032 Howell Dr., New Lenox, IL 60451.

Character Descriptions:

Women:
The Wife:  (character age: 61-76)  A woman who has long since lost any of the benefits of being a wife, and now only suffers under the responsibilities and burdens that title imparts unto her, not only because her husband left her years ago, but also because he left her emotionally before that, and because her children bring her no joy anymore, because she feels they have grown up into such disappointing adults.  This opinion of her children is not cruelty or meanness on her part, just what she feels is an honest appraisal.  She is truly an understanding woman, who has been taken advantage of for years.  She is a strong, intelligent, but unhappy person.  She truly loves her husband and has been a good wife, or certainly what she feels a good wife should be.  She and The Mistress get along quite well considering the circumstances.  She has had an affair with The Best Friend, but is not in love with him.  In appearance, she dresses well, if conservatively, is gray-haired, and preferably small-boned, not heavy.  (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actress from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

The Mistress:  (character age: 51-66)  She is a good-hearted,  and very understanding woman, and despite being a man’s mistress, a trustworthy, open, and forthright person.  She is intelligent, passionate and strong-willed but kind, patient and giving.  She is no floozy who delights in sneaking around, but a dignified woman who understands her position as a mistress and cares deeply for her lover; she even has feelings of sympathy toward The Wife, whom she gets along with quite well under the circumstances.  In appearance she is a fading beauty, who is more voluptuous than The Wife, and perhaps a bit taller.  She dresses in soft, light coloured clothing.  (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actress from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

The Daughter:  (character age range: 36-45)  She is a rather self-centred, frustrated person, who behaves like a brat, as much as an adult can.  She has a strong, if perhaps unjustified, sense of entitlement.  She has made a series of poor choices in her life, which has landed her in her current situation, which includes a relationship with a physically abusive lover who is married to another woman whom he will not divorce.  She is often quite thoughtless, though she is not completely without any redeeming qualities, though they do not show as often as one might like to see.  Her relationship with her mother is volatile.  Her relationship with her brother is not a close one.  She loves her father, though, even in a situation like this where he is dying, she is more concerned with herself.  Her appearance is angular; once attractive, but now a little ravaged.  She doesn’t care much about her appearance (how she dresses, make-up, etc.).   (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actress from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

The Nurse:  (character age range: 70-75)  A strong, wise woman who has lived a full life, and is a good judge of character.  She can size up people and situations pretty quickly, and is the no-nonsense type.  Physically she is stout and average in looks.  (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actress from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

Men:

The Best Friend:  (character age range: 63-78)  A kind man who has been a friend of the family for years.  He has had an affair with The Wife.  His own wife is mentally ill, and the fact that he had her committed is a source of pain and guilt for him.  He is not the most strong-willed person; he is more a follower than a leader, though that is not to say he is weak, or ineffectual.  He doubts himself.  In appearance he is a good-looking gray-haired man, who is well-dressed and groomed.  Physically he is erect, and thin to middling in build.  (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actor from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

The Doctor:   (character age: 86)  He’s a patient, intelligent man who carries the wisdom of his years.  He has a quiet bedside manner.  Physically he is a tiny, shrunken, white-haired man.  (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actor from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

The Son:   (character age range: 43-52)  He is an unassuming, somewhat weak-willed man; perhaps weak in other ways as well, but mot as weak as his mother seems to believe.  He loves his father and is a quiet, sensitive person who feels things deeply.  He loves his sister and mother as well, and is not the type to pass judgment on people.  Physically he is heavy-set, and dresses in business attire.  (Nothing in this physical description should dissuade any actor from auditioning as the physical details are flexible). 

Two Photographers:  (character age range: 26-50)  These two have no particular attributes or behaviours other than what one might associate with the press.  Their physical appearances are open.  These two roles are non-speaking parts other than an ad-libbed phrase or two.

Woman or Man:

A Reporter:   (character age range: 35-55)  This role has no particular attributes or behaviours other than what one might associate with the press.  Physical appearance is open.  This role is a non-speaking part other than an ad-libbed phrase or two.

More details are available at Spotlight-Theater.com, facebook.com/SpotlightTheater; or by emailing the director, Jeff Gamlin, at jeff.gamlin@spotlight-theater.com or by calling our hotline at 708-941-8294.

Spotlight Theater is a recognized non-profit organization.