"The Old Settler" Stage Play In Search Of Cast
Auditions for "The Old Settler" play. Actors wanted. Please see the breakdown below. About the project: "The time is World War II, the place is a tenement apartment in Harlem where a middle aged black woman, Elizabeth, lives and quarrels amiably with her sister, Quilly. Elizabeth is a spinster—an “Old Setter”—and to help pay the rent, the sisters take in a boarder, an earnest and unworldly young southern man, Husband Witherspoon. Husband has recently arrived from a small town in South Carolina in search of his girlfriend, Lou Bessie, hoping to bring her back home. But Lou Bessie is enamored with the excitement of the big city and has other plans. In time, Elizabeth and Husband begin an unlikely May-December courtship that may or may not overcome their age difference and Quilly’s disapproval. The romance exposes the long buried, wounded history between the sisters and eventually sets the stage for healing." Additional info: Callbacks (by request only): Saturday, December 17 at noon. Rehearsals are to begin in early January. The production runs weekends from February 24-March 11, 2023. Please note: those auditioning must show proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Acceptable proof includes: an original vaccine card, a photocopy/printout, a digital picture, or vaccine verification via mobile app such as Docket. Please see the document attached.
4 roles
(55) woman who is the Old Settler of the play’s title (a name for a middle-aged woman with no prospects of marriage). She is self-sacrificing, but lives with the pain of loss and mourns for her unfulfilled life. She has settled for where she is, but can’t resist the chance to recapture her unlived life when Husband comes along. He provides her a few weeks of crazy happiness until she realizes life isn’t a fairytale.
Man who is aptly named since he is seen as a potential husband by both Elizabeth and Lou Bessie. He is something of a Mama’s boy and seems unable to function without being attached to a woman. He is confused about whether he loves Elizabeth or Lou Bessie. He looks to others to make decisions for him rather than steering his own way through life. Husband doesn’t really know himself. And he also leaves us wondering who he is.
(53) woman and Elizabeth’s sister. Quilly fears being alone, yet her own tendency is to drive people away as she resents everyone she comes across. She is irritable which stands in sharp contrast to Elizabeth who is composed and good willed. Quilly, too, is becoming an Old Settler.
Woman who has a big ego and huge appetite for parties, dances, shows, jazz, parades, music, and money. She is loud, assertive, and materialistic, the opposite of Elizabeth. Lou Bessie is in love with the bright lights and fast times of Harlem. She is enthralled by the shiny surfaces of life, and greedy for instant fulfillment.
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