Monday, 7 January, 2008

Pratt Community College Theatre will be holding auditions for its spring play, The Servant of Two Masters, by Carlo Goldoni – a play full of loads of physical comedy. These auditions will be held on Tuesday, January 22nd and Wednesday, January 23rd at 7 PM in Carpenter Auditorium.

Actors who audition will need to bring a list of scheduling conflicts, in addition to being ready to read and act from the script. Auditions will also include improvisation, and actors may want to have some physical comedy routine worked out, although the latter is not necessary. Also, since actors are on stage almost the entire show, and because the show requires lots of practice in physical movement, actors need to be willing to commit 3-4 nights weekly to rehearsal. The play will be performed on April 10th, 11th, and 12th at 7:30 PM in Carpenter Auditorium.
In this play, Carlo Goldoni’s crafty servant tries to please two masters in an effort to serve himself, and he is caught between two sets of lovers who are trying to marry one another, in addition to two fathers and a whole cast of servants. This play is one of the great commedia dell’arte plays, and this new adaptation has fresh dialogue which appeals to American audiences.
Characters include Truffaldino, the servant. The sets of lovers include Beatrice and Florindo, and Clarice and Silvio. Pantalone is the father of Clarice, who is interested in his pocket book, while Dr. Lombardi is the father of Silvio. Brighella, the innkeeper, can be played by a man or woman. Smeraldina is the maid to Clarice, and additional parts include the Porter, and servants at Brighella’s inn. All of these parts can be played by teens or adults.
Originally, PCC theatre planned to produce Peter Pan in the spring, but those plans had to be cancelled due to the high liability costs of flying actors onto stage. As a result, PCC is switching gears to this smaller cast show full of zany, high-energy comedy. Also, as a result, PCC is hoping to produce High School Musical – a current crowd-pleaser - in their Fall 2008- Spring 2009 season, pending rights to do the show.
For more information about the play or about the change in plans, please contact director Rose Beilman with e-mail at roseb@prattcc.edu or call her at 546-2449 or at 450-2209.