By Hi-Desert Cultural Center | December 28, 2016

PICTURE CAPTION: The Hi-Desert Cultural Center won a crowning 11 awards for theatrical excellence this year, including a BEST PRODUCTION award for LA COMEDIA (pictured).

JOSHUA TREE, CA – The Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s prestigious Hi-Desert Playhouse theater division, will be holding its second set of season auditions January 7, 2017 for its 2016-2017 season of live theater productions.  Auditions for the Playhouse’s upcoming full-scale productions include ALMOST, MAINE; GODSPELL—THE MUSICAL; and the world premiere of THE GOLDFISH LETTERS. Additionally, the Playhouse will be casting for its Reader’s Theater Series productions of LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE; GROUNDED; and FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF.

All roles are available. Equity and non-union actors will be considered.  If interested in auditioning, please send an email to info@hidesertculturalcenter.org.  Appointment times will be scheduled for January 7, 2017 starting at 11:00 a.m.  Actor bios/resumés and headshot are appreciated.

All area actors are encouraged to audition and be a part of the Playhouse’s creative, rewarding, and professional experience.  All auditions take place at the Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Blak Box Theater located at 61231 Highway 62 in Joshua Tree, CA. For those interested in working as part of the tech and backstage teams, please send an email with your contact information and area(s) within which you desire to work.

The Hi-Desert Cultural Center recently placed as a top theater production company in Southern California, garnering a crowning 11 awards and an astounding 54 award nominations for theatrical excellence from the Desert Theatre League.

PRODUCTIONS TO BE CAST

ALMOST, MAINE

By John Cariani; Director, Howard Shangraw. (February 3-12)

Comprising nine short plays, the residents of the mythical town of Almost, Maine find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.  ALMOST, MAINE is an ensemble play about 9 different couples in various stages of falling in or out of love.  Casting between 6 and 12 versatile male and female actors between the ages of 25 and 45 to play multiple roles.  (PG–13)

LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE

By Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron; Director, Howard Shangraw (May 12, 2017)

This is a Reader’s Theatre production.  A play of monologues and ensemble pieces about women, clothes and memory that covers all the important subjects—mothers, prom dresses, mothers, buying bras, mothers, hating purses and why we only wear black. Based on the bestselling book by Ilene Beckerman, the play uses clothing, accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and often poignant stories about matters of the heart and matters of the closet. This special play is a delightfully engaging, unique, and imaginative piece of Reader’s Theater and is intended for mature audiences and is set to play just in time for Mother’s Day!  (PG-13)

GROUNDED

By George Brant; Director, Barry Cutler.  A Reader’s Theatre production set to play on April, 28, 2017.

The story of an ace fighter pilot whose career in the sky is ended early due to an unexpected pregnancy. Reassigned to operate military drones from a windowless trailer outside Las Vegas, she hunts terrorists by day and returns to her family each night. As the pressure to track a high-profile target mounts, the boundaries begin to blur between the desert in which she lives and the one she patrols half a world away. This one-woman solo play brings a modern sensibility to the ancient theme of war that Homer could have never imagined.  (PG-13)

Looking for a tough, cocky, independent woman with a hidden emotional fragility beneath the macho armor.

THE GOLDFISH LETTERS

By Steve Stajich; Director, Steve Stajich

“The Goldfish Letters” wrestles with questions of faith and belief when a child’s letter to God, asking God to watch over her recently departed goldfish… receives a reply in the mail.  Then… “God”  shows up in the form of a wrinkled old man at the family’s back door.  The child’s father is less welcoming to the old man than the sympathetic wife and mother, and something buried in the father’s past drives him to dramatically express his anger.  And that’s just act one… !

TED… (late 30’s, early 40’s. AGE GIVEN: 42)  lives his life as though certain things can be expected or foreseen. TED is one of those husbands who is now a father and still isn’t quite sure that “family always comes first.” TED might believe that while a lot of things can be controlled, life itself cannot.

ALICE… (late 30’s ) is earthy, and she brings that dimension to the “family’ and family issues. She’s also the one in the relationship more in touch with the fragile nature of marriage.  That doesn’t mean she lives with one hand ready to open the door and walk out.  She just thinks about that door more often than TED does.

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF

By Ntozake Shange; Director, Miri Hunter. (February, 24, 2017)

This groundbreaking “choreopoem” is a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. Capturing the brutal, tender and dramatic lives of contemporary Black women, For Colored Girls… offers a transformative, riveting evening of provocative dance, music and poetry.

*Intense adult themes – Strong Language (Rated R)

Casting 5 to 7 Adult African American Actresses of all ages.

GODSPELL – THE MUSICAL

By Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak; Director, Howard Shangraw

The structure of the musical is that of a series of parables, mostly based on the Gospel of Matthew (three of the featured parables are recorded only in the Gospel of Luke).

Jesus: Charismatic and high energy, yet gentle and loving. He is the deceptively calm leader of the troupe.  Vocal range top: G5 – Vocal range bottom: A3
John the Baptist / Judas Iscariot: charismatic with a subtle undertone of sexuality.

Vocal range top: G5 – Vocal range bottom: A3

ENSEMBLE:

Gilmer (silly and a great storyteller) (Mezzo-Soprano)
Herb (goofy and entertaining) (Baritone)
Jeffrey (happy and excited) (Tenor)
Joanne (eager and enthusiastic) (Soprano)
Lamar (clumsy and unintentionally funny) (Tenor)
Peggy (shy and loyal) (Alto)
Sonia (dramatic with a put-on sensuality) (Alto)
Robin (Mezzo-Soprano)