Auditions
Things I Know to be True
Saturday 16 March 2019 1:30 pm
At
Stables Theatre
Cnr Arthur St & Main Highway
Ellerslie
Auckland
Map
The Play
As beautifully touching as it is funny and bold, ‘Things I Know To Be True’ tells the story of a family and marriage through the eyes of four grown siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents' love and expectations.
Parents Bob and Fran have worked hard and with their four children grown and ready to fly the nest it might be time to relax and enjoy the roses. But the changing seasons bring home some shattering truths. The family setting would be familiar to many of us, at least in part. The issues this family encounter are recognisable. Their closeness and inter-dependency both a blessing and a curse.
Contact details
Contact Pam Browne to get an e-copy of the play.
email: pam@picton.net
Rehearsals
Commence Sunday 31 March 2019 for a read-thru, then Tuesdays and Thursdays each week from 7.30pm, Sundays from 12.30pm
Season
Thursday 6 to Saturday 15 June 2019 - 10 performances including 2 matinees.
About the director
In England Pam was part of an Actors Studio and Company, exploring different acting and directorial approaches, playing a variety of parts from Shakespeare to improvised theatre. Her most recent acting roles in New Zealand were the Grandmother in ‘The Witches’ at Ellerslie and Mrs Wilberforce in ‘The Ladykillers’ at HLT. Pam moved to New Zealand and took the Directors course at Howick Little Theatre. As a director and an actor her approach has been to take the playwright’s intentions, and words, as the focus for the life of the play. These are not always on the surface. Pam says "I usually start rehearsals with a short discussion with the cast to consider where we are and where we may be going to next. Actors’ involvement in this process is valued so that ensemble approaches to the direction of the play evolve".
Pam directed ‘Because of Beth’ and ‘Our Man in Havana’ at Howick Little Theatre. She found an Andrew Bovell play on the ‘plays’ shelf of her local op-shop (‘Speaking in Tongues’). She liked it so much, she sought out more of his work and found ‘Things I know to be True’. The play captured much of modern family life and she believes an audience would find the stories of each character in the play memorable and moving.
Play Setting
The play takes place over one year.
Audition
. Please request and read the script.
. I want to see what you can bring to the character irrespective of your actual age.. Those auditioning for the siblings need to prepare the monologues in the script (pages 5, 23, 43, 57). For Fran and Bob, the dialogue on pages 78-79.
. This play was conceived for Frantic Assembly, a theatre company specialising in physical theatre. I would like actors to feel free to explore movement and eye contact to establish the actors’ character and relationships. This element of performance comes slowly but is always assisted by being script free.
. Every part has depth and should stretch the actor, so come to the audition feeling free to have a go, don’t second guess ‘what the director wants’!
Cast Required
* The ages are only suggestions and should only be treated as guidelines. If you are outside of this age range but feel you are perfect for the role, please come along to audition.
Characters
| Fran | female | 50+ | The mother. Fifty-seven. Still working as a senior nurse. She is knowing of her children and husband - but do they know her? |
| Bob | male | 55+ | The father. Sixty-three. He is a retired auto factory worker. His family, and garden, are his world. |
| Pip | female | 28+ | The oldest daughter. Thirty-four. Married with two girls, she works as an education department administrator. She is most like her mother, but maybe doesn’t want to be in many respects. |
| Mark | male | 25+ | Thirty-two. An IT specialist. He finds it most difficult to explore his own identity in the context of the family. |
| Ben | male | 23+ | Twenty-eight. Working in finance. Living in two worlds. It’s hard to keep up with the other guys in this world! |
| Rosie | female | 18+ | Nineteen. Off overseas. She doesn’t know who she is or what she wants to be yet beyond becoming a woman. |
The Ellerslie Festival of One Act Plays 2019
Saturday 8 June 2019 9:0 am
No characters are listed for this production.
Enchanted April
Saturday 24 August 2019 1:30 pm
No characters are listed for this production.