Proof

PROOF—by David Auburn. Directed by Carl Drake.

At
Stables Theatre
Cnr Arthur St & Main Highway
Ellerslie
Auckland
Map

The Play
(Mystery/Drama) On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her fathers who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father's madness—or genius—will she inherit?

Proof contains themes of death, depression, mental illness, and adult language. The play won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.

Contact details
For more information, audition requirements and a copy of the script please contact Carl Drake by email to: auditions@ellerslietheatre.co.nz

Rehearsals
Commence Sunday 5 January 2020, Tuesdays and Thursdays each week from 7.30pm, Sundays from 12.30pm.

Season
Thursday 12 to Saturday 21 March 2020 - 10 performances including 2 matinees.

About the director
Carl Drake is an Actor, Director & Producer in both amateur and professional theatre spaces. Proof will be his 11th directorial position spanning 10 relatively short years in the performing arts. During this time, he attended a vast number of acting and directing workshops on a variety of techniques which he now draws from. These include, Meisner, Ivana Chubbuck, Uta Hagen, Jeremiah Comey, Matthew Harrison & Mark Travis. In 2018, he formed Cafe Theatre which entered a play in the recent Short+Sweet Festival and proudly won 3 awards including Judges Choice Award.

It will be his full first length play at Ellerslie Theatre having previously directed two One Act Plays, ‘Farewell’ in 2015 and ‘Dolores’ in 2017 which were well received by audiences.

Notes from the director
Rarely is one presented with the opportunity to direct a play that’s on one’s bucket list. Proof by David Auburn is one such play that has been on my list for many years, and as such, I’m both humbled and excited to be directing this play at Ellerslie Theatre.

Proof is an important play that demonstrates the complexities of mental health and how a series of unfortunate events coupled with unintentional interpersonal power-play dynamics from well-meaning loved-ones, can spiral someone into despair and manic depressive episodes.

This play requires 4 strong actors, who deeply understand and empathise with the characters as this will be both a challenging and exhilarating experience bringing this piece to life. Using a variety of directing techniques, I like to focus primarily on developing the relationships between each of the characters and work collaboratively with both cast and crew as a creative team. I hope to see you at the auditions.

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.