Wheaton Drama (WDI) proudly announces auditions for the hilarious comedy, Murdered to Death, by Peter Gordon. Directed by Annie Walker-Bright and produced by Rebecca Poole-Dumper.
Auditions will be held Sunday, January 6 and Monday, January 7, 2019 starting at 7pm, with callbacks as needed on Tuesday, January 8that 7:30 p.m. Auditions will be held at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale Street, Wheaton, Illinois. Auditions are open, with no appointments required. Cold readings from the script and sides will be provided for each character at auditions.
Murdered to Death will run March 22 through April 14, 2019; Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 3pm. Performances will take place at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale Street in downtown Wheaton.
Synopsis:
Murdered to Death is the first in the ‘Inspector Pratt’ trilogy of spoofs of the Agatha Christie ‘whodunnit’ genre, with a dash of Inspector Clousseau thrown in for good measure.
The play, set in the 1930s, takes place in an English manor, slightly worse for ware, with worn out decor and furnishings. It introduces the inept and bungling Inspector Pratt, who battles against the odds and his own incompetence to solve the murder of the house’s owner. It soon becomes clear that the murderer isn’t finished yet; will the miscreant be unmasked before everyone else has met their doom or will the audience die laughing first?
Characters:
The characters in Murdered to Death are all deliberately based upon ‘whodunnit’ stereotypes. All of these characters are caricatures of typical English gentry, but according to director Walker-Bright, “My experience in directing most comedies shows that the humour works best when they are played relatively ‘straight’.” Character ages below are for guidance only and can be varied, provided that the overall balance is maintained. Director Walker-Bright gives the following advice: “I would rather see huge characters at first. Show no fear in presenting over the top performances as one is then able to be pulled back if necessary.”
Mildred– Late fifties. Moderately wealthy owner of Bagshot House.
Dorothy– Mildred’s niece. Late twenties and rather plain but very appealing.
Bunting– The butler. Sixties. Pedantic and rather creepy.
Colonel Charles Craddock– Early sixties. Dresses in tweeds. Confident but over the top bluster.
Margaret Craddock– The long-suffering but acerbic wife of Charles.
Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington – Mid twenties. Attractive and stunningly dressed. Very high society.
Pierre Marceau– A french art dealer in his early thirties. An exaggerated french accent. Will need to hear cockney from this character as well. Aha!!!!
Joan Maple – A spinster in her sixties. Amateur sleuth. Think of all the Miss Marples you have ever seen and this is Joan Maple.
Constable Thomkins– Young, bright uniformed village policeman, but well aware of Inspector Pratt’s pratness!!!!
Inspector Pratt – Inept, posing and clumsy. Thinks he so clever but we know better. A master of malapropism, but this is not intentional.
Audition forms will be available at the theater during auditions or you may download for completion here: Murdered to Death Audition Form
Contact Director Annie Walker-Bright with questions at Bebrightannie@aol.com.
Wheaton Drama is a non-equity theater and offers no pay. Cast members will be required to complete membership with Wheaton Drama in order to participate.
