Wheaton Drama

Director Jay Fontanetta announces auditions for Wheaton Drama’s production of Sex in the Title, a contemporary farce by local playwright George Zahora.
Auditions will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 20 and 21, from 7–10 p.m.
No appointments are necessary. Auditioners must prepare a one-minute contemporary comedic monologue and will perform cold readings from the script.
Callbacks (if necessary) will be Wednesday, Nov. 22, from 7–10 p.m.
Performances run Jan. 19 to Feb. 11, 2018. Rehearsals begin Nov. 26.
All auditions, rehearsals and performances will be held at 111 N. Hale St., Wheaton, IL.
Headshots and résumés are optional. Auditioners must fill out the audition form, Sex in the Title Audition Form_RR. Please direct questions to sxtitle@gmail.com.

CHARACTERS:

STEPHEN RAUGHBAUTHAM (30s): The serious half of a successful comedy writing team.
GEOFFREY MILLHAWKINSBY (30s): The not-so-serious half of the comedy writing team.
ELAINE HANNETT: Their manager, businesslike but not humorless; hints of a boozy past.
JACK MACTANGLEPOON: The addled Scottish caretaker/landlord.
SUSAN OSTRICH (20s/30s): Geoffrey’s fiancée. Tenuous grip on sanity.
CLAIRE KIRKWOOD (30s): Stephen’s ex-wife. Indecisive; Daddy issues. Too clever by half.
DESMOND WAGSTAFFE: A lecherous attorney.
JENSEN: An assassin suffering from scope creep.
*M. BENOIT: The seedy French photographer whose studio is across the hall.
SABINE GRIFFIN (20s): A nude model, mistaken for a maid.
GERALD ASGARD (20s): A maid, of sorts, mistaken for a nude model.
*POLICEMAN: A run-of-the-mill, somewhat dim cop.
*MR. GODDOE: A potential patron with a longstanding gripe with Samuel Beckett.
Note: The roles of Benoit, Goddoe and the Policeman may be played by a single actor.

Wheaton Drama is excited to announce next season’s shows and directors.

The season will open with the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” a
story of maintaining traditions and transitions in an ever-changing
sociopolitical climate—a message as important today as when the show was
written. “Fiddler” will be directed by Carrie Dabelow, who has directed
productions for Steel Beam Theater, Riverside Theatre, and Woodstock
Musical Theatre Company, as well as in public schools in Illinois and
Minnesota.

Next on the schedule is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic romance
“Sense and Sensibility,” in which we follow the Dashwood sisters, Elinor
and Marianne, as they seek love and happiness in 1790s England. This
promises to be a show for families and Jane Austen aficionados alike and
will be directed by WDI veteran Randall W. Knott, who last directed “Play
It Again, Sam” and “Amadeus” for Wheaton Drama and “One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest” at Woodstock Opera House.

Wheaton Drama will continue its tradition of holiday radio plays by
presenting that childhood classic “The Cinnamon Bear.” This old-time radio
show was first produced in 1937 and became popular nationwide, particularly
in Chicago when it was broadcast on WGN radio. It will be directed by Ben
Dooley, who has done numerous radio show reproductions with his own
company, Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, and who directed the Christmas
classic “Miracle on 34^th Street” for Wheaton Drama.

Kicking off the new year, WDI will present a modern farce, “Sex in the
Title” by local playwright George Zahora. It concerns two playwrights whose
shows always have the word “sex” in the title, though their shows have
nothing to do with sex. This farce involves doors and windows—and lots of
people coming and going through them. It will be directed by Jay
Fontanetta, a newcomer to WDI who has directed extensively at North
Riverside Community Theatre, at Circle Theatre and in numerous area high
schools.

Following up in stark contrast, WDI will present a searing drama, “A Piece
of My Heart,” which tells of the role women played during the Vietnam War.
Like many of their male counterparts, their service went largely
unappreciated and unrecognized. This show will be directed by WDI veteran
Mike Boyna, who last directed the hilarious and successful “Shrek: The
Musical.”

The season will conclude with the perennial Stephen Sondheim favorite
“Company.” Though it debuted on Broadway in 1970, its theme of coping with
cultural changes and social upheavals remains relevant today. “Company”
will be directed by Pam Turlow, who has directed “A Christmas Carol” and
“Mad Mid-Mod Musicals” for Wheaton Drama.