Audition Notice
Hay Fever by Noel Coward
Open auditions will be held Sunday, July 5th and Monday July 6th, from 7-10 pm
Summary: Hoping for a quiet weekend in the country with some guests, David Bliss, a novelist, and his wife, Judith, a retired actress, find quiet an impossible dream when their high-spirited children, Simon and Sorel, appear with guests of their own. A houseful of drama waits to be ignited as misunderstandings and tempers flare. With Judith’s new flame and David’s newest literary “inspiration” keeping company as the children follow suit, the Bliss family lives up to its name as the “quiet weekend” comes to an exhausting and hilarious finale worthy of Feydeau.
Date: Sunday July 5th, Monday July 6th
Time: 7:00pm-10:00pm
Place: First Presbyterian Theater
300 W. Wayne St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Director: Jordan Plohr
Stage Manager: Paul Berghoff
Schedule: Performances 8/21-8/30
Rehearsals begin 7/13 Mon-Fri 7-10pm
Tech Sunday 8/17
Prepare: Come to the audition prepared to read sides from the script. Auditioners will be given the opportunity to read multiple sides and parts. All characters in the play speak with an RP British dialect, except Clara whose dialect if flexible.
Characters: Ages and genders indicated are how the characters will be perceived, not necessarily the age/gender of the actors.
SOREL BLISS: (Female Presenting) 20yrs – 30yrs Descriptors: Posh, flirtatious, argumentative, socialite, self-centered, passionate. Sorel is David and Judith’s daughter She is clever and witty, but bored with her country life. She enjoys flirting with men she meets in London and has invited Richard Greatham to come and stay for the weekend. However, once he is there, she quickly loses interest and embarks on a meaningless flirtation with her mother’s guest, Sandy Tyrell, instead. Sorel is hot-headed and argumentative. She enjoys bickering with her brother and often starts family arguments. She enjoys exaggerating her behavior and participates in her mother’s theatrical displays and behavior. Sorel knows that her family’s behavior is unusual and acknowledges that she has not been brought up learning the normal and acceptable social manners.
SIMON BLISS: (Male Presenting) 20yrs – 30yrs Descriptors: Argumentative, Bickering, Self-Centered, Artist, Bohemian. Simon is the son of Judith and David and an aspiring artist. He is listless and self-centered, oblivious to the feelings of others. He believes himself to be desperately in love with Myra Arundel and is frustrated when she refuses to say that she loves him. However, it is clear that Simon’s ‘love’ for Myra is a game to him and not genuine. He enjoys the theatrical behavior favored by his family and participates in it for his own amusement. He is very close to his sister but loves bickering and arguing with her.
JUDITH BLISS: (Female Presenting) 40s to 60s yrs. Descriptors: Vain, Theatrical, Dramatic, Over the top, Dramatic, Flirtatious, Seductive, Self-Centered, Oblivious. Judith is an actress who has recently retired from the stage. She is married to David, and the couple has two grown children, Simon and Sorel. She is eccentric in her manners and behavior, seemingly lacking a grasp on social niceties. Judith is over-the-top and theatrical in everything she does, insisting that she will return to the stage at some point. Judith loves her husband and family, but she delights in teasing them and creating dramatic situations. She is flattered by Sandy Tyrell’s attentions but does not care for him; he makes her feel young and desired. Judith is battling her maturing years, flirting with Sandy and Richard Greatham for her own amusement. She remains oblivious to the discomfort that her family’s theatrics cause the guests.
DAVID BLISS: (Male Presenting) 40s to 60s yrs. Descriptors: Writer, Intelligent, Caustic, Self-centered, Teasing, Flirtatious, Argumentative, Flippant. David is a writer currently finishing his latest novel. He is married to Judith and is the father of Simon and Sorel. Frequently lost in his own world, he shows little empathy for the feelings of others. David enjoys participating in the theatrical displays put on by his family, viewing them as normal behavior. He cares deeply for his wife but also enjoys teasing her and provoking arguments. He has invited Jackie Coryton to the house for the weekend but has no real interest in her; he merely wants to study her for character analysis. David delights in flirting with Myra Arundel, deliberately amplifying their flirtation for his own amusement.
SANDY TYRELL: (Male Presenting) 20yrs – 30yrs Descriptors: Kind, confident, well-mannered, good-humored, gentleman. Sandy is a young boxer invited to the Bliss family home by Judith. He admires her and feels honored that she indulges his affection for her. However, he is confused by her increasingly eccentric behavior and soon shifts his attention to her daughter, Sorel. He enjoys flirting with Sorel but is mortified when Judith catches them kissing in the library. As a gentleman, he worries that he has behaved poorly. However, he soon feels embarrassed and annoyed when Sorel amplifies their relationship. He does not understand the theatrical games played by the Bliss family and is eager to leave the house as soon as possible.
RICHARD GREATHAM: (Male Presenting) Late 20yrs – 30yrs Descriptors: diplomatic, politics, confident, well-mannered. Richard is a proper English diplomat, posh and good-mannered. He has been invited to stay at the Bliss family house for the weekend by Sorel. He enjoys her company and finds her attractive, but they do not know each other very well. Richard greatly admires Judith and has seen her perform on stage several times. He is keen to meet her and flattered by her attentions to him. He finds her attractive and kisses her willingly but is confused and alarmed by her exaggerated behavior after their embrace. Richard is keen to flee from her house with the other guests the next morning.
JACKIE CORYTON: (Female Presenting) Late 20yrs – 30yrs Descriptors: Naïve, Innocent, Unsure, Kind, Sweet, Jackie is a young, innocent flapper invited to the Bliss family house by David. She feels flattered by his attentions but is unaware that he has only invited her to study her for a character in his book. Consequently, she is confused when he pays her little attention upon her arrival. She is unspoiled and sweet but finds herself nervous around the confident, theatrical family. Jackie does not understand the charade-style game they choose to play and refuses to participate, not wanting to embarrass herself. She feels flattered by Simon’s attentions but is devastated when he falsely declares them to be engaged for his family’s amusement. Jackie is desperate to escape the Bliss house the next morning.
MYRA ARUNDEL: (Female Presenting) 30s yrs Descriptors: confident, independent, tough, outspoken, brutally honest. Myra has been invited to the Bliss house for the weekend by Simon. She cares for Simon but does not love him and refuses to tell him that she does. She enjoys teasing him with the news that she dined out with another man. Myra is strong-willed and confident around men, liking to be in control. She cannot stand Judith Bliss but is polite upon her arrival at the house. By the end of the play, her true feelings about Judith surface, and she is eager to express them. Myra admires David Bliss and feels frustrated when he uses this admiration to make her a pawn in his theatrical battle with his wife.
CLARA: Flexible Descriptors: Maid, dresser, friend, dramatic, loyal, faithful, tolerant, patient. Clara is the Bliss family’s housekeeper. She manages the household, and the Bliss family relies on her for everything. Clara used to be Judith’s dresser in the theatre and is fiercely loyal to her mistress. She is accustomed to the family’s eccentricities and accepts them. She is also used to changing arrangements and is very flexible. The family views her as an extended family member rather than just a housekeeper.
