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Patio Playhouse auditions are open to all and do not have any fees associated with them. We encourage actors of all skill levels to come join us at our auditions.
Auditions are generally held 8-12 weeks before a production opens. Once info is ready, we will post a link below that will include the dates, times, locations, time slot sign-ups (if necessary), and what you should have prepared.
Upcoming Audition Dates:
Patio Playhouse encourages diversity and prioritizes safety in their productions. For more information, please read our Policies and Procedures on Diversity, Inclusion, and Consent.
Patio Playhouse is a traditional community theater. We are all volunteer run. There are no paid positions or stipends for our productions. This is a non-equity, volunteer position.
UPCOMING AUDITIONS
On Golden Pond
By Ernest Thompson
By arrangement with Dramatist Play Service Inc.
Directed by Brent A. Stringfield
Produced by Patio Playhouse
“ON GOLDEN POND is a work of rare simplicity and beauty…” — New York Daily News
Audition Info:
Patio Playhouse welcomes and encourages actors of all ethnicities, gender identities, and abilities to submit for these roles
- Auditions Monday, November 20 and Tuesday, November 21, 2023. 7:00-9:00 p.m. (arrive early for paperwork and schedule comparison)
- Callbacks will be by invitation on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, if required.
- First read-through will be on Monday, November 27, 2023.
- Auditions will consist of cold reads from the script and/or other media chosen by director.
- Please bring a resume of theatrical experience and a head shot.
- Appointments not necessary.
- For additional information and questions, please contact the Director at albeewoolf@yahoo.com (Subject: On Golden Pond Auditions).
- Watch for updated information on our Auditions webpage at www.patioplayhouse.com and on our Facebook page.
Compensation & Union Contract Details - No Pay – Volunteer Organization
Rehearsals and Performance Dates: - Rehearsal schedule will be Monday -Thursday 6:00-10:00 p.m.; based on Cast availability.
- Sunday evenings might be added within the last two (2) to three (3) weeks of rehearsals, if required.
- Rehearsal Start Time will be based on availability of Cast.
- Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. from Friday, January 12, 2024 – Sunday, February 4, 2024. An “Industry Night” performance will be on Monday, January 22, 2024.
About the Play:
This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory—but still as tart-tongued, observant, and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiancé, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. The boy quickly becomes the “grandchild” the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness—and slang—in return. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is now against them, but the years have been good and, perhaps, another summer on Golden Pond still awaits. Presented to great critical and popular acclaim first off then on Broadway, this touching, funny and warmly perceptive study of a spirited and lovable elderly couple facing their twilight years introduced a significant playwright to our theatre.
About the Characters:
NORMAN THAYER, JR.:
Age: 79
Ethnicity: Any
Line Load: Heavy
Stage Time: Almost Always on Stage
Characteristics: He walks slowly but upright. He wears glasses. On the one hand he is boyish and peppery, having hung onto his vigor and his humor, but at the same time he is grand, he has a manner, a way of speaking
and of carrying himself.
ETHEL THAYER:
Age: 69
Ethnicity: Any
Line Load: Heavy
Stage Time: Almost Always on Stage
Characteristics: Ethel is still pretty and energetic beyond belief, she is Norman’s opposite in many ways. She fills the empty spaces when he grows quiet. She knows how to manage his moods and run interference when he’s less than charming with others.
CHARLIE MARTIN:
Age: 40s
Ethnicity: Any
Line Load: Small – Medium
Stage Time: Comes and Goes – Minor Supporting Character
Characteristics: He is a big round man, weather beaten face, smiling eyes, strong Maine accent (if possible). He is indeed a laughter, but not exactly “deficient.” In his rustic, simple thoughtful way, he is actually quite charming.
CHELSEA THAYER WAYNE:
Age: 40s
Ethnicity: Any
Line Load: Medium
Stage Time: Supporting Character
Characteristics: Pretty, in perhaps the tiniest bit heavy, athletic, and tan but with a nervous edginess to her, and plenty of her father’s humor. Chelsea is divorced and engaged to Bill Ray.
BILLY RAY:
Age: 13
Ethnicity: Any
Line Load: Medium to Heavy
Stage Time: Major Supporting Character
Characteristics: Billy Ray is short and flippant, but only to cover his awkwardness. He is eager and bright, his hair long, his posture terrible. He is Bill Ray’s son.
BILL RAY:
Age: 40s
Ethnicity: Any
Line Load: Small to Medium
Stage Time: Supporting Character
Characteristics: Bill Ray is a divorced dentist engaged to Chelsea. He is father to one, Billy Ray. He is attractive and always well-dressed, a tad self-serious but with a good sense of humor when he remembers to use it. Initially is rather rattled by his situation and surroundings.