AUDITION DATES: FEBRUARY 19TH & 20TH AT 7:00 PM. PLEASE BRING THEATRE RESUME AND HEADSHOT IF AVAILABLE.
SHOW DATES: APRIL 6TH THROUGH APRIL 15TH. FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS 8:00 PM, SUNDAYS 2:00 PM
SHOW DATES: APRIL 6TH THROUGH APRIL 15TH. FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS 8:00 PM, SUNDAYS 2:00 PM
MURDER COMES TO UPTIGHT ABBEY
CAST OF CHARACTERS
6 women-playing ages 20s to 70s
5 men playing ages 20s to 50s
The ages listed in the descriptions below are the “playing ages” of the characters in this show. Actors who fall out of these parameters with respect to their own chronological age may still audition for the role if they physically fit the “playing age.”
BAKERSMAN (20s) is an under-butler, new to the Abbey. He is jittery and unsure of his role and responsibilities. These nerves cause him to scream at a high pitch, sounding more like a woman than a man. Working class/cockney accent required.
McDONALD (50s) is the stalwart head butler of the Abbey. Dry, smooth, relatively unflappable, he’s a distant cousin to P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves. He is subtly enamored of Lady Daphne, catering to her every whim. He’s also a bit of a drinker. Upper class accent required.
MRS. YEWS (any age, but probably 50s) is the head of household, with a seemingly unhealthy devotion to the Abbey. Everything about her is sharp, from her wit to her eyebrows. She can get quite physical with the set, due to her adoration. Upper class accent required.
LADY DAPHNE UPTIGHT (40s) is the American wife of our victim. She does not have a British accent, but speaks in a demur, gentile style. Periodically, her heavy American slips in — something rougher, sassier, more crass. After these moments, she slips back into her demur nature as if she’s just hiccuped.
HONORIA UPTIGHT (20s) is awkward. She lacks style and grace, and any attempts at the same never come to fruition. Her tone is nearly monotonous. This awkwardness makes others uncomfortable around her. She is in love with Marcus Wainwright, who happens to be her cousin. Upper class accent required.
GLADYS PATTICAKE (50s) is an animated, feisty cook. While cockney, she carries herself with certain militant air of dignity. She’s proud of her work and often frustrated by her daft daughter Fern. This actress needs some flexibility with accents, primarily cockney and French.
FERN PATTICAKE (20s), Gladys’s daughter, is pretty but also pretty dumb. Many people can get lost in a fog, but Fern creates her own. She is aggressively flirtatious. Her sexiness causes anxiety in practically all involved. Cockney accent required.
MARCUS HUGH WAINWRIGHT (30s) is a cousin to the Uptights, and believes he should actually live at, or better yet own, the Abbey. He is charming, engaging, dashing — and he knows it. He’s also a homosexual, but not in an overtly flamboyant sense. He can do a lot with a raised eyebrow or subtle innuendo. There is an “Is he? Oh, okay, he is” aspect to him. Upper class accent required.
NURSE AGNES DUNDLEBUNNY (older than dirt) is a decrepit old woman, although played by a man. She speaks no real lines, but responds to the Duchess with a string of nonsensical, warbling, high-pitched gibberish. It’s as if her old lips are so pinched and wrinkled that she can hardly form real language. Only the Duchess can understand her.
THE DOWAGER DUCHESS UPTIGHT (70s and up) is also an old woman, a vestige of the Victorian age. She is imposing, imperious and can cause fear in the stoutest of characters. Yes, she’s a healthy mix of Maggie Smith and Lady Bracknell, and she is played by a man. Upper class accent required.
LORD HORATIO UPTIGHT (40s–50s) is our victim. He spends a good part of the first act as a dead body. He is an egomaniac, a thoroughly unpleasant person, and clearly in charge of the Abbey. Upper class accent required. The actor who plays Horatio also plays INSPECTOR REGINALD SPECTER, a working class, trench-coated, mustachioed investigator from Scotland Yard. He’s all business, although rangling the Uptight household is no easy task. Cockney accent required.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
6 women-playing ages 20s to 70s
5 men playing ages 20s to 50s
The ages listed in the descriptions below are the “playing ages” of the characters in this show. Actors who fall out of these parameters with respect to their own chronological age may still audition for the role if they physically fit the “playing age.”
BAKERSMAN (20s) is an under-butler, new to the Abbey. He is jittery and unsure of his role and responsibilities. These nerves cause him to scream at a high pitch, sounding more like a woman than a man. Working class/cockney accent required.
McDONALD (50s) is the stalwart head butler of the Abbey. Dry, smooth, relatively unflappable, he’s a distant cousin to P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves. He is subtly enamored of Lady Daphne, catering to her every whim. He’s also a bit of a drinker. Upper class accent required.
MRS. YEWS (any age, but probably 50s) is the head of household, with a seemingly unhealthy devotion to the Abbey. Everything about her is sharp, from her wit to her eyebrows. She can get quite physical with the set, due to her adoration. Upper class accent required.
LADY DAPHNE UPTIGHT (40s) is the American wife of our victim. She does not have a British accent, but speaks in a demur, gentile style. Periodically, her heavy American slips in — something rougher, sassier, more crass. After these moments, she slips back into her demur nature as if she’s just hiccuped.
HONORIA UPTIGHT (20s) is awkward. She lacks style and grace, and any attempts at the same never come to fruition. Her tone is nearly monotonous. This awkwardness makes others uncomfortable around her. She is in love with Marcus Wainwright, who happens to be her cousin. Upper class accent required.
GLADYS PATTICAKE (50s) is an animated, feisty cook. While cockney, she carries herself with certain militant air of dignity. She’s proud of her work and often frustrated by her daft daughter Fern. This actress needs some flexibility with accents, primarily cockney and French.
FERN PATTICAKE (20s), Gladys’s daughter, is pretty but also pretty dumb. Many people can get lost in a fog, but Fern creates her own. She is aggressively flirtatious. Her sexiness causes anxiety in practically all involved. Cockney accent required.
MARCUS HUGH WAINWRIGHT (30s) is a cousin to the Uptights, and believes he should actually live at, or better yet own, the Abbey. He is charming, engaging, dashing — and he knows it. He’s also a homosexual, but not in an overtly flamboyant sense. He can do a lot with a raised eyebrow or subtle innuendo. There is an “Is he? Oh, okay, he is” aspect to him. Upper class accent required.
NURSE AGNES DUNDLEBUNNY (older than dirt) is a decrepit old woman, although played by a man. She speaks no real lines, but responds to the Duchess with a string of nonsensical, warbling, high-pitched gibberish. It’s as if her old lips are so pinched and wrinkled that she can hardly form real language. Only the Duchess can understand her.
THE DOWAGER DUCHESS UPTIGHT (70s and up) is also an old woman, a vestige of the Victorian age. She is imposing, imperious and can cause fear in the stoutest of characters. Yes, she’s a healthy mix of Maggie Smith and Lady Bracknell, and she is played by a man. Upper class accent required.
LORD HORATIO UPTIGHT (40s–50s) is our victim. He spends a good part of the first act as a dead body. He is an egomaniac, a thoroughly unpleasant person, and clearly in charge of the Abbey. Upper class accent required. The actor who plays Horatio also plays INSPECTOR REGINALD SPECTER, a working class, trench-coated, mustachioed investigator from Scotland Yard. He’s all business, although rangling the Uptight household is no easy task. Cockney accent required.