ABOUT THE PLAY
Time Period: Present Day
Duration: 2 Acts
The Play That Goes Wrong is a hilarious play-within-a-play about an amateur drama society, the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, attempting to stage a serious 1920s murder mystery called The Murder at Haversham Manor, but everything that can possibly go wrong, does, leading to collapsing sets, forgotten lines, and a corpse that won't play dead. It's a farcical comedy filled with slapstick, technical disasters, and well-meaning actors battling against chaos to reach the final curtain.
Come with a prepared 2-3 minute comedic monologue (nothing from the show, please).
You may also need to do cold reads from the script
CALLBACKS
(If Needed)
Wednesday, January 21 @ 6pm
PERFORMANCES
March 19 - 22 March 26 - 29
CHARACTERS
(AGES are how the character will be perceived and not necessarily the age of the actor.)
Annie - female presenting, age 20-30. The stage manager. She has the biggest journey of any of the characters. When Sandra is indisposed Annie, who cannot bear to be on stage, must step in. Initially terrified by acting, she is willing to K*ll for it by the end of the play. Her initial terror turns to joy, and then to fury. She starts small, but grows and grows.
Sandra - female presenting, age 30-40. Plays Florence Colleymoore. She is vain and possess a huge ego. Wants to be loved. Has ambitions to go to Hollywood and will hurt anyone standing in the way of what she wants, but is smart enough to stay on the good side of someone who can help her (like the director). You know the type. The stakes are high for her. Very physical role.
Trevor - male presenting, age 20-30. The play’s lighting and sound operator. He simply wants to get on with the show. Curmudgeonly and doesn’t care for actors. He is easily distracted and does many things he shouldn’t, including engaging with the audience. When things go really sideways, he is forced to act in the play. He hates acting.
Chris - male presenting, age 30-50. Plays Inspector Carter. High status clown. Rigid, uptight, everything really matters. He is the director of the show and this is the biggest day of his life. Everything is riding on this. It is a nerve wracking and exciting night. His pain is evident and every time someone laughs the pain deepens. He has equal amounts of contempt for his fellow actors & the audience watching the play.
Jonathan - male presenting, 30-50. Plays Charles Haversham. A bit bland, but sees himself as a James Bond type. Excited and having fun, but not naïve. He technically has to drive the show. He cares about the play, but not to the same extent as the others. Very Physical role.
Robert - male presenting, age 30-40. Plays Thomas Colleymoore. He wants to be Richard Burton, as evidenced by his declamatory style. He is, however, not a parody of a bad actor. He is unaware of others around him. He does not feel badly when things go wrong and never learns from his mistakes. There is a power struggle between Robert and Chris to be president of the Cornley Poly Drama Society (a position that matters a great deal to Robert). Has real
vocal power.
Dennis - male presenting, age 30-50. Plays Perkins. He has no real desire to be involved in the theatre, he just wants to make friends (of which he has none). He believes if he does well in the show, he will be more successful socially. Laughter from the audience is agony for him. He may be slightly oblivious, but understands when he gets things wrong. The laughter is a personal tragedy/failure.
Max - male presenting, age 30-40. Plays Cecil Haversham and Arthur the Gardner. He has never been on stage before. He learned his lines and does exactly what he's told to do. He has zero connection with any of the other actors, but when he gets a laugh he breaks the 4th wall and engages with the audience. Childlike and naïve. His mistakes are fundamental. He doesn’t think anything through, just looks for approval.
Stage Crew - age 20-40. The on stage crew of the show that start the show before the show both on stage and in the lobby. They will make appearances throughout the play.
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