Auditions for ISU Theatre’s Fairytales for the Anthropocene
By Jaisey Bates, Diana Burbano, Darcy Parker-Bruce, Ty Defoe, Tiffany Antone, & Amanda Petefish-Schrag
Director – Amanda Petefish-Schrag
Production Stage Manager – Annika Baker
About the show . . .
Embark on a captivating journey that blends enchantment and provocation, as we delve into the complex tapestry of the Anthropocene epoch—a crossroads marked by the interplay of survival, extinction, humanity, nature, and the imagination. Fairytales for the Anthropocene features live actors, puppetry, and new short plays by U.S. playwrights.
Audition details . . .
- Wednesday, August 28, 2024 – 6-9:00PM
- Sign up online at Sign Up Genius.
You will be seen individually within that time period. - Callbacks will be Thursday, August 29. More details provided at the audition.
To prepare . . .
Prepare and perform one of the play selections included below. Please sign up for a 20-minute audition slot, during which time you will perform your 1–2-minute selection.
Scripts will be available for check-out from the Script Library.
In addition to preparing and performing your selection, please have your fall semester schedule (including classes, work, other university activities, travel, etc.) with you at the audition in order to complete your audition form at check-in.
Production details . . .
- Rehearsals: Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, September 2, and will generally be held on weekdays in the evenings. Rehearsals will last approximately 2-3 hours each night.
- Performances: October 10-13
Roles . . .
The play will incorporate a cast of 5-8 actors who will each play multiple acting roles as well as voice and operate a variety of shadow puppet characters. Below is a selection of some of these roles:
LULU A young girl of mixed ethnicity.
TOÑA A younger person of mixed ethnicity Nonbinary
BUTTERFLY
LITTLE BLUE A young whale. Precocious. Wonder-full.
MAMA A mother, injured, entangled.
WOLF A hand. Humanity’s handprints on the seas.
GRANDMOTHER An Elder. The oldest surviving whale
PANDORA
EVE
ISAAC NEWTON
JOHNNY APPLESEED
RED RIDING HOOD
SARAH
THE GUESTS
PORTUS
Questions? Contact Amanda Petefish-Schrag, apschrag@iastate.edu
Audition Selections (please choose one of the following to perform for your audition):
LITTLE BLUE
(from Little Blue 52 by Jaisey Bates)
(air-starved hoarse, buoyant with relief)
O lookit – LIGHT – I love to swim through bands of light! O wait: AIR!
[BLUE surfaces.]
Weird, these surface waters are so warm – OK, AIR – FILL'ER UP!
[BLUE breathes until lungs are full, rapidly recovering sassy self.]
FULL TANK – NO RECEIPT NEEDED – flip up my gorgeous tail for fun – say hello to the
burning sun – HELLO GOODBYEEEEE then DIVE!
[BLUE dives.]
Ahhhh, nice. You know what this sea needs, Mama? Some ice. Wonder where it all went.
hello-oo –
[BLUE coughs.]
HELLOOOOOO GRANDMOTHER I’M HERE MAMA NEEDS YOU WE NEED YOU I’M
COMING TO YOU WHERE ARE YOU –
Gonna find Grandma – gotta find Grandma – The Eldest Whale Elder – The Big G! The OG!
She's older than two centuries! Mama says she knows all our stories and all our songs and all the worlds
before and now and to be and real and imaginary and possibilities – WEEEEEEEEEEE – lookit me I'm solo flying
through the sea but I wish you were here with me –
PORTUS
(from Portus by Tiffany Antone)
But then
Things got so bad
that even the Believers started to worry
that Father had given up on us
like a parent shrugging off the teenage son
what’s room been laid to waste
through childish neglect
as if to say:
“I’m not doing your laundry anymore
I’m not searching that wasteland for plates to clean
An’ if you fall asleep next to noodles
It’s YOUR job to scrape them off your pillow.”
Even the Money Men began to sweat.
Their bunkers -
once a prestige purchase
- started lookin’ small an’ ugly
compared to the bounty that was Once Upon An Earth.
RED RIDING HOOD
(from The Fall by Amanda Petefish-Schrag)
(Catching her breath)
Has anyone seen a Wolf around here?
I’ve been searching and searching.
I think she might be my grandmother.
(She takes in the forest)
Mother says to be careful in the woods,
That this whole place is haunted with trees,
And tricks,
And the path is always crooked.
You can wait for the Huntsman.
He may even save you.
But he’ll claim payment.
You don’t get to win amid the trees,
Only survive -
The wolves, and the serpents,
And the witches bearing apples -
Sometimes.
That’s the terrible truth of the story –
The part your grandmother left out.
(Giving two apples from her basket to EVE)
The apple changed everything.
Who could have guessed that the fall of Empire
Would be the direct result of seasonal fruit?