Audition Notice for Wit
By Margaret Edson
Director: Aaron Gould
Stage Managers: John and Chris Buck
Auditions for Wit will be held at Facetime Theatre in 15 minute time increments on
Thursday, March 5 (7pm-10pm)
Saturday March 7 (11am-5pm)
Sunday March 8 (6:30pm-10pm)
We are looking to fill approximately nine roles, ages 16 to 86, any gender, any race. Auditions will be readings from the script with a member of the production staff. Sides will be provided. The audition will last approximately 15 minutes and will be by appointment only. Headshots and resumes are appreciated but not required.
Show dates: June 5, 6, 12, 13 at 7:30pm; June 7 & 14 at 3:00pm
Rehearsals will mostly be held on Sunday, Mondays, and Thursdays; however, there may be some other days peppered in depending on conflicts of the cast and the theatre. Tech week will be May 30-June 4. Tech conflicts are not accepted.
Character Descriptions and a brief synopsis have been provided below the audition notice.
To SIGN UP for an audition and if you have any questions about Facetime Theatre, please contact [email protected].
If you have any questions about WIT auditions or the production, you can contact the director at [email protected].
We are a non-profit community theatre. Actors are unpaid. For more information on Facetime Theatre and what we do, head over to our website at FacetimeTheatre.org.
Facetime Theatre (in the Franklin Commons)
400 Franklin Avenue, Suite 109
Phoenixville, PA 19460
Synopsis:
Wit is a play about a highly rational English literature professor, Dr. Vivian Bearing, who is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer and must confront her own mortality. While undergoing experimental chemotherapy, the play uses a non-linear narrative to intersperse her past experiences as a student and teacher with her present-day struggles in the hospital. Through her illness, she re-evaluates her life and relationships, seeking emotional connection and compassion as her intellectual defenses are stripped away.
Character Descriptions for “Wit”
Vivien Bearing: 50ish. Professor of 17 th Century poetry. World’s second leading expert
on the poetry of John Donne. Very tough teacher. Very academic. No family and has
never been married. Has been diagnosed with advanced metastatic ovarian cancer and
is undergoing very aggressive treatments. Vivien never leaves the stage.
Susie Monahan: late 20s. Vivien’s primary nurse. Caring and practical. Very competent.
Highly experienced at treating cancer patients. Less educated than the others at this
university hospital’s cancer center.
Jason Posner: late 20s. M.D. Clinical fellow in oncology. Very smart but inexperienced.
Interested in research rather than treating patients. Very much the type A personality.
He is always right.
Harvey Kelekian: 50ish. M.D. Chief of Medical Oncology at a university hospital. Old
school academic. Very well respected cancer researcher and teacher. Has seen it all
when it comes to treating cancer. He does not have time for fools.
E. M. Ashford: 50ish and 80ish. Professor emerita of English Literature. World’s leading
expert on the poetry of John Donne. Great teacher, very tough, but also caring.
Mr. Bearing: 30-60. Vivian’s father. Good father, but typical of his generation –
demanding, a little detached. Learning and knowledge very important to him. This part
may be doubled with Kelekian.
Ensemble: 20-80. Diverse (age, race, gender) group playing lab techs, clinical fellows,
university students, etc. These folks will be busy. Four to eight actors.
To SIGN UP for an audition and if you have any questions about Facetime Theatre, please contact [email protected].
If you have any questions about WIT auditions or the production, you can contact the director at [email protected].
