AUDITIONS

THE SPOOK

BY MELISSA REEVES

Please note: The Spook was fully cast last year but was postponed due to COVID. The role below is being recast.

It’s 1965, and things are a bit slow in the South Bendigo branch of the Communist Party of Australia.

Sales of The Tribune are slumping, no one’s very interested in the resident Maoist’s slide nights about life in China, and lighting a revolutionary fire in the belly of rural Victoria isn’t progressing too well.

Enter Martin, a young and eager recruit, whose zeal is welcomed by his new comrades, even as his mum despairs of his long hair and his rejection of church and army reserve.
But Martin has a secret: he’s been recruited by ASIO to spy on the comrades, and he’s about to get his new friends into serious trouble.
Inspired by a true story, Melissa Reeves creates a whimsical satire of small-town Australia, Cold War fear-mongering, friendship and betrayal, laced with dry humour and keenly observed relationships.

In light of New Theatre’s own fraught history with ASIO’s ‘spooks’, it’s rather fitting that this marvelous contemporary play is being given a long-overdue revival on our stage.

Winner: Victorian Premier’s Literary Award – the Louis Esson Prize for Drama 

CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Director Rosane McNamara
Set Designer Tom Bannerman
Lighting Designer Michael Schell
Costume Designer Aibhlinn Stokes
Lights/Sound Operator Ricci Costa

PERFORMANCE DATES
Tues 16 Mar – Sat 9 Apr 2022

REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will commence on Sun 13 Feb with a combination of weekend days, week evenings and possibly weekdays. Exact times and dates tbc, subject to cast availability.

AUDITIONS
It is essential that you read the script BEFORE submitting an Expression of Interest. There is a perusal copy of the script available for viewing here.

The initial round of auditions will be done using self-tape. Call-back auditions will be held at the theatre in person after the first round of auditions is complete, exact dates tbc. If you are unable to submit a self-tape, please email the Director at thespook2021@gmail.com to arrange an alternative means of audition. Please also contact the Director if you have worked with New Theatre before, as a self-tape may not be necessary.

Your filmed audition should include:
•    An introduction to yourself including your name (max 30 secs).
•    A very brief introduction to your chosen piece.
•    Your audition piece: a comic monologue from either theatre or film (approx. 2mins). It should not be from THE SPOOK.

Once you have captured your audition, upload it as either a private and password-protected Vimeo or a YouTube video using the password ‘Spook2021’ and email the link with the below information to thespook2021@gmail.com.

In your email, please:
• include an up-to-date headshot and cv
• indicate which role/roles you are interested in
• indicate if you are currently a New Theatre member

Self-tape submissions close at 5pm, Fri 28 Jan 2022.

You will only be contacted if we wish to see you for a call-back. If you are not successful in securing a call-back audition, no feedback will be given, but we greatly appreciate your time and thank you for your interest.

ROLES AVAILABLE
2 roles to be played by one actor

Vincent (35 – 50 years old)
An investigator from the Department of Immigration.

Football Player (about 18 years old)
Tough. Not easily taken in.

We very much encourage and welcome submissions from people who identify as First Nations, PoC, CaLD, queer and/or gender diverse.

PLEASE NOTE
New Theatre is a volunteer-based organisation and there is no payment for this production. You must be fully vaccinated to work at New Theatre and is a requirement of entry.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Rosane McNamara has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English and Drama and studied acting at the Ensemble Theatre with Hayes Gordon.

For New Theatre, Rosane has directed A Man for All Seasons, The Chapel Perilous, King Lear, Oh What a Lovely War Mate, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Hay Fever; The Clean House; and Broadway Bound. She has also stage managed, production managed and operated lights/sound on many productions, as well as making the occasional appearance on stage.

Other experience includes roles in Pride & Prejudice (Ensemble Rep) and The Diary of Anne Frank (Voices Theatre), and directing The Crucible (Ensemble Rep), Prelude to a Kiss (Belvoir Downstairs), and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (Voices Theatre).

Rosane is a Life Member of New Theatre and currently serves as President.