CALL TO AUDITION:

PERFECT ARRANGEMENT
by Topher Payne

PRESENTED AS PART OF MARDI GRAS+

It’s 1950, and new colours are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to stare down the closet door.

CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Director Patrick Kennedy

PERFORMANCE DATES
Tue 3 Feb to Sat 7 Mar 2026

REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will start the week commencing Mon 3 Nov with a combination of weekend days, week evenings and possibly weekdays. Exact times and dates tbc, subject to cast availability.

AUDITION DATES
Self-tape submissions close 11.59pm on Wed 22 Oct 2025 and must include:

• A self-introduction, including your name (max 30 secs).
• A brief introduction to your chosen audition piece.
• Your audition piece: a short (2-3 min) monologue that you feel reflects the style and dramaturgical content of Perfect Arrangement.

Earlier submissions welcome.

Call-back auditions will be held in person at New Theatre on Sat 25 Nov 2025, exact times tbc.

ROLES AVAILABLE
Bob Martindale. Early to mid 30s – A WWII veteran, reserved. A bit bookish, but a solid man’s man. Good-humoured and well-mannered.

Millie Martindale. Late 20s – early 30s. Bob’s wife. Plays the ‘ditzy wife’ when people are in the house but actually very quick-witted and observant. Smart enough to maintain the act.

Norma Baxter. 30s – The knowing, efficient, classy dame. A secretary at the State Department who could just as easily be Secretary of State. A wise woman who’s great with a wisecrack and level-headed in a bind.

Jim Baxter. 20s-30s – Norma’s husband. A prankster type, always ready with a comeback. A high school teacher with lots of energy. A little wired, good with a plan.

Theodore Sunderson. 40-50s – The boss. Bombastic, loud, a bit overbearing. A patriotic windbag.

Kitty Sunderson. 40s – Ted’s wife. Legitimately ditzy. Her brain seems to work on a totally different wavelength than the rest of the world. Very sweet, and very genuine. Just doesn’t quite ‘get it’.

Barbara Grant. 40s – A formidable opponent. No-nonsense, beautiful, brilliant and a little scary.

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

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
It is essential to read the script BEFORE applying. There is a perusal copy of the script available for viewing here.

Email any questions to perfectarrangementnt25@gmail.com with PERFECT ARRANGEMENT in the subject line.

PLEASE NOTE
New Theatre an amateur theatre company and a volunteer-based organisation – there is no for payment for this production.

If cast, you will be required to wash your own costumes and assist with production bump out.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Hailed as ‘one of the country’s most fascinating theatre practitioners’ (British Theatre) who ‘delivers exciting theatremaking stuffed with visual delights’ (Time Out), Patrick Kennedy is a British-Australian theatre director and producer recognised as one of the major figures of the twenty-first century European avant-garde. He is the founder of Patrick Kennedy Theatre Machine and is a leading expert on the work of New York downtown doyenne Richard Foreman. He has produced 9 of his works in collaboration with Foreman across the world.

Originally trained as a director of classical work by the Globe Theatre, Kennedy’s work has since spanned 15 years and includes reinventions of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, radical film-theatre projects and creating a sell out new musical based on the women of the Weimar era which played in London’s West End.

Recent credits include the critically acclaimed The Flea (New Theatre); Did You Mean To Fall Like That? (KXT On Broadway); Sophia=(Wisdom): The Cliffs (New Theatre); Halbwelt Kultur (The Other Palace, London); Zomboid! (New Wimbledon Theatre, London); Elephant Steps: An Occult Opera Upon Perception (Arcola Theatre, London).

For more information please visit www.patrickkennedytheatremachine.com

Main image: © r.classen/Shutterstock