AUDITIONS
THE LOVELY BONES
BY ALICE SEBOLD, adapted by BRYONY LAVERY
“My name is Salmon. Like the fish. Susie. Fourteen years old. I was murdered.”
A coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist.
Susie Salmon is a typical 14yo girl, with all the usual preoccupations: she wants to be gorgeous, she has secret crushes, and favourite things. There is just one small difference: Susie is dead, lured into a hideaway in a cornfield, and subsequently raped and murdered by her neighbour.
From beyond the grave, she now observes her grieving family: her father, obsessed with finding her killer and getting justice; her mother, looking to escape the unbearable pain of losing her child by forging a new life; and her clever sister, discovering boys and embarking of the journey that Susie herself never had the chance to take.
And Susie is trying to find a way to help.
Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel turned the horror-thriller trope of a crime and its aftermath into an elegiac meditation on life, love, and loss. As she herself wrote: “the line between the living and the dead could be murky and blurred.”
Award-winning British playwright Bryony Lavery has taken Sebold’s beautiful novel and created a visceral performance text, both sparse and dense, that also surprises with its humour and verve.
New Theatre is thrilled to be presenting the Australian premiere of this work.
CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Director Deborah Mulhall
Set Designer Robyn Arthur
Lighting Designer Michael Schell
Costume Designer Andrea Tan
Sound Designer Sam Barnett
Assistant Director Dimity Raftos
Assistant Set Designer Mitch Latham
Lighting Assistant Isabella Zinghini
Stage Manager Victoria Lewis
Deputy Stage Manager Claire Holland
Operator Ole Borch
PERFORMANCE DATES
23 November to 18 December 2021
REHEARSALS
We anticipate rehearsing Wednesday and Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, commencing on 20 October..
AUDITIONS
We are calling for Expressions of Interest from female-identifying actors, 35 – 60, for the following roles:
Grandma Lynn: Lynn is Abigail Salmon’s mom. She’s a hard-drinking, hard-flirting woman who comes to the rescue after Susie’s death, keeping the Salmon house together. Savvy and instinctive, she suspects Harvey as the killer at Susie’s funeral.
Franny: Franny is Susie’s intake counsellor, guide, and mentor in the in-between. Not quite heaven, it is a sort of waiting room for spirits with unresolved issues. A social worker in her life on Earth, Franny is a nurturer by nature, and helps Susie to understand both the mechanics of her space and the ways in which her desires, emotions, and needs influence the course of her afterlife.
Ruana Singh: Ruana is Susie’s boyfriend Ray’s mother. Intelligent, independent and a little world weary, she is out of place in American suburbia. Please note: we are looking for a PoC actor for this role.
The auditions will be via self-tape and should include:
• An introduction to yourself including your name (max 30 secs).
• A very brief introduction to your chosen piece.
• Your audition piece: am appropriate monologue of about 2 minutes in a generic American accent.
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.
Email your EOI to thelovelybonesnt@gmail.com with AUDITION in the subject line before 6pm, Thu 7 Oct 2021.
Please include:
- a current headshot and resume
- the role/s you are interested in
- attachment or link to audition tape – upload it as either a private and password-protected Vimeo or YouTube video using the password ‘Bones2021’
- state if you are a current New Theatre member
New Theatre very much encourages and welcomes 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.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Deborah started as an actress (Kate in Taming of the Shrew; Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream and Raina in Arms and the Man), before moving on to directing and then writing for stage. Having studied at NIDA and La MaMa International, Deborah has written nine full length plays and directed over 20. Most recent directing credits include Britannia Waves the Rules (New Theatre/Sydney Fringe Festival); Much Ado About Nothing (Genesian Theatre); The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2018 New Theatre); Pygmalion (2019 New Theatre) and The Pond (2020 Flight Path Theatre). Her play Cry, Wolf was runner-up in New York New Works of Merit and ran off-Broadway for eight weeks and has been optioned for film. The comedy Gentlemen Inc has also been optioned for film and other works have been translated and performed overseas. Her most recent work includes The Kiss (currently touring South America) and Breathless (finalist, Silver Gull Play Award 2019) which received a rehearsed reading presentation at New Theatre on Anzac Day 2021. Deborah is also a script assessor for various competitions, peoples and organizations, and is Education Officer for New Theatre. She is a founding member of the Parramatta Theatre Company, one time President of the Illawarra Council for the Performing Arts and a life member of Workshop Theatre.
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