CALL TO AUDITION:
THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE
BY ANDREW BOVELL
“People aren’t perfect. Even the people you love. Especially the people you love.”
The Prices are a typical aspirational Australian working-class family. They’ve bought into the dreams and promises of a better life across the generations: the baby-boomer parents encouraged to sacrifice for a comfortable retirement, and the betterment of their children, all four of whom believe you can ‘have it all’.
Over the course of one year, we witness the fracturing of this apparently tight-knit unit, as each of the children comes into conflict with the parents, with shocking consequences.
Australia’s master playwright, Andrew Bovell, has long found been fascinated with the concepts of love and family. What we say, what we remember, how we relate to those nearest to us, and the endless vagaries of the human heart, are all embraced in this astonishingly wise, unexpectedly funny, and deeply truthful play.
CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Director Hailey McQueen
PERFORMANCE DATES
Tue 15 Nov to Sat 17 Dec 2022
REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will commence mid to late September with a combination of mostly weekday days and some week evenings and weekends. Exact times and dates tbc, subject to cast availability.
AUDITIONS
It is essential to read the script BEFORE applying. 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, exact dates tbc. If you are unable to submit a self-tape, please email the Director at thingsnt2022@gmail.com to arrange an alternative means of audition.
Your filmed audition should include:
• A very brief self- introduction, including your name
• A brief introduction to your chosen audition piece
• Your audition piece:
• Fran/Bob/Ben – a 2 to 3 min contemporary Australian monologue.
• Rosie/Mark & Mia/Pip – a provided excerpts for the character most
suited to you. Excerpts can be found here.
Once you have captured your audition, upload it as either a private and password-protected Vimeo or a YouTube video using the password ‘Things2022’ and email the link with the below information to thingsnt2022@gmail.com
In your email, please:
• Include an up-to-date headshot and cv
• Indicate which role/roles you are interested in
• Indicate your general rehearsal schedule availability (days and/or evenings)
• Indicate if you are currently a New Theatre member
Self-tape submissions close 5pm, Sat 17 Sep 2022, although earlier submissions are encouraged.
ROLES AVAILABLE
BOB (63), retrenched auto factory worker.
FRAN (57), senior nurse.
PIP (34), Education Department bureaucrat.
MARK (34) (AMAB), information technology specialist, a trans-woman who later becomes MIA. (As this play explores a transition from MTF, this casting is geared towards gender diverse/non-binary actors who are comfortable with this transition, and the intense themes and intricacies attached to this process. New Theatre priorities inclusivity, diversity, and ensuring a safe space, and it is the New Theatre’s intent to cast someone of the trans/non-binary/gender diverse community to showcase the voice of someone with a lived experience.)
BEN (28), financial services worker.
ROSIE (19), who doesn’t know who she is, or what she is, or what she wants to be yet.
PLEASE NOTE
New Theatre is a volunteer-based organisation and there is no payment for this production.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Hailey is a Sydney-based director, producer, and actor. She is co-founder and Artistic Director of Clock and Spiel Productions, where her adaptation and direction of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis had a sold-out national tour. More recently, she directed Freud’s Last Session (Seymour and Riverside Theatres) and Molly Sweeney (Flight Path Theatre) which were both critically acclaimed. Some of her acting credits include Wit, Metamorphosis and Mr. Foot for Clock and Spiel Productions; When the Rain Stops Falling for New Theatre; King Lear and Measure for Measure for The Sydney Shakespeare Festival; The Way of All Fish for Sydney Fringe Festival and Richard III for The Genesian Theatre. For Twisted Tree Theatre; The God of Carnage, Entertaining Angels, The Importance of Being Earnest, Hamlet and Picnic on the Battlefield. For Sydney’s Big Laugh Comedy Festival and Newtown Theatre; The Popular Mechanicals. For Cufflink Productions; Talking With and The Cardboard Box. She also appeared as Sonia McMahon on Channel 9’s Power Games and in Aussie web series Town Centre.