Guilford Center Stage, a brand-new project of Broad Brook Grange, announces auditions for its first production, Tourists Accommodated, a comedy by noted Vermont author Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Auditions will be held on Wednesday, July 22, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Grange in Guilford Center. No reservation is required; just show up anytime during that 2 hour period. Those unable to attend may contact the directors for an audition.
Actors from all towns are welcome!
Grange member Laura Lawson Tucker and I are forming Center Stage in response to community requests for more arts and other events on the building’s small, but chariming stage.
As this project begins, it is a time when plans are just getting underway to completely renovate the 1896 building, with a focus on accessibility and fire safety, but also with the hope that the Grange can be winterized and used year-round. Until that work is completed, which may still take a couple of years, Center Stage is keeping its plans modest. But the organizers do want to have something on stage during this transition period.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher was living in Arlington, Vermont in the early 1930’s Depression years, when her sewing circle started talking about the fact that some of the households in town were earning needed extra income by renting rooms to tourists for the night. As the ladies started chiming in with funny stories about this, the group realized it would make an amusing play.
Fisher went home and drafted Tourists Accommodated, took it back to her sewing group for comments, and it was a big hit when performed. The play also provides perspective on a social issue which was a serious topic in that era regarding the identity of the “real” Vermonter (a subject which bubbled up again in the 1960’s, and beyond.)
Performances of the play will take place on Friday, October 9, and Saturday the 10th (Columbus Weekend.)
Community actors of various ages are needed for the sizable cast. There are both speaking and non-speaking roles for children, from age 5 to around age 12, many of whom will appear in just one of the six scenes. One or two parents with children may be on stage together. There are a number of principal roles and smaller ones for adult men and women. You may come prepared with a monologue, or use a passage from the play. Scripts will be available for those wishing to read a part or engage in dialogue. Center Stage is also welcoming those who might wish to help with sets, costumes or backstage work.
Flyers with more information, and samples of audition speeches, are available at public buildings and businesses in Guilford, or by contacting the directors. Those unable to attend the audition may contact them to arrange for an audition at a convenient time.
For more information of any kind, contact the play’s director Don McLean at 257-1961 <inscapevt@myfairpoint.net> or assistant director Laura Lawson Tucker at 257-7024 <laura@theatreadventure.org>.
