Wheaton Drama to hold auditions for 'Peter and the Starcatcher' March 13-14

Auditions for Wheaton Drama's upcoming production of "Peter and the Starcatcher" are set for Sunday and Monday, March 13-14, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the theater, 111 N. Hale St. in Wheaton.

Callbacks will be held on Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m.

The play will be directed by Sean Ogren and Suzanne Ogren. Note, this show is non-equity and there is no pay.

The production will be May 20 to June 12 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays.

Actors are required to be there for all performances.

Rehearsals will begin on Sunday, March 20, and are held four nights a week, Sunday through Wednesday evenings. Due to the collaborative nature of the play, all cast members will be required at most, if not all, rehearsals.

Auditions will consist of a 90-minute block from either 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.

A short song will be taught, as well as a dance and basic fight choreography. Sides will be sent out prior to auditions. Callbacks will consist of further scenes from the play. To sign up for auditions, send an e-mail request titled "Peter and the Starcatcher Audition" to peterandthestarcatcherwdi@gmail.com and list your preference for date and time. Limited space may mean that we cannot honor your preference but we will do our best.

To encourage the strength that comes with greater diversity on our stages, all roles are available for color-conscious casting, and some roles are available for gender-conscious casting as noted.

The imaginative theme of the play allows for wide age ranges for actors, however, please note that you must be at least 16 to audition.

Due to the physical nature of the play, all actors must be in good physical condition.

Note: Three actors will be cast as understudies for the roles of Molly, Peter and Black Stache. They will perform as part of the ensemble except for at least two specific nights (to be determined) in which all understudies will perform their lead roles. In turn, actors whose main roles are Molly, Peter, and Black Stache will perform in the ensemble for those two performances.

The Orphans

• Peter (male, 16-35), an astute boy. Nameless, homeless, and friendless, but a survivor. More than anything, he wants a home and family. If he could grow up, he'd fall for Molly in a big way.

• Prentiss (male, 16-35) Ambitions, hyperarticulate, logical; yearns to be a leader, even as he knows in his heart that he never shall be one. A bit of a blowhard with just the teeny-tiniest touch of cowardice.

• Ted (male, 16-35) Obsessed with food. A natural actor, an easy wit, perhaps a future poet.

The British subjects

• Lord Leonard Aster (male, 25-60) The very model of a Victorian gentleman, loyal subject to the Queen, devoted father, faithful friend. Also - a Starcatcher; thus dedicated to protecting the Earth and all who dwell thereon from the awesome power of starstuff.

• Molly Aster (female, 16-35) A true leader at a time when girls are mostly followers. Will risk everything for the sake of Doing Right. Curious, intelligent, beginning to feel things she doesn't yet understand - romantic longings that revert to childish tantrums under pressure - because, after all, she's a thirteen-year-old kid. She'll be a great woman one day.

• Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher (male, 20-60) Bumbrake is Molly's nanny. British to the bone. Still has enough of her girlish charm to turn a sailor's head and leaven his dreams. Stiff in the lip, loose in the hip, fun on a ship. Teacher is formerly a salmon, now an ancient, knowledgeable mermaid.

• Captain Robert Falcon Scott (male/female, 20-60) Captain of Britain's fastest frigate, the Wasp.

The Seafarers

• The Black Stache (male, 20-55) Long after everyone else got out of the pirate business, The Black Stache continues to terrorize the seven seas in search of a hero worthy of his villainy. Famous for his face foliage, he started shaving at age ten, had a bushy handlebar by eleven, and the blood of twenty crews on his hands by twelve. Heartless and hirsute, suspiciously well read, partial to the poetical and theatrical, and given to a ferocity from which no good shall every spring.

• Alf (male, 20-60) An old see dog. Something about him appeals to the feminine sensibility - might be his bow legs, his saucy gait, or his kind heart.

• Bill Slank/Hawking Clam (male/female, 20-65) Bill Slank is the Neverland's vicious captain, without the skill or quality to lead anyone but himself, and always into disaster. A greedy bastard who'd sell his own mother for a ship to command and send boys to their doom for the favor of those who would use starstuff for personal gain, global domination, or worse. An orphan, too. Hawking Clam: Son of Fighting Prawn and Sweet 'n' Sour Shrimp. One day, he will ascend the Clam throne as head of the Royal Clam Clan.

• Grempkin/Mack/Sanchez (male/female, 20-65) Grempkin is the mean and malodorous schoolmaster of St. Norbert's Orphanage for Lost Boys. Mack is a very bad sailor who wants to be anywhere but under the thumb of Bill Slank. Sanchez is a hard-working Spanish pirate with an identity crisis.

• Smee (male/female, 20-65) First mate to Black Stache. Single-mindedly dedicated to his captain's every whim. His motto: "Tis good to be busy."