Announcing Auditions For...

"A Doll's House"

Auditions - February 3, 4, 5, 6 of 2008 at 7 pm
at the Starlighters Theatre in Anamosa

Bob Furino (Delhi),
Director
E-Mail: bfurino@mchsi.com

Katie Bartusiak (Iowa City),
Assistant Director

THE STORY:

This is the vital, powerful story of Nora Helmer, who feels safe and satisfied in what appears to be the perfect marriage, until forces she unwittingly sets in motion throw her world, and her sheltered existence in a male-dominated society, into chaos. "A Doll's House" was written in 1879 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, known to the theatre world as "the father of modern drama." This classic drama about relationships and choices is said to mark the beginning of modern western theatre. In the words of the great writer George Bernard Shaw, "Nora's revolt is the end of a chapter of human history."

Production Dates:
April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm
Sundays at 2 pm

Characters in "A Doll's House":
( *numbers inside brackets indicate [# of pages character appears in play/Total # of pages in play] )

SUMMARY OF THE PLOT:

The Helmers, Nora and Torvald, appear to have the perfect happy marriage. Torvald is a lawyer who has just been appointed as the director of a bank. Nora completely enjoys life as a Victorian housewife and mother. The Helmers have three small children, the apples of their mother's eyes, who are cared for by their nanny, Anne-Marie.

All this is quietly overshadowed by a secret that Nora must keep regarding a financial deal she made in the past, which was completely unacceptable for any woman in that era.

The financial negotiation had obtained money for a long stay in a southerly climate which was necessary to restore her husband's health. To secure the loan, Nora had forged the signature of her father who had died a few days earlier.

From that day forth, Nora had done small jobs to earn the money to pay back the loan with interest, all the while keeping it a secret from her husband.

The person from whom Nora borrowed the money was Nils Krogstad, a schooldays friend of Torvald, and an employee at Torvald's bank. At the play's start, Kristine Linde, an old friend of Nora's, shows up at the Helmers' residence, hoping to convince Torvald to find a job for her at his bank. Torvald does so as a favor to Nora, but to allow for the position he decides to dismiss Krogstad from his post.

Krogstad comes to Nora, asking her to intercede on his behalf to save his job at the bank. Although she tries to do so, Torvald will not alter his decision. When Krogstad threatens to reveal her secret to Torvald, Nora stands her ground, convinced that Torvald loves her so much that he will forgive her transgression and protect her from shame.

Nora considers asking Dr. Rank, a close family friend, for the money to pay off Krogstad, but cannot bring herself to do so, knowing Dr. Rank's feelings towards her.

When faced with the certainty of his dismissal, Krogstad reveals all to Torvald.

Torvald reacts to this revelation, causing Nora to make a monumental decision that marks, to quote Shaw, "the end of a chapter of human history."

AUDITION INFORMATION:

If you are coming to auditions, you may bring a prepared monologue that would give us an idea of your range as an actor. That monologue should, if possible, connect, at least somewhat, to some of the character elements found in "A Doll's House." However, monologues or prepared pieces are NOT mandatory, and it will not be held against an actor if that person chooses not to do a prepared piece.

There will be several different elements in our auditions, not just cold readings from the script. These may include such things as movement activities, emotion activities, etc. We do this because we like to give each actor a chance to show his/her abilities and talents in a number of different ways. We figure it is our only chance to "get it right" as far as casting goes, so we like to cover as many bases as possible, and let every auditioner have a chance to "shine."

It is permissible to attend more than one audition, if you wish. Some attend only one, some come to two, and some come to all three. However, any actor need only attend one audition night to be fully considered for all of the appropriate roles in the show.

Please do not prepare any dialect to use while you are auditioning, as the actors will NOT be using dialects in this production.

If you would like to get more information about the show and/or auditions, please contact director Bob Furino at the phone number or e-mail address above.

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