The Aloha Performing Arts Company will hold open auditions for volunteer actors/readers for its 19th annual Original Play Festival at 6:30 p.m. July 16 and 17 at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu. Six directors will be casting more than 40 roles in the six plays chosen for the festival, and first-time actors are encouraged to audition.
“OPF XIX” performance week is scheduled for Aug. 22 through 25. Each play of the festival will have five rehearsals, generally on the same night of the week as the performance. Rehearsals will begin July 18. The festival has traditionally served as a proving ground for new theater participants. It features new, unpublished scripts presented in staged reading format, so line memorization is not required.
The festival opens Aug. 22 with “The Death of Roland Baker,” by Peter Van Dyke of Honaunau, directed by Robin O’Hara. This show is a comic drama about a Hollywood film crew’s encounters with a Hawaiian family in South Kona. The crew sets up in the family’s yard and what starts as an exciting interaction between two cultures soon becomes more like annoying relatives who overstay their welcome. The Hawaiian family consists of the grandparents, a tutu and old-school kanaka maoli who both speak pidgin, two men and one woman in their 40s, one woman in her early 20s and a 19-year-old man. The Hollywood crew consists of a narrator who is a mature man with the look and sound of an old time Hollywood insider; a movie star in his 60s; a sound man in his 30s; and an assistant producer in his 20s.
Aug. 23 features a triple bill. First up is “The Line Up” by Jerry-Mac Johnston of Springfield, Mo., directed by Miguel Montez. This show is a one-act comedy about life, death, old friends, the vagaries of memory and the Great American Pastime. It features three men: two who can play elderly characters and one in his 20s. “I Can Hear You,” by Captain Cook playwright John Holliday is up next, directed by Karen Barry. Two older women share a hospital room in a rehab facility. One is sullen and sarcastic, the other is perky and slightly strange. The cast also includes two younger women, who are nurses at the facility. The third play of the evening will be “Rest in Peace, Woody Block,” by Ocean View’s Dick Hershberger, directed by Sue Boyum. Comedy ensues as mourners gather to pay their final respects to the title character. The cast consists of seven women ages 20 to 60-plus and seven men ages 20 to 60-plus.
The Aug. 24 offering is “Fat Man,” a tragi-comedy exploring the dynamics of intimate heterosexual relationships and the merits of frying chicken in lard. The play, which contains adult themes and language, was written by Suzanne Bailie of Seattle, and will be directed by Sara Hagen. Five actors are needed, three females and two males. Each character is broken in some major way. Hank is obese and sedentary, which may be achieved by costuming magic. Mother is deliciously and inappropriately raunchy. Janice is a kind-hearted pushover. Elliot is a sweet stalker with a secret. Mary Catherine is religious and judgmental. All characters are somewhere between 30 and 50.
The festival’s final play is “Dream Date” by Dan Borengasser of Springdale, Ark., directed by Felicity Johnson. In this mysterious comedy, a man and a woman meet for the first time in a dream and are so taken with each other they are eager to reconnect in future dreams. They do, but they also discover they have real lives that they hate, and they become obsessed with separating the two forms of existence. Wayne and Brenda are in their 20s or 30s, and the cast also includes a 30- to 50-year-old waiter who also plays Death, and an older African-American man, Charles, who is in his 40s or 50s.
All festival scripts are available for perusal by arrangement with the APAC office, or online at alohatheatre.com. Those auditioning are asked to arrive on time and be prepared to stay at least 90 minutes. Attendance on both nights is ideal, but not required. Auditions will consist of readings from the scripts in turns. No experience is necessary, and newcomers are welcome. The time commitment for each staged reading will consist of five rehearsals plus the performance, with no memorization required.
Crew positions are also available.
For more information, call 322-9924.