Casting Calls: 'A Night in the Theatre' and 'The Actor's Nightmare'

M&M Productions at Kelsey Theater will be holding auditions for two one-act plays: "A Night in the Theatre," by Lawrence Casler; and "The Actor's Nightmare," by Christopher Durang. Auditions for both plays are from 1-5 p.m. November 2 and 3.

Auditions will be held behind the theater in the CM building at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Auditionees will need to bring a head shot and a resumé.

"A Night at the Theatre": Margaret and Stanley Locker and their friends, Donna and Walter Pace, are at the theatre for their weekly dose of culture. This week's ordeal is Hamlet. The play consists of their incessant and hilarious chatter about themselves, their children, a dead friend and even occasionally Shakespeare's play. Secrets emerge and friendships unravel amid the audience’s laughter. You may recognize these rude playgoers as the obnoxious people who sometimes sit behind you.

Stanley (40s-50s)	His personality matches his clothes, obnoxious. Acts more knowledgeable than he really is.
Margaret (40s-50s)	Easily distracted, loud, bothersome to others. Doesn’t understand play.
Donna (40s-50s)	Is only there to be with her friends. Not interested in play. Wears “noisy” jewelry.
Walter (40s-50s)	The one who plans these evenings. Tries to explain the play to the others, to no avail.

"The Actor's Nightmare": Having casually wandered on-stage, George is informed that one of the actors, Eddie, has been in a car accident and he must immediately replace him. No one is sure of which play they’re doing, but George (costumed as Hamlet) seems to find himself in the middle of a scene from Private Lives, surrounded by such luminaries as Sarah Siddons, Dame Ellen Terry and Henry Irving. As he fumbles through one missed cue after another, the others shift to Hamlet, then a play by Samuel Beckett, and then a climactic scene from what might well be A Man For All Seasons - by which time the disconcerted George has lost all sense of contact with his fellow performers. Yet, in the closing moments of the play, he rises to the occasion and finally says the right lines, whereupon make-believe suddenly gives way to reality as the executioner's axe (meant for Sir Thomas More) instead sends poor George to oblivion - denying him a well-earned curtain call.

The characters in "The Actor's Nightmare" are George Spelvin, an accountant, age 25-30; Henry Irving, a grand actor, age 40s-50s; Meg, the stage manager, age early 20s-30s; Sarah, a grand actress, age 30s-40s; and Ellen, a not-so-grand actress, age mid-20s to 30s.

Performances for both shows will be at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 and 25, and at 2 p.m. Jan. 26.
To make an appointment, or if you have any questions, call (609)828-6567.