AUDITIONS!

Aug. 26 & 27

7 p.m.

Marion Ross Performing Arts Center

147 N. Broadway, Albert Lea

THE STORY
You’ll laugh until your side dish hurts with the hilarious antics and down-to-earth charm! The year is 1969, and the world is a changing. As folks protest the Vietnam War and women are demanding equal pay for equal work, in their small rural Minnesota community, the ladies of the Lutheran church basement kitchen are dealing with changes of their own. The show takes you from serving the high school students at the Luther League banquet to a church-sponsored Missionary Night and the rise and fall of a Vikings’ Super Bowl Sunday. From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen to the young mom-to-be, these women find strength in each other as they deal with the joys and upheavals from below the “House of God.”

WHAT WILL AUDITIONS BE LIKE?
You will sign in and fill out an audition form to tell us about yourself. Don’t worry if you’ve never done this before — experience isn’t required. A script will be given to you at auditions. You can also request a perusal script before auditions at act@actonbroadway.com. You will be asked to read from the script and sing, along with others who are auditioning.  You do not need to attend both audition nights. 

WHAT ROLES ARE AVAILABLE?

• The Pastor: Of indeterminate age. He has been the Pastor at this church for some time and has a wife “half his age.” The ladies have a great deal of respect for the Pastor and tolerate his wife; he is a nice man, if perhaps not a terribly dynamic preacher; he lives a life of service and humility.
• Beverly Signe (Engelson) Hauge: In her early to mid-20s. Signe is a newlywed; after graduating from the “U,” she left home a year ago to move to “the City” with her new husband, Harry; she grew up in this kitchen and has a great deal of affection for the women of the basement; although she is strong-willed, she has a good head on her shoulders and a genuine love for the community.
• Mrs. Elroy Engelson (Karin): In her mid- to late 40s. Karin is Beverly’s mother and is the most fashionable of the ladies and the best cook in the kitchen; she married young, and has always strived to be a good wife and mother; although she appears happy, had she been born in another time, her life might have turned out quite differently. 
• The Widow Snustad (Vivian): In her late 60s. Her husband died very early in their marriage; she is the matriarch of the kitchen and holds tightly to tradition with both hands; the other women get a kick out of her and secretly enjoy watching her squirm a little when she is challenged.
• Mrs. Gilmer Gilmerson (Mavis): In her 50s. She is an able-bodied farm wife. Mavis is extremely good-natured, and often tries to dispel any tension in the kitchen by changing the subject or telling a joke; she knows the lineage of every family in town, and is always willing to pitch in and fix someone’s tractor, peel a potato, or scrub the lutefisk pot; she believes hard work is good for the soul.

WHEN ARE REHEARSALS?
Not long after auditions, rehearsals will be scheduled weeknights, with some weekend involvement closer to the performance dates, which are Oct. 17, 18, 19, 20(M), 23, 24, 25 and 26.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
ACT is a non-profit, volunteer organization providing quality theatre and entertainment for our community. If you’re not interested in being on stage, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in other ways, such as backstage crew, building and painting sets, costumes, props, lights, sound, usher or in the box office. If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information about auditions, contact act@actonbroadway.com.