Spotlight Theater

Spotlight Theater Studio
22032 Howell Dr.

New Lenox

Illinois

60451

Non-Equity

Small stipend

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Monologues are welcomed but not required.

Monday, November 14th and Tuesday, November 15th from 6:30-10:00 P.M. (no appointments necessary)

3 rehearsals a week; dates to be announced after auditions (based on availability of those cast).

January 20th–22nd & 27th–29th
(with the possibility of an extension).

More details are available at Spotlight-Theater.com, facebook.com/SpotlightTheater; or by emailing the director, Nicole Fleming, at nicolethedramachick@yahoo.com
or by calling our hotline at 708-941-8294.

Simon’s story centers around Jake, a novelist who is more successful with fiction than with life. Jake, facing a marital crisis and a bout of writer’s block, submerges himself in daydreams about the women in his life. His wildly comic and sometimes moving flashbacks, fantasies and delusions are played out on the stage and are frequently interrupted by visitations from women in the real world. The persistence of the women of his mind, who seem to have been given a will of their own by his writer’s imagination, eventually put Jake in the position of trying to deal with them at the same time as he is carrying on a conversation with the real women, all the while desperately trying to avoid having the appearance of someone who has completely lost his mind. Jake's women include a revered first wife who was killed years earlier in an accident, his daughter who is recalled as a child but in reality, is now a young woman, his boisterous and bossy sister, an opinionated analyst, his current wife who is leaving him for another man, and a prospective third wife. Audiences will find themselves in for a rare treat as they watch Jake sort out his problems (and his women!) in an attempt to make his life work in the real world, fighting off the fear that he can only survive in a world of fiction and fantasy…

A cast of 8 is required including 1 role for a man (character age range: 40-60), and 7 roles for women (characters’ age range: 10-70). (Characters’ ages do not have to be actors' actual ages, and all ethnicities are encouraged to apply).

Character Descriptions:

Men:
Jake: (character age range: 40-60) A witty, neurotic, successful writer, with a Woody Allen-esque personality who is in the grips of a midlife crisis and who would rather observe his life than live it. Though somehow a magnet for delightful women, he holds the world at arm’s length and is no good at intimacy. Body type can range from Woody Allen to George Clooney. Acting and comic timing will be the primary consideration.

Women:
Maggie: (character age range: 30-50) Jake’s current wife: a matter-of-fact, career-oriented, athletic, classy woman who loves Jake deeply but cannot deal with his inability to communicate with her as a real person. She exists in “real time” as well as in Jake’s imagination, and the actress must be able to shift subtly between the two.

Julie: (character age range: 20-35) Jake’s idolized, late, first wife and mother of Molly, who appears in Jake’s imagination both at age 21 and 35. Vibrant personality. Jake tries to idealize her, but as the play progresses, she demands to be remembered as she was when alive: the real version, not the fantasy. As he loses control of his characters, she begins to gain strength.

Karen: (character age range: 30-55) Jake’s divorced sister and a graduate from NYU film school. Quirky and cynical, she shares Jake’s wit and attention to detail.

Edith: (character age range: 35-70) Jake’s analyst; smart, sarcastic, takes no bull, but sincerely wants to help Jake.

Sheila: (character age range: 30-50) Jake’s new girlfriend; attractive, eager to please, but overwhelmed by Jake’s neurotic intensity. She is the only woman Jake does not create in his mind.

Young Molly: (character age range: 10-15) Jake’s daughter at age 12. Precocious, loving, and intelligent, she is the image of the perfect child. Role open to children or young-looking actresses.

Older Molly: (character age range: 18-25) Jake’s daughter at age 21. Intelligent, and eager, she is a college student who longs to know more about her late mother.