The Maggie Tree is holding auditions for their production of the world premiere of Belinda Cornish’s new play, Category E, which will run in Edmonton, AB, April 10-18, 2015.
Auditions: Saturday, November 8th, 2014: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Varscona Theatre in Edmonton, AB. To arrange an audition time, please contact Kristi Hansen at kristi@themaggietree.com
Rehearsal Dates: March 9-31, 2015
Tech Dates: April 1-10, 2015
Run: April 9 (preview) April 10-18, 2015
*All CAEA members will be contracted through the CAEA Artists’ Collective Policy.
Present at the audition: Nancy McAlear (director), Belinda Cornish (playwright), Vanessa Sabourin (Co-Artistic Director of The Maggie Tree), and Kristi Hansen (Co-Artistic Director of The Maggie Tree).
Category E Synopsis:
Two individuals in a white cell with two beds, two chairs. One is a half-blind paraplegic. The other might be a clinical psychopath. A third individual arrives. It is clear that this is a different world, and these three individuals are people – or some version of people – and that testing – cosmetic and medical – is now done on humans, selected through a eugenics program. The individuals, now sterilized (their bodies property of the state) no longer have a gender. Over the course of the play, they converse in pleasant banalities, or fight over territorial things like a bed or food, and are meanwhile called away intermittently, then return, usually in a state worse than that in which they left, and they don’t remember what happened. There is no malice in the actions of the unseen scientists. They are simply using what they perceive as a lesser organism to service the higher life forms – in this case, the people of greater intelligence.
Within 36 hours, it will come to pass that there will be only two again. In the meantime, they will play monopoly, try to figure out who’s next door, and do their best not to kill each other.
Character Breakdowns (all roles to be filled by female actors for this production):
Corcoran
40s
Tired, laconic and wry. Curmudgeonly.
Has high intelligence and compassion buried deep.
It is wheelchair bound, and only has the use of one eye.
Millet
20s-30s
Gregarious and friendly, with youthful, punchy energy.
Terribly afraid of being seen as stupid.
Filigree
Should read early 20s, at oldest.
Charming, impetuous, driven by instinct, creature curiosity.
It may or may not be a clinical psychopath.
The characters may be either male or female, and are never referred to by gender.
Corcoran and Millet have British accents
Filigree could have a British accent
History of the Maggie Tree (producing company)
The Maggie Tree is an independent, Edmonton-based theatre company whose mandate is to support the development and visibility of women in creative leadership roles in the arts. The company was launched in 2007 by professional actors Vanessa Sabourin and Kristi Hansen, and has produced seven productions, three of which are new scripts by Canadian playwrights (Beth Graham, Trevor Schmidt, and Jill Connell). The Maggie Tree has won three Sterling awards for Outstanding Independent Production (A Life in the Day; Folie à Deux; and Hroses: An Affront to Reason); Two Sterling nominations for Outstanding Independent Production (Shatter & Age of Arousal); Sterling nominations for the work by individual artists involved: Outstanding Direction (Sandra Nicholls – Folie à Deux), Outstanding New Work (Jill Connell – Hroses: An Affront to Reason, Beth Graham – A Life in the Day); Outstanding Set Design (Tessa Stamp – Hroses: an Affront to Reason); Outstanding Sound Design/Composition (Aaron Macri – Hroses: An Affront to Reason and Monstrosities); Outstanding Video Design (T Erin Gruber – Monstrosities); Outstanding Performance by an Actress (Vanessa Sabourin – Folie à Deux, Shannon Blanchet – Shatter), and Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Sandra Nicholls – Shatter). The Maggie Tree continues to provide opportunities for women to work together, and share universal stories through a female perspective for a non-gender specific audience. You can visit www.themaggietree.com for more information.