STANDISH — Schoolhouse Arts Center (SAC) is announcing auditions for “Harvey,” the first production of the 2018 season, directed by Chris Roberts and assistant directed by Hollie Pryor.
When Elwood P. Dowd starts to introduce his imaginary friend Harvey, a six-and-a-half-foot invisible rabbit, to guests at a party, his sister Veta has seen as much of his eccentric behavior as she can tolerate. She decides to have him committed to a sanitarium to spare her daughter, Myrtle Mae, from future embarrassment.
Problems arise when Veta is mistakenly assumed to be on the verge of lunacy when she explains to doctors that living with Elwood’s hallucination have caused her to see Harvey also! The doctors commit Veta instead of Elwood, but when the truth comes out, the search is on for Elwood and his invisible companion. When he arrives at the sanitarium looking for his lost friend Harvey, Veta realizes that maybe Harvey isn’t so bad after all.
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Be prepared to list any conflicts. Auditions will be held at Schoolhouse Arts Center, 16 Richville Road, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, and 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10.
Call backs will be held from 3 to 5 p.m Sunday, Feb. 11. Performances will take place April 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22.
The center is seeking to cast six male actors, ages late teens through 50 or older, and six female actors, late teens through 60 or older. Roles include:
Elwood P. Dowd: The central character of the play, a friendly eccentric who spends his days and nights in the taverns of his unnamed town. Elwood’s best friend is Harvey, an invisible six and a half-foot-tall rabbit.
Veta Louise Simmons: Elwood’s sister, who is becoming undone by her brother’s relationship with the invisible Harvey. She decides to have Elwood committed to a sanitarium to spare the family any further embarrassment. However, the easily flustered Veta ends up being committed herself when she confesses that she too feels that she sometimes “sees” Harvey.
Myrtle Mae Simmons: Myrtle lives with her widowed mother Veta in her Uncle Elwood’s home. Unmarried and eager to meet eligible men but believes her uncle’s peculiar behavior is ruining her chances.
Ethel Chauvenet: An old friend of the family. She is a member of the town’s social circle, which Veta wants her daughter Myrtle Mae to break into.
Betty Chumley: More concerned with socializing than with science: told that her husband has to examine a patient, she tells him, “Give a little quick diagnosis, Willie — we don’t want to be late to the party.” Dr. Chumley’s wife.
Dr. William B. Chumley: An esteemed psychiatrist and the head of the sanitarium, Chumley’s Rest, to which Veta has Elwood taken. He is a difficult, exacting man, feared by his subordinates, unwilling to tolerate his mistakes.
Judge Omar Gaffney: an old family friend of the Dowds, a representative of the people in town who are accustomed to seeing Elwood talking to Harvey and who do not think anything of it.
Nurse Ruth Kelly: An attractive young nurse with a crush on the handsome but obtuse psychiatrist Dr. Sanderson. She is charmed by Elwood’s courtly ways.
Dr. Lyman Sanderson: Young, but very qualified psychiatrist. Dr. Chumley has picked him out of the 12 possible assistants that he tried. He is just as infatuated with Nurse Kelly as she is with him, but he only reveals his concern indirectly.
Wilson: The muscle of Chumley’s Rest, a devoted orderly responsible for handling the patients who will not cooperate voluntarily.
E. J. Lofgren: Lofgren is the cab driver who regularly takes patients to and from Chumley’s Rest — and sees the negative results.
Cateress/Maid: Works for the Simmons household.
For more information, visit www.schoolhousearts.org or email Directors Chris Roberts at chrisroberts.me@gmail.com or Hollie Pryor at hollie.pryor29@yahoo.com.
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