AUDITIONS: Marvin's Room

Marvin’s Room will have three performances: Friday, December 8, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, December 9, 8:00 p.m. Sunday, December 10, 2:00 p.m.

ABOUT THE SHOW Marvin’s Room takes its title from the space family patriarch Mavin Wakefield spends all the hours of his days, now that he’s reached the end stages of his life’s journey. He and his sister Ruth are tended to by his eldest daughter, Bessie. They’re the unchosen family who chose to remain together. In Ohio, Marvin’s youngest daughter, Lee, is struggling to raise two teenage sons alone - Charlie, a bookworm who’s failing out of school, and Hank, current resident of a detention facility, put there after attempting to burn down the family home. When Bessie is diagnosed with leukemia, she and Lee are forced to reconnect. Might Lee or one of her sons be a match for Bessie’s needed bone marrow transplant? What’s to become of Marvin and Ruth if not? While its themes are tinged with sadness, Marvin’s Room is laugh-out-loud funny and oh-so-wise about how each of us persists - in families we didn’t choose, in bodies that betray us, in lives we don’t recognize, and in the face of each of life’s little and not-so-little indignities and disappointments.

ABOUT AUDITIONS Auditions for Marvin’s Room will be held: Thursday, September 28, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Saturday, September 30, 1:00-3:00 p.m.

There will not be callbacks.

Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. Those who pre-register will be seen before those who walk in. Sides will be given to actors at the audition. If you have a headshot and resume, please bring a copy of each with you. If you do not have a headshot, we may ask to take a photo of you at the audition. This show has a place for performers of all ages. If you’re even considering auditioning, we want to see you there!

AVAILABLE ROLES We are seeking a total cast of ten, to play ages 14-72. All roles are available. If a specific gender identity, age, race, or ethnicity is required/indicated by the script, it has been noted below.

LEAD ROLES

BESSIE: Female, 42, any ethnicity. A fair, patient, caring, single woman who regularly exudes calm in the face of near-constant chaos. Suffering from leukemia.

LEE: Female, 39, any ethnicity. Bessie’s younger sister. A brittle, embittered, uncouth hairdresser and single mother of two, with a long trail of bad choices behind her. Her independence and narcissism are often at war with her circumstances.

HANK: Male, 18, any ethnicity. Lee’s first-born son. A troubled, smart-mouthed fabulist, suffering from depression and anger-management issues. He acts out for attention, but what he really wants is to belong.

SUPPORTING ROLES

RUTH: Female, 70, any ethnicity. Marvin’s younger sister and aunt to Bessie and Lee. A sweet, but doddering and increasingly helpless woman, obsessed with TV soap operas and suffering from years-long back issues.

DR. WALLY: Male, 40s, any ethnicity. The Wakefield’s family doctor. Well-meaning, but easily overwhelmed, forgetful, and inattentive. Equal parts charming and infuriating.

CHARLIE: Male, 14. Lee’s youngest son, Hank’s younger brother. Smart, but shy, bookworm who idolizes his brother, fears his mother, and probably thinks he’s the only normal one in the whole family.

FEATURED ROLES

DR. CHARLOTTE: Female, 30s-40s, any ethnicity. Hank’s psychiatrist. Empathetic, but tough, with years of experience dealing with people and families in various states of crisis. Unflappable and laser-focused. Lee’s polar opposite. (Note: Actor will consistently remain on stage after the character’s first appearance and regularly participate in scene/set changes. Doubles as a Disney theme park character.)

BOB: Male, 30s-40s. Dr. Wally’s younger brother and replacement receptionist at his medical practice. Borderline administratively incompetent, socially awkward, easily distracted, and often in a fog. (Note: Actor will consistently remain on stage after the character’s first appearance and regularly participate in scene/set changes. Doubles as a Disney theme park character.)

RETIREMENT DIRECTOR: Any gender, 30s-60s, any ethnicity. Overworked and impatient director of a mid-tier Florida retirement home. A no-nonsense person nonetheless consistently surrounded by it. (Note: Actor will consistently remain on stage after the character’s first appearance and regularly participate in scene/set changes. Doubles as a Disney theme park character.)

MARVIN: Male, 70s, any ethnicity. Ruth’s older brother and Bessie’s/Lee’s father. Bed-ridden family patriarch in palliative care at home, following a stroke from decades earlier. A wisp of a man. (Note: Actor is on-stage throughout the entirety of the play, never leaving. He has no lines, but will move and verbalize sounds throughout.)