AUDITIONS FOR “THE MINUTES” BY TRACY LETTS
SUNDAY, JUNE 22 AT 7:00 pm
ACTING ENSEMBLE ON THE AVENUE
Directed by Sarah Myers (if you can’t make it Sunday, contact Sarah at sarmyers3@gmail.com to schedule an alternate audition time. )
One performance only! Tuesday, July 1 at 7:30pm
Staged readings are performed with minimal props, blocking, costumes, etc. and no memorization is necessary. They are performed script in hand.
THE CHARACTERS:
Mr. Peel
Mayor Superba
Ms. Johnson
Mr. Blake
Mr. Breeding
Mr Hanratty
Mr. Assalone
Ms. Innes Older than the others
Ms. Matz
Mr. Oldfield Older than the others
Mr. Carp
This scathing dark comedy about small-town politics and real-world power, from the author of August: Osage County, exposes the ugliness behind some of our most closely-held American narratives while asking each of us what we would do to keep from becoming history’s losers.
What would you do to keep from being the villain in the history books? In the Big Cherry town council meeting, full of backstabbing, personal agendas, and pet peeves, The Minutes explores small town politics and the real-world effects of trying to rewrite history. When Mr. Peel returns to his town council meeting after missing the previous week for his mother’s funeral, he finds things have subtly shifted. Mr. Carp has been removed from the council, and the other council members are keeping tight-lipped about why. The minutes from last week’s meeting, which could potentially shed some light on Mr. Carp’s sudden departure, are unavailable. Tension grows as the council discusses parking spaces, a proposal for renovations to the fountain in the park, the fate of bicycles confiscated by the town’s police force, and the sacred tradition of the Big Cherry Heritage Festival.
“The Minutes is also quite funny, silly even…But the questions Letts poses – what are you willing to do, what are you willing to ignore, what are you willing to forget to preserve your ‘cocoon of comfort’? – are provocative. And perennial.” – Daily Herald
“Certain to be the single work of art that best represents, but will also survive, the Trump era.” – Variety
“Explosive… Deftly captures the tension of patriotic grandiosity and provincial defensiveness found in city halls across the land.” – Chicago Tribune
“Astonishing… a pitch-black comedy about the current state of American politics and the ‘fake news’ elements in our national history… a blood ritual rooted in the more farcical manifestations of local government and parliamentary procedure, and along the way he has explained how some in this country have been brutally sacrificed, and why such sacrifices continue to be sanctioned.” – Chicago Sun-Times
Tracy Letts has been a Steppenwolf ensemble member since 2002. He was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County, which played on Broadway for over a year, following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. August also enjoyed a sold-out engagement at London’s National Theatre and a U.S. National Tour in summer 2009. Other accolades include five Tony Awards (including Best Play), an Olivier Award and six Jeff Awards (including Best Play).
Mr. Letts is also the author of Superior Donuts, which had its world premiere at Steppenwolf in 2008 and opened on Broadway in 2009; Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London.
He has appeared at Steppenwolf in Betrayal, The Pillowman, Last of the Boys, The Pain and the Itch, The Dresser, Homebody/Kabul, The Dazzle, Glengarry Glen Ross (also in Dublin and Toronto), Three Days of Rain, Road to Nirvana, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of The Glass Menagerie. Other Chicago stage credits include The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (A Red Orchid Theatre), Conquest of the South Pole (Famous Door), Bouncers (the Next Lab) and his directorial debut at the Lookingglass Theatre with Great Men of Science Nos. 21 and 22. He also appeared in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton.
Television credits include: The District, Profiler, Prison Break, The Drew Carey Show, Seinfeld and Home Improvement. Film appearances include Guinevere, U.S. Marshals and Chicago Cab.
