Oh my goodness, was that ever painful! I know…the long wait was painful too. It speaks well for FPD Theatre that we had so many talented auditionees. This was one of the hardest casting jobs of my career.
Many of you had your strongest auditions ever. Unfortunately, I could not recognize all of the great auditions with a place in the cast. I regret that greatly. Remember that being cast in a play is a combination of several factors: quality and preparation of audition, how well you fit the role, and (to a lesser extent) past experience and service. I once was told by a director that I had the strongest audition of all of the men for a production of Show Boat. However, I was not cast. Why? I did not look old enough in the director’s opinion to play any role. That was a hard lesson for me to learn.
I respect you all greatly. I understand disappointment in not being cast – but DO NOT be discouraged. You all deserve a place on this stage. I honestly believe that.
I enlarged the ensemble slightly to bring in a few more deserving performers to the cast. I only did that after finding some clever uses for the ensemble in previous productions of Learned Ladies. While you will not have the lines that I know you would have preferred, I promise you a great time on stage.
Understudies: this is not some hollow placement. I only cast you as an understudy if I felt confident that you could actually play the role – and play it well. I am pondering an understudy performance – no promises, but I’m working on it. (You’ll notice that my alter ego, Robert Genesius, horned in on the understudy fun too!)
First rehearsal: Monday, April 7 5:30-8:30 PM. Bring a pencil!
Cast of Characters
(in order of appearance)
Belise
Jenni Seale
HenrietteJessica Fleming
ArmandeKristen Oetter
ClitandreJake Adams
AristeChad Gainey
ChrysaleRyan Fleming
Belise’s SuitorsJeremy Bullard
MartineVictoria Wicker
PhilamenteAnna Tankard
LepineMatt Doremus
TrissotinJoseph Whidby
VadiusJeremy Greene
JudgeEmily Albright
Servants
Colby Watson, Adriana Figueroa, Meredith Pierce,
Olivia Newsome, India Echols, Anna Gainey,
Melissa Tate, Kristen Hobbs
Understudy Cast
BeliseMeredith Pierce
HenrietteAdriana Figueroa
ArmandeColby Watson
MartineTBA
PhilamenteOlivia Newsome
ClitandreJeremy Bullard
AristeMatt Doremus
ChrysaleJeremy Greene
TrissotinRobert M. Genesius
