Categorized | Entertainment

Aloha Performing Arts Company holds auditions for British comedy

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Aloha Performing Arts Company’s artistic director, Jerry Tracy, will be holding auditions for “Loot,” an outrageous British farce by the late Joe Orton, on Wednesday evening, March 2, at 6:30 p.m. on stage at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu. Six actors are required: five men and one woman. Auditionees are asked to come prepared with a joke or story to be delivered in the English accent of his or her choice. The audition will also consist of reading from the script and some movement. Prospective cast members should arrive promptly, dress comfortably, and be prepared to stay for at least two hours. A callback audition may be held the following evening if necessary. Rehearsal will begin March 15, and will typically be held Sunday afternoons and Monday through Thursday evenings.

“Loot” is widely considered a comic masterpiece of the modern British stage. Its fiendish and farcical plot involves an inept bank robber, his recently deceased mother, and the storage possibilities of an unoccupied coffin. While much of its action borrows from the conventions of classic farce, its humor sends up the conventions of modern middle class morality with rebellious abandon. Outrageous as it is entertaining, its hilarious depiction of a world gone mad displays Orton’s talent at its subversive best. The London debut of “Loot” was an overwhelming critical success and the play won the Evening Standard Drama Award for Best Play of 1966. It opened on Broadway in March of 1968, and has been a popular regional staple since.

All roles are available, and include:
Mr. McLeavy is an aging, naive soul with an affinity for roses, especially those that are tucked into the various wreaths that greet his wife’s recent death. As honest and respectable as the day is long, Mr. McLeavy is duped into taking the heat for the crimes of everyone around him.

Nurse Fay is the “loyal” and seductive young caretaker of the recently deceased Mrs. McLeavy. She claims to be a strict and practicing Catholic, though she has been through seven husbands in ten years. She tends to those around her wearing one of Mrs. McLeavy’s own dresses and pursues Mr. McLeavy and his bank account with a persistence and vigor than many would consider highly inappropriate.

Hal, the McLeavys’ son, is a common thief who, despite his recent bank heist, is compelled to tell the truth at all times. With a youthful and matter-of-fact charm, he expounds upon his dream to take his newly found wealth and open a brothel unlike any other.

Dennis is Hal’s amoral companion, and is more adept at dealing with authorities and sticky situations than his wide-eyed partner is. Shrewd at manipulating the circumstances around him, Dennis uses his work as an undertaker’s assistant to provide necessary diversions and escape plans. His weakness seems to be Fay, who considers his incipient wealth more seriously than his proclamations of love.

Truscott is an overbearing and shamelessly abusive Scotland Yard Inspector who fancies himself an uncommonly gifted detective. Using only a hat for disguise, Truscott worms his way into the McLeavy household, making bold assumptions and coming to outlandish conclusions every step of the way. Presenting a skewed sense of what is moral in the eyes of the law, Truscott is more easily bought than any of the other characters.

Meadows is a typical London bobby who appears only in the final moments of the play, and who may be used to act as a barker on the street before the performances, or to light-heartedly harass audience members as they enter the theatre.

“Loot” will be presented by the Aloha Performing Arts Company at the historic Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu from April 22 through May 7, 2011. Scripts are available for onsite perusal or can be checked out for a deposit, to be arranged with Sam Valenti or Jill Collier, Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. til 4:00 p.m. For more information, call 322-9924.

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