Make way for The Bad Girls of Western Lit!
From Lysistrata to Cleopatra, from Lady MacBeth to A Doll’s House, this City of Fairfax Theatre Company production collects some of the best female-centric stories from theatre history. Auditioning Feb. 5-7, this collection of nasty women and independent ladies (and their male scene partners) will be performing outside at Veterans Amphitheatre in Fairfax, VA for two weekends in May.
Bad Girls is designed to be an actor showcase piece with each performer appearing in one or two scenes. Everyone gets featured within the eight scenes and seven monologues presented.
Time Commitment
Audition Dates:
Wednesday, Feb. 5; 7-9 p.m. (11216 Waples Mill, Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030)
Thursday, Feb. 6; 7-9 p.m. (11216 Waples Mill, Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030)
Friday, Feb. 7; 7-9 p.m. (11216 Waples Mill, Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030)
Callbacks by invitation:
Saturday, Feb. 8; 1-4pm (11216 Waples Mill, Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030)
Read-Through:
Wednesday Feb. 12; 6-9pm (11216 Waples Mill, Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030)
Thursday, Feb. 13; 6-9pm (11216 Waples Mill, Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030)
Rehearsal Schedule:
February 16 to March 20: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday evenings
March 24 to April 17: Monday-Thursday evenings
April 21 to May 2: Monday-Friday, evenings
Saturday Rehearsals: 12-4 on Feb. 22, Mar. 15, Apr. 5, Apr. 19
Weekdays, 7-9 pm (first month) then 7-10 p.m.
Saturdays, 12-4pm (Possible additional dates depending on progress and scheduling)
*Please note that the modular nature of Bad Girls means that we’ll be able to call limited cast members for rehearsals, particularly during the first 5-6 weeks.
Performance Dates:
May 2-4, May 9-11 (Rain date May 8)
Ensemble Expectations:
This is planned as a low-tech show, but we’re expecting a team-based approach to show prep and set-up as the production progresses. At this unique outdoor venue, all cast and crew members are expected to be part of the tech set up and break down each day. Actors should also be prepared for outdoor conditions. More details will be announced as they become available.
What to Prepare
Auditions will consist of monologues and scenes from the show. For scenes, you’ll be matched with another auditionee. Because some performers feel more comfortable working on prepared pieces, we are sharing some of these readings here. Some additional cold readings will also be available.
Everyone will have the opportunity to audition on two monologues or scenes, with additional opportunities as time allows.
We’ll provide you with everything you need for auditions. No preparation work is required from you. That said, if you have a pre-prepared monologue that you’d like to share with us—that’s fine too. We’d love to see it.
Please provide a listing of schedule conflicts. We will attempt to schedule rehearsals around your conflicts early in the process, but this is less feasible as we get closer to performances.
Resumes, headshots are welcome, but not necessary. We’ll have a form that asks about specific skills and experiences.
We are committed to open and inclusive casting of actors of diverse ages, races, ethnicities, genders, body types, and abilities. Due to the gender politics in the text, most roles will be presented as their written genders. However, we encourage trans, cis, and nonbinary performers to audition for any roles as we are open to fluidity in casting. Start the conversation on your audition form and we will continue talking to you about it during casting and rehearsal.
Some advice for auditions:
This is being planned for an outdoor performance, which requires a larger scope and volume than a proscenium or black box stage. For this type of performance, we want to be sure that you can fill up a stage, so don’t be afraid to go big during auditions.
When selecting scenes and monologues, try to provide a contrast. Preferably, we’d like to see everyone try one scene and one monologue. Alternatively, the preference would be to see you try out one comedic piece and one dramatic piece so we can gauge your strengths.
Have fun. No matter what the result is, we’re here to have a good time and we want you to succeed.
Character List
Some role doubling very likely.
Transitions
NARRATOR ONE (Female presenting teen or young adult). One of three narrators that set up and critique each scene. Narrator One (The Maiden) is a young narrator, who often takes a silly or romantic view of the action.
NARRATOR TWO (Female presenting adult). One of three narrators that set up and critique each scene. Narrator Two (The Mother) is often the voice of reason, but has some good comedic material.
NARRATOR THREE (Female presenting mature adult). One of three narrators that set up and critique each scene. Narrator Three (The Matriarch) is unsentimental and more than a bit brassy.
Lysistrata
LYSISTRATA (Female presenting adult). Haughty and passionate, Lysistrata is an Athenian woman with a daring plan to stop the wars that the men of Greece have been waging. The question is whether she can enlist her fellow women in the plot.
CALONICE, MYRRHINE, LAMPITO & Other Women of Athens (Female presenting individuals of varying age). These women of Athens and Sparta are called to a secret meeting by Lysistrata.
Antigone
ANTIGONE (Female presenting teen or young adult). With two brothers killed in the Theban civil war, Antigone is ready to risk the king’s displeasure or even death to ensure both brothers have a decent burial.
ISMENE (Female presenting teen or young adult). Ismene is Antigone’s sister. In mourning over her lost brothers, she doesn’t believe that she has any power to challenge the government rule.
Antony and Cleopatra
CLEOPATRA (Female presenting adult 30+). Cleopatra is the queen of Egypt and the lover of Marc Anthony, part of the leadership in the Roman Empire. When she learns that Anthony has accepted a political marriage, she takes her rage out on the court.
MESSENGER (Male presenting teen or adult). A Roman messenger who has the misfortune of delivering bad news to the queen of Egypt. From there, he just has to stay alive.
CHARMIAN (Female presenting adult 30+) Charmian is the loyal servant and advisor of Cleopatra. She does her best to guide the queen and soften her rage.
ATTENDANTS (Any gender, various ages). This scene in the Egyptian palace includes guards and courtiers.
Macbeth
LADY MACBETH (Female presenting adult 30+). Having learned of a prophecy that her husband will become king, this Scottish lady pushes her husband into murder and sets in to keep him from backing out of the plan.
MACBETH (Male presenting adult 30+). A Scottish lord, he vacillates between planning murder and backing out of the scheme.
The Taming of the Shrew
KATHARINA (Female presenting adult 20+) A young Italian lady, Kate is a wild child. Hostile to her family and suitors alike, she finds herself pursued by a man who ignores her protestations.
PETRUCHIO (Male presenting adult 20+). Brought in by the family as a suitor for Kate, Petruchio attacks romance like a bulldozer, ignoring any reticence in his goal to make her his wife.
BIANCA (Female presenting teen or young adult). Kate’s younger sister is popular among suitors in the city and is desperate to find her sister a husband so she can marry herself.
Tartuffe
MARIANE (Female presenting teen or young adult). An extremely weepy young maiden, Mariane finds herself torn from her true love when her father orders her married to a suspicious French noble.
VALERE (Male presenting teen or young adult). Mariane’s true love, Valere finds himself upset to distraction when his fiancée is forced into an engagement to another man.
DORINE (Female presenting adult). A household maid in a noble French house, she takes pity on a pair of young lovers and helps them avoid an unwanted marriage.
She Stoops to Conquer
KATE HARDCASTLE (Female presenting teen or young adult). This rich Englishwoman goes undercover as a maid in order to get to know the man sent to court her.
MARLOW (Male presenting teen or young adult). A shy Englishman, he finds himself only comfortable around lower class women.
MAID (Female presenting adult) The maid who helps Kate Hardcastle pretend to be part of the household staff.
A Doll’s House
NORA (Female presenting adult 30+). This housewife survives a blackmail attempt, but then
comes to realize that she has been living an unrealized life. To be true to herself, she has to
leave her home.
TORVALD (Male presenting adult 30+), The mood of Nora’s husband shifts from outrage to
sadness as Nora announces her intention to leave him.
MAID (Female presenting teen or adult). One of the household servants in Nora and Torvald’s house.
Monologues
ADAM (Male presenting teen or adult) The first man finds himself annoyed with his new companion in Mark Twain’s The Diary of Eve.
ANGELICA (Female presenting adult). From Aphra Behn’s The Rover, Angelica accuses her former lover of stripping her of her self-respect.
EVE (Female presenting teen or adult.) The first woman discusses how she’s stepped in to help out in Mark Twain’s The Diary of Eve.
MABEL (Female presenting teen or adult). From Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, Mabel is an English maiden who laments the constant marriage proposals that she’s been receiving.
MEDEA (Female presenting adult). Having been betrayed by her husband, this Greek princess, plans her horrid revenge against her enemies.
PIERIA (Female presenting teen or adult). Reading Pieria’s Rose by Sappho, Pieria ponders how art transcends time.
WIFE OF BATH (Female presenting mature adult). A domineering and bawdy older woman, the Wife of Bath shares an experience or two from her five marriages. Her tale was among the most popular part of Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales.”
WOMAN OF ATHENS (Female presenting adult) From Thesmophoriazusae by Aristophanies, this Athenian woman has had enough of Euripides as his portrayals of women. It cramps her style. The answer is to have him killed.
Onstage Intimacy
This is not a particularly carnal show, but we will have an intimacy choreographer available, particularly early on, to discuss setting boundaries and consent lines for mild physical interactions (an embrace, holding hands, etc.).
Stage Combat
There is no physical combat in the show, like a fistfight or swordplay, but there are some beats that are more like physical comedy and clowning.
Cleopatra gets physically abusive with the Messenger in Antony and Cleopatra.
Katarina and Petruchio have a lot of physical interaction in Taming of the Shrew.