An open call “cold reading” audition for the stage production of the Agatha Christie mystery Appointment with Death will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. July 16-17 at the Plaza Playhouse Theater in Carpinteria, located downtown at 4916 Carpinteria Ave.
Auditions will be on a first come, first serve basis. Actors are asked to bring a theater résumé and a simple headshot. Additionally, they should plan on staying through 9 p.m. It is unnecessary to attend both nights of the auditions. Callbacks are to be decided. The production is slated to run the weekends of Sept. 14 and Sept. 21 at the Plaza Playhouse Theater. This production is for nonunion/community actors only and will be directed by Jim Sirianni.
The cast of characters for Appointment with Death will consist of nine men and seven women. Some actors may be double-cast.
Click here for more information, or call 805.901.3554 or 805.684.6380.
Appointment with Death takes place in 1945, where Jerusalem’s King Solomon Hotel has seen an assorted group of strange travelers staying at the hotel: Lady Westholme and her companion, a young English doctor, Sarah King, and her French colleague, a debonair American and a pugnacious Lancashireman. Another guest, Mrs. Boynton, is a domineering American invalid with four stepchildren.
To the casual onlooker, they are the models of devotion to their mother. However, their façade of devotion masks enough hatred to murder Mrs. Boynton — as could the doctor whose affection for Raymond Boynton is being obstructed by the old lady. When Mrs. Boynton is found dead, all are suspects even though she was ill enough to die a natural death. Just when the tension becomes unbearable, the doctor discovers essential evidence about Mrs. Boynton’s devilish plan to possess and torment the children in death as in life.
» The character of Mrs. Boynton is 50 to 70 years old. She is a vast, domineering (could be obese) woman, rather like an idol, with an expressionless face.
» The character of Ginevra Boynton is 19 to 25 years old. She is Mrs. Boynton’s stepdaughter, and a pretty girl with a lost, vacant expression. She talks to herself and frequently stares off into space.
» The character of Lennox Boynton is in his mid- to late 30s. He is the eldest stepson.
» The character of Nadine Boynton is in her late 20s to mid-30s and is Lennox’s wife. She is a quiet woman and takes care of Mrs. Boynton.
» The character Raymond Boynton is in his mid-20s. He is Lennox’s younger brother and a good-looking young man. While he shares a mutual fondness with Dr. King, his mother’s demands stand in their way.
» The character of Alderman Higgs is in his 40s or 50s. A portly, middle-aged man, he has a broad Lancashire accent.
» The character of Lady Westholme is in her 50s or 60s. She is a large, important-looking British woman, with a very overpowering presence. This is a great character role and provides some comic relief.
» The character of Miss Amabel Pryce is in her 40s to 60s. She is a Welsh woman traveling with Lady Westholme. A typical spinster, she also tends to be very nervous and timid at times.
» The character of Dr. Theodore Gerard is in his mid-30s to 50s. He is a good-looking, middle-aged Frenchman and a colleague of Dr. King.
» The character of Dr. Sarah King is in her mid-20s to early 30s. She is an attractive, decided-looking English girl.
» The character of Jefferson Cope is in his mid-40s. A pleasant, normal, rather old-fashioned American, he tries to encourage the Boynton Family to travel with him to the Ancient City of Petra.
» The character of a Dragoman can be any age. He is a Middle-Eastern servant, interpreter, translator and official guide.
» The character of Colonel Carbery is in his 40s or 50s. A tall, middle-aged Englishman in a Palestine Police uniform, he seems like the “huntin’, shootin’, fishin’ type,” but is disturbingly shrewd.
Other roles include a hotel clerk, an Italian girl (late teens to early 20s) and an Arab boy (12 to 18 years old).
— Amy Orozco is a publicist representing Plaza Playhouse Theater.
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