THEATREOFDARE

Auditions: August 1 & 2 at 6 p.m.

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Performances: September 18, 19, 24, 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m.
September 19 at 1 p.m.
September 20 & 27 at 2 p.m. 

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Theatre of Dare

3848 North Croatan Highway, Kitty Hawk

Individual show tickets go on sale August 28

Harold Ryan is a Hemingway-styled hunter and explorer who disappeared while on an expedition to the Amazon rain forest with his sidekick Looseleaf Harper (the pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki). Finally resigned to her husband’s death after eight years, Penelope Ryan and her twelve-year-old son Paul resume their lives in their Manhattan penthouse apartment where Penelope is being courted by two suitors, peace-loving Dr. Norbert Woodly and hawkish vacuum cleaner salesman Herb Shuttle.

 

When Harold unexpectedly walks in the front door one night (with Harper in tow), he expects life to simply pick up where it left off. He is appalled to discover that his wife and the world at large have changed considerably in his absence.

 

Interspersed throughout the play are discourses about life in heaven and the joys of playing shuffleboard in the afterlife, delivered by Harold's alcoholic third wife, Mildred; ten-year-old Wanda June and Nazi officer Siegfried von Konigswald (the Beast of Yugoslavia), killed by Harold Ryan during the second world war.

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AUDITION INFORMATION:

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Auditions will be held August 1 & 2 at 6 p.m. at the theater. If you'd like to read the script before auditioning, you can find it here.

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ROLES AVAILABLE:

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Penelope Ryan (Female - 20's-40’s) -  Married to Harold at a young age, after his disappearance Penelope is free to dive into more modern and feminized ways of thinking, despite battling with the reputation of her husband. Upon his return, Penelope struggles to retain her independence and intellect over his antiquated and brutish attempts to reclaim her and the life they had.

Paul Ryan (Male - 10-16) - Harold and Penelope’s son. Growing up only hearing stories of the father
he’s never known, Paul is forced to reckon with the harsh realities of a man that is very
different from what he was taught to believe. Perceptive, emotional, and protective of his
mother.

Harold Ryan (Male - 30’s-60’s) - Long lost husband of Penelope’s who was about to be declared dead
after being missing for eight years. Blowhard big game hunter who will hunt anything. A brute.
Returns to find that his life is much different than the way he left it-works to try to reestablish
himself as the macho man of the house.

Colonel Looseleaf Harper (Male - any age) -  Harold’s pilot who crashed with him in the Amazon.
Bumbling, worships every word from Harold. Pitiful, comes off as a bit of a doofus. Harbors guilt
from being the one who dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.

Herb Shuttle (Male - 25-40’s) - Door to door vacuum cleaner salesman. A great admirer of Harold’s
way of thinking. Despises the doctor for his lack of manliness. A suitor of Penelope’s.

Dr. Norbert Woodly (Male -25-40’s) -  Pacifist medical doctor. Intellectual, a modern man who
embodies everything Harold believes is wrong with men these days. A suitor of Penelope’s.

Wanda June (Female - 8-12) A ghost residing in heaven, Wanda provides cheerful commentary about
life back on Earth while playing shuffleboard with her fellow ghosts.

Major Siegfried Von Konigswald (Male - any age) A German officer killed by Harold in World War II.
The “Beast of Yugoslavia” in life. A chipper companion for Wanda in the afterlife.

Mildred (Female - 30’s-60’s) Harold’s ex wife. The third. An alcoholic driven by Harold to drink. A
representation of the damage Harold can do. Also a ghost.