HALF AND HALF

In Half and Half, author James Sherman explores marriages past and present in two related acts. In the first act, set at breakfast on the first Earth Day in 1970, the bread-winner husband (Stewart) reads the newspaper as his homemaker wife (Susan) dutifully fries the eggs. Their daughter (Lucy) readies herself for a school day in typical teen fashion. However, we notice a subtle but growing undercurrent of activism in the two females. In act two, a generation later, again at breakfast, a career-driven wife (Lucy, now an attorney) reads the paper, and her stay-at-home husband (Jeremy) prepares a frittata. The same three actors portray the age-appropriate roles in each act, creating an interesting parallel between the two generations, making for a very poignant comedy about marriage. With a unique comic insight, the show looks at how husbands and wives accept and reject their roles, and how their roles might just be cycling back.

Auditions

February 18 and 19, 7:00 PM

Royal Off-the-Square Theatre, 121 W. Walnut St., Brownstown

Show dates: April 26, 27, May 3, 4

Three actors are to be cast: a woman 30s-40s; a man 30s-40s; a girl, about 17. The woman plays Susan in act one, and the grown-up Lucy in act two. The man plays Stewart in act one and Jeremy in act two. The teenager plays Lucy in act one, and Katie in act two. Telephone conversations between the adult Lucy and her mother Susan knit the two acts together.

We do hope that lots of you in the appropriate age ranges will come to audition. Though there are only three parts, please come if you are at all interested. Having a good number of people trying out enables the director to assemble the cast with the perfect ingredients. And though the cast is small, we will need several back-up crew members, since the set, hairstyles, and costumes have to move forward by 25 years between acts. We will also need tech people for sound and lights. Experience is not necessary, coaching provided!

Joel McGill is directing. No preparation for auditions is necessary. If you want to read the script, please let us know (mail@jcct.org or 812-358-5228). Please bring a list of any dates that would conflict with rehearsals, which will probably be Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays (but flexible). And of course, be sure that you are available on all the show dates. We look forward to seeing you!

For insurance reasons, all involved in a show are required to be members of JCCT. If you are not currently a member, you will have an opportunity to join (for as little as $5) at the first rehearsal.

If you are not an appropriate age for one of the parts, please consider an offstage job. And as always, feel free to post this notice at school, work, church, or forward it on to anyone that might be interested.