AUDITION INFO
AUDITION NOTES
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For auditions, please review the character descriptions and prepare 1-2 of the provided audition sides. You do not need to memorize the script, but we would like to see strong choices about your character and their objectives/motivations. We will help you find a reading partner at the audition.
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Actors will also be coached through some improvisation and physical exercises so we can assess potential for creative movement.
TENTATIVE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
- Monday & Wednesday evenings
- Sunday afternoons (in February; will add a 4th rehearsal day in March).
- You may not be called to every rehearsal.
- Tech rehearsals will be March 23-27 and should be a scheduling priority.
AUDITIONS
Hattie Big Sky
Performance Dates: March 28-30 and April 4-6
Directed by Cassy Maxton
Adapted with permission from the novel by Kirby Larson
Hattie Big Sky is based on the 2006 Newberry Honor young adult novel of the same name by Kirby Larson. Loosely based on the experiences of the author’s great-grandmother, it tells the story of 16-year-old Hattie Inez Brooks, an orphan from Iowa who leaps at the chance to claim her deceased uncle’s Montana homestead.
Set in 1917, the novel interweaves the challenges of prairie life with snapshots of the American home front during WWI. Hattie struggles not only to fence, plant, and harvest in order to “prove up” on her claim and thus make it her own but also to discover who she truly is and where she belongs. We see Hattie’s innermost emotions and struggles through her letters to her best friend, Charlie, who is fighting overseas, and through the articles she begins to write for her hometown newspaper.
Though an orphan, Hattie is quickly embraced by the neighboring Mueller family. This friendship opens her eyes to the pain caused by the prevailing anti-German sentiment and encourages her to take a stand against it. Another neighbor, the handsome Traft Martin, seems charming and helpful, but his activities with the Council of Defense leave Hattie with a sense of unease. Hattie, who until now never had much agency in her own life, learns who her true friends are as she experiences both the joys and sorrows of life on the prairie. When her dreams of making the claim a home of her own crumble, Hattie must overcome her grief and open herself up to new possibilities.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
- HATTIE INEZ BROOKS – age 16, orphan, lost her father to a mining accident when she was two, her mother died of pneumonia when she was five, came to live with Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt when she was 13. She loves to read novels and play baseball (she’s a southpaw), is very independent, and she doesn’t like being beholden to anyone.
- CHARLIE HAWLEY – age 18, Hattie’s best friend in Arlington. Just left to fight in WWI. Very likeable. Excited at the initial prospect of fighting but grows disillusioned by the realities for war.
- MRS. PERILEE JOHNSON MUELLER – late 20’s-early 30’s, Hattie’s new neighbor, warm, friendly, welcoming, motherly, has a young baby, FERN, in addition to her other two children. Walks with a slight limp. She is newly pregnant at the beginning of the play, and her pregnancy will become more visible until the baby is born in Act II.
- MR. KARL MUELLER – early to mid-30’s, German immigrant, PERILEE’s husband and stepfather to her children. Steady, loves his family, very kind and helpful to HATTIE, especially with her farm work. Uncomfortable speaking English in front of strangers for fear of making a mistake. Will speak some German and have a German accent (coaching provided).
- CHASE MUELLER – age 8-11, very smart, loves to read and invent things, very helpful around the farm.
- MATTIE MUELLER – age 6-8, a chatterbox, carries her ragged and well-loved rag doll, Mulie.
- MS. LEAFIE PURVIS – late 40’s-early 50’s, a tough, no-nonsense homesteader, she also does all the doctoring in the area.
- MR. TRAFT MARTIN – early 20’s, handsome, charming, leader of the Council of Defense. His family owns one of the most successful ranches in the area. He believes firmly that all of his actions are right and patriotic.
- UNCLE HOLT – 40’s, a distant cousin of HATTIE’S, owns a general store in Arlington, Iowa, more supportive of HATTIE than his wife is.
- AUNT IVY – 40’s, Not an aunt at all, just married to UNCLE HOLT. Nosey, self-righteous, thinks Hattie is too prideful. This actress will join the ensemble after the prologue.
- ENSEMBLE – all ages; including MRS. MARTIN (Traft’s mother), MR. EBGARD (the claims officer), MR. HANSON & MR. NEFZGER (shop keepers); will also play train passengers and various townspeople in Wolf Creek & Vida. Most members of the ensemble will have speaking lines.