Univerisity-Wits-Audition-Form
Audition dates: August 26 1-4 PM 27 6-9 PM
Callbacks: August 28 7-9 PM if needed
Location St Peter and Paul School
Prepare to read from scripts. Sides will be available at the auditions. Please feel free to come to both days of auditions.
Rehearsal dates will be 8/28/2018 – 10/11/2018
Performances be 10/12/2018-10/21/2018
Please bring any conflicts
The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard
The Real Inspector Hound is a one-act play modeled as a ludicrous parody of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit. It is considered one of Tom Stoppard’s early works, and most closely resembles the storyline of Agatha Christie’s 1952 play The Mousetrap.
The play is actually a play-within-a-play: the main characters are theater critics watching a play, and the plot consists of both the narrative arc of the critics, and the narrative arc of the play they are reviewing.
Character List
Moon (Male or Female, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
A second-string theater critic, called to review the play in the absence of Higgs, the first-string critic. Moon feels diminished by his role as “understudy”. His existence — not just in the theater world, but in the world more generally — hinges on the absence of Higgs. Seated next to his colleague Birdboot, Moon soliloquizes about the meaning of his life and occasionally uses his ‘public voice’ to offer bombastic analyses of the parlor mystery. Mostly, he fantasizes about the death of Higgs. By the end of the play, he is literally caught up in the murder mystery production that he is supposed to be reviewing.
Birdboot (Male, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
A renowned theater critic and rumored womanizer, Birdboot catapults young actresses to stardom by delivering dazzling reviews in return, we assume, for sexual favors. He is married to Myrtle but is having an affair with the actress who plays Felicity in the play-within-a-play. Like Moon, Birdboot becomes literally caught up in the play that he is supposed to be reviewing.
Mrs. Drudge (Female, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
The maid of Muldoon Manor. Her cockney accents adds humor, and she is one of the primary vehicles for emphasizing the satirical nature of the play. She is the only character who does not make a death threat at Muldoon Manor. Her name is appropriate, as “drudge” means a person made to do hard, menial, or dull work.
Simon Gascoyne (Male, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
New to the neighborhood, Simon has had affairs with both Felicity and Cynthia. He takes an instant dislike to Magnus, as they are both in love with Cynthia. His physical features match those of the madman on the loose, and at times he is the primary suspect of the investigation in the play-within-a-play.
Felicity Cunningham (Female, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
A beautiful, innocent, young friend of Cynthia’s who has had an affair with Simon. The actress that plays Felicity has had an affair with Birdboot. She is seemingly sweet and charming, but when Simon flirts with Cynthia, she lobs death threats at him. The name Felicity — meaning intense happiness — is ironic since she spends most of the play either sad or fearful.
Cynthia Muldoon (Female, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
Cynthia is the widow of Lord Albert Muldoon who disappeared ten years ago. She claims to be very upset about her husband’s disappearance but also flirts with the men at Muldoon Manor and has become involved in a budding affair with Simon Gascoyne. A sophisticated and beautiful woman in her thirties, men find her irresistible.
Major Magnus Muldoon (Male, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
Lord Albert Muldoon’s crippled half-brother who has just arrived from Canada. He vocalizes his desire for his late half-brother’s widow, Cynthia, and takes an instant dislike to Simon, who is also in love with Cynthia. He is grouchy and thick-skinned.
Inspector Hound (Male or Female played as male, any ethnicity)(Age Any)
Hound appears in the middle of the play to investigate an alleged phone call. His character takes its inspiration from Hound of the Baskervilles, the third of four crime novels featuring Sherlock Holmes and published in 1902. In that novel, the legend of a “fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin” inspires a murder. The title of the play leads us to believe that Inspector Hound is not who he says he is.
Tickets available here
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-real-inspector-hound-tickets-49132259912
