#2021 Auditions
Canberra REP regularly has six shows each calendar year for which we hold open Auditions. During 2021 we are producing 7 shows.
If you have any questions please email or call
.
dates subject to change*
Canberra REP launched its 2021 season in October 2020.
As auditions are set we will publish information on this page.
The next production to audition will be Cosi directed by Sophie Benassi.
Cosi is a heart-warming and hilarious comedy set in a mental health facility.
It’s 1971 and Australia is protesting the Vietnam War, however, inside the hospital the patients are listening to Mozart, learning their lines and occasionally skipping their medication. It’s art, its mayhem and it’s a wonderful rollercoaster up until opening night.
Cosi is based on Nowra’s own experience of directing a play in a mental health facility in the 70’s. With its crew of loveable characters brought to life by an outstanding ensemble cast, Cosi is a joyous evening celebrating the power of music, art and community.
Lewis: a character whose experiences very closely resemble those of Louis Nowra himself. Unlike the majority of the other characters, Lewis is not a patient in a mental health facility but, as the show progresses, Lewis comes to see that the line between what society considers mentally ill and mentally healthy is a little more arbitrary than he first thought.
Justin: a symbol for the overworked and under resourced public health sector. He is well-meaning and cares about his charges but, due to his workload, is not always as effective as he could be.
Lucy: Lewis’ established girlfriend and anti-Vietnam activist.
Nick: Nick, a confident and controlling director who talks the talk but doesn’t always walk the walk.
Zac: represents pure creative energy: brilliant but unpredictable.
Ruth: a woman obsessed with numbers and order. Ruth’s preoccupation with what’s real and what’s “pretend” is a wry statement in a play that, in many ways, troubles the line between fact and fiction.
Julie: a woman who struggles with addiction.
Roy: a stubborn fantasist who’s obsessed with Mozart. Roy might be a pain in the side of many of the characters but he’s also a powerful and unrelenting reminder of the power of imagination and art to effect real change in the world.
Doug: A pyromaniac with a ruthless wit, Doug causes plenty of problems for the other characters, but he also manages to access a surprisingly sympathetic space: the misunderstood product of a stigmatising system.
Henry: To say that Henry is a man of few words would be an understatement. A deeply introverted man, Henry begins the play as a conservative voice in a time of great social upheaval. Like many of the characters in Cosi, the power of theatre helps Henry access parts of himself previously hidden below the surface of his shyness.
Cherry: a patient who almost immediately develops a crush on Lewis, our naive young protagonist. While Cherry’s forward and brazen nature are played for comedic effect throughout Cosi, the character’s complex relationship with love and affection also provide a moving commentary on the social and romantic isolation that the stigma around mental illness can impose.
AUDITIONS -Saturday January 30thth and call backs Sunday January 31st
Performance Dates: 8-24 April 2021 Season: Wed - Sat, 8pm
Matinees: 17, 18, 24 Apr, 2pm
Rehearsals: Tuesday, Thursday and Sundays
For further information please email auditions@canberrarep.org.au or phone (02)6247 4222
Scripts are available from the Theatre during business Hours.
Audition pieces
There are currently two different versions of the script provided to auditionees, an old photocopied version of the script provided up to 11/1/2021, and a new version provided from then, which will be used for the rehearsals after casting. You may have your script replaced by swapping it back at the Canberra REP Theatre Box Office during business hours if you would like the new one before the audition, or it can be swapped after casting if successful. The two scripts have different page numbers, and hence the audition pieces below have two different page references. The first number refers to the new script, the second number refers to the old script
The old version can be identified by a black bar on the right side of each page, the new version can be identified by the small copyright notice on the left of each page.
DOUG- Start Pg. 17/19 LEWIS: Why are they always saying that?
Until Pg 17/20 end of Doug monologue.
RUTH: Start- Pg. 25/26: Where’s the coffee?
Until Pg 25/27 RUTH: All right
ROY: Start Pg. 11/12: CHERRY : So its just another battle of the sexes until END
JULIE: Start- Pg. 30/31 (??): LEWIS: I thought you had gone outside?
Until CHERRY: Surprise, fairy cakes!
CHERRY: Start- Pg. 32/34 : Surprise! Fairy cakes!
Until Pg 32/35: CHERRY: If there’s anything worse than the wrath of God, it’s the wrath of Cherry
LUCY: Start Pg. 62/69: LEWIS: Lucy?
Until Pg 63/71: LEWIS: Doug?
ZAC: Start Pg. 71/79 I need a fuck
Until Pg 71/79 the end of his monologue That should do the trick
LEWIS: Monologue Pg. 80/89 Yes, Roy
Until Pg 80/89 end of his monologue Time to turn out the lights
HENRY: Start Pg 45/47 ROY: Put them away Henry.
Until Pg. 47/49 -HENRY: “Alright”
We will provide a reader on the day and please have your lines memorised. Thank you J
