Electric City Playhouse Director Discusses Auditions

“Everyone I know is either married, moved to Oklahoma, or shot their foot off, and I can’t decide which is worse.” - Roy in "Lone Star" by James McClure

Actors seeking challenging roles with a lot of sass and an abundance of adult humor will want to check out auditions for “1959 Pink Thunderbird” at Electric City Playhouse (ECP) in Anderson. Auditions are at 7pm on Sunday, January 27 and at 7pm on Monday, January 28 at 514 N. Murray Avenue, Anderson, SC.

Actually two one-acts presented together, James McClure’s “1959 Pink Thunderbird” captures moments in the lives of six residents of a small Texas town.

In the first one-act, “Laundry and Bourbon”, Elizabeth Caulder is pondering the direction of her life when she is visited by her friend Hattie Dealing. While the laundry Elizabeth and Hattie are folding may be clean, the dirt is soon dished as the bourbon flows and Amy Lee Fullernoy, the town gossip, pays a surprise visit.

“Lone Star” is the second one-act, and it shows the guys’ perspective. Elizabeth’s husband Roy lounges outside a bar on a hot summer night, drinking beer and reminiscing with his brother Ray about the “good ol’ days”. When Cletis Fullernoy stops by to talk to Ray, the conversation takes a turn and secrets are revealed.

Directing “1959 Pink Thunderbird” is Marc Ludena. Electric City Playhouse patrons may remember Marc’s set design for the theatre’s recent production of “Arsenic and Old Lace”. Originally from the Chicago area, Marc’s theatrical experience includes directing “Grace and Glorie” and “To Gillian on her 37^th Birthday”, as well as involvement in numerous aspects of theatrical design. He has also appeared on stage, having performed in college, community theatre, and most recently in ECP’s “Arsenic and Old Lace”. His favorite roles include Rosencrantz in “Hamlet”, Munoz/Vargas in “City of Angels”, and Mordred in “Camelot”. On the directing side, Marc isn’t afraid to aspire to “some darker, challenging shows such as Sam Shepard’s ‘Buried Child.” He also has interest in directing a musical some day: “Maybe ‘Side Show’ or ‘Bat Boy.’”

For Marc, theatre is “pure fun”. He notes that directing in particular interests him for a chance to “fine-tune moments between actors.” He finds that especially with “1959 Pink Thunderbird”, there are “a lot of opportunities for interesting and challenging acting moments in a short period of time.”

The characters in “1959 Pink Thunderbird” also appeal to Marc: “These shows are fairly brief slices of life, but they involve relatively complicated interpersonal relationships.” While the dialogue and action in “1959 Pink Thunderbird” is funny, the characters’ backstories and behavior speak of their darker experiences. Marc notes that this presents an interesting task for the performers: “Each actor has unique challenges and our protagonists, in particular, have to be likable while they make choices that we, as outside observers, may not agree with. The audience needs to root for them, even while we ‘know better.’”

For actors interested in auditioning for “1959 Pink Thunderbird”, Marc notes that he wants to see “bold and clear choices. I want those auditioning to commit to what they are doing.” He indicates that he may “choose to re-direct…., and I want to see that they can roll with that, too.” Building on that idea, Marc asks actors auditioning to “…be flexible and willing to change your approach if asked. Don’t be surprised if I stop you in the middle of whatever you’re doing and ask for something different.”

Having found a place for himself in theatre, Marc encourages others to give it a look: “Community theatre is a wonderful place for weirdos to collaborate and create art that normal people can enjoy. What’s better than that?”

“1959 Pink Thunderbird” auditions are open to non-Equity actors. There is no payment. All six roles are open (3 women; 3 men), and actors are asked to credibly portray characters in the 22-35 age range. Auditions will consist of cold readings. Performances are Fridays-Sundays from March 22-31, 2019. Audition forms and further information is available at https://ecplayhouse.com.

ECP’s charitable partner for “1959 Pink Thunderbird” is Battle Buddies: https://battlebuddiessc.org. Donations will be collected for Battle Buddies during the run of the show and volunteers for Battle Buddies will be at the theatre during select performances.

ECP’s 2019 Season includes “Tuck Everlasting”; “Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)”; “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood”; “Moon Over Buffalo”; and “Messiah on the Frigidaire”. Additionally, the season includes two ECP Plus Productions for Mature Audiences: “Life’s Stages” (three one-acts) and “The Santaland Diaries”. The Summer Youth Workshop is “101 Dalmatians”. ECP is holding the 35^th Anniversary Gala on February 9, 2019. Tickets are available now. Visit https://ecplayhouse.com or call 864.224.4248.