Dreamwell Announces Auditions for Uncle Vanya

Iowa City - Dreamwell Theatre announces auditions for Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, adapted by David Mamet. Auditions will take place on Thursday, July 17th from 6:30-9 at the Iowa City Public Library, and on Saturday, July 19th from 1-4 at the Coralville Public Library.

Roles are as follows:

MEN
Astrov - a doctor, late 30s or early 40s, and a self-proclaimed proctor of forests; we might call him an environmentalist.
Ivan Petrovich (Vanya) - Age 47, he is the manager/steward of the estate which is actually owned by his niece, Sonya, but through her mother, his sister. Hopelessly in love with Yelena
Serebryakov (the professor) - He is retired (perhaps a bit early, probably in his late 50s or early 60s); scholarly and absorbed in his own ill-health, Sonya's father.
Ilia Ilyich Telegin (Waffles) - an impoverished landowner, anxious to be thought well of; he is in his 60s or 70s
A Workman - hired help on the estate

WOMEN
Marina, an old nurse - 70s or 60s, does a lot of the physical work of the household; should possibly be played by a younger person acting old or ancient, in fact
Sonya - Serebryakov's daughter and Vanya's niece; early 20s with a long-suffering outlook on life
Yelena - Serebryakov's second wife, age 27. Remarkably beautiful
Mariya Vasilyevna - Mother of Vanya and of the professor's first wife. She is, perhaps, 70s but her convictions about political movements and women's rights have kept her younger.

The play will be presented in the period in which it is set- the early 20th century. NO ACCENTS will be used as these people are all speaking Russian to each other. Slight accents may be used to indicate class and education of the various people.

Tentative performance dates are Oct. 17, 18, 24, 25. Anyone who has questions or needs to audition at a different time than the two dates indicated, can contact the director, Rachael Lindhart, either at 337-2206 OR at lindhrach@aol.com Scripts are on reserve at both ICPL and CPL for perusal.

Synopsis: A retired professor and his beautiful young wife return to the country estate left by his deceased first wife to find themselves overwhelmed by the stagnant inevitability of the rituals of their life and class, and mercilessly taxed by the encroachment of age at the expense of youth. All of the play’s characters are plunged into that precarious state where, in Beckett’s words, “the boredom of living is replaced by the suffering of being.” Uncle Vanya will be directed by Rachael Lindhart.



Source: Dreamwell press release