AUDITIONS for The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women - by Caroline Bird after Euripides
Auditions for the upcoming production of The Trojan Women are set for June 27th and 28th at Court Square Theater. Directed by Shannon Wilson, This play is a modern-day version of Euripides' anti-war play, The Trojan Women has been rewritten and is set in a mother-and-baby unit of a prison. The war is over. Beyond the prison walls, Troy and its people burn. Inside the prison, the city’s captive women await their fate. Stalking the antiseptic confines of its mother and baby unit is Hecuba, the fallen Trojan queen, whilst the pregnant Chorus is shackled to her bed. But their grief at what has been before will soon be drowned out by the horror of what is to come, as the Greek lust for vengeance consumes everything – man, woman and baby – in its path. This caustic and radical new version of Euripides’ classic tragedy comes from one of the UK’s most exciting young poets, Caroline Bird. It is an intense, gripping look at what happens when the world collapses.
What to prepare:
- Please bring an 8x10 headshot or photo of yourself to be turned in at auditions.
- If you have one please supply a resume of your theater work.
- Prepare a 30-60 second monologue that showcases your acting talent. Any style of monologue will do.
- Also, be prepared to read as actors will be reading sides from the play.
Characters:
- Hecuba: The fallen, aging Queen of Troy. She is the emotional center of the play, grappling with profound trauma and a tendency to self-dramatize.
- Chorus: In a stark departure from the traditional group of grieving women, the Chorus is condensed into a single, unnamed, working-class pregnant woman. She is kept shackled to a bed, representing the neglected commoners who suffer the consequences of royal/political disputes.
- Cassandra: Hecuba’s daughter. A doomed, frenzied prophetess who understands the horrors to come but is routinely dismissed or sedated by those around her.
- Andromache: Hecuba’s daughter-in-law and the widow of the fallen Trojan hero Hector. She faces the brutal realization of her child's fate.
- Helen of Troy: The ostensible cause of the war. In this version, she is presented as a complex figure who "ensnares the media" and forces the women to confront their complicated, often disgusted, fascination with her sexuality and power.
- Talthybius / The Guard: A Greek herald or guard who oversees the captive women. His character provides unsettling moments of control alongside absurd attempts to pacify the women (such as offering them finger sandwiches and wine).
- Menelaus: The King of Sparta and Helen’s husband. He represents the icy, vengeful face of the Greek army.
- Poseidon and Athena: The Greek gods of the sea and war, respectively. In Bird’s script, they are often portrayed in pre-recorded television broadcasts offering a detached, cynical, and patronizing commentary on the destruction of Troy.
