Description:

Audition announcement for Governors State University's Theatre and Performance Studies Fall 2022 production of Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill, directed by Patrick Santoro.

ABOUT THE PLAY:
This time-shifting comedy by the author of Top Girls created a sensation in its off-Broadway premiere, directed by Tommy Tune. A hilarious and scathing parody of colonialism and the Victorian Empire, particularly in its rigid attitude toward sex, Cloud 9 explodes conventions and challenges its audience with humor and wit. There is Clive, a British functionary; his wife Betty (played by a man); their daughter Victoria (a rag doll); Clive's friend Harry, an explorer; Mrs. Saunders, who runs about dressed in a riding habit; Clive's son Edward, who still plays with dolls (and is played by a woman); and Joshua, an African servant who knows exactly what is really going on. What really is going on is a marvelous sendup and a non-stop round-robin of sexual liaisons. The second act shifts to London in 1980. Though a century has passed, the surviving characters have only aged 25 years. Now played by different actors, the characters have lost their repressed sexual longings, along with the Empire.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:
We welcome all Governors State University students, faculty, and staff, as well as local community members, to audition for Cloud 9. All performers must be fully vaccinated. It is our current intention that all performers will perform without masks for rehearsals and performances. The audience will also need to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test and will need to remain masked for the entire performance.

CASTING: Casting a versatile and diverse ensemble of 7 performers (3 women and 4 men, inclusive casting). Each performer will play two different roles; one performer will play three. CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:

Act 1
Clive, a colonial administrator
Betty, his wife, played by a man
Joshua, his black servant, played by a white actor
Edward, his son, played by a woman
Victoria, his daughter, a ventriloquist's dummy
Maud, his mother-in-law
Ellen, Edward's governess
Harry Bagley, an explorer
Mrs. Saunders, a widow

Act 2
Betty, now played by a woman
Edward, her son, now played by a man
Victoria, her daughter
Martin, Victoria's husband
Lin, a lesbian single mother
Cathy, Lin's daughter, age 5, played by a man
Gerry, Edward's lover