Description:

Auditions for Village Theatre Guild's production of "These Shining Lives" by Melanie Marnich will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2025, and Monday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. at VTG on Park Blvd. & Butterfield Rd. in Glen Ellyn.

Callbacks, if necessary, will be held on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the theatre. Please click the following link to reserve your audition time slot for either Sunday or Monday (callbacks will be by invitation only): www.bit.ly/VTGTSLAudition

"These Shining Lives" tells the story of the women who were employed by the Radium Dial Company. As such, auditions will consist of actors telling a story. This can be any story, whether true or conceived, and should be expressed in the style of the character(s) for which you are auditioning. The story can be heartwarming, humorous, enlightening, or a combination. Stories should be 3-4 minutes in length. Cold readings from the script may also be required, and sides will be made available on the VTG website.

The production will open on March 21, 2025, and run for twelve performances over four weekends through April 12. Strike will be on Sunday, April 13. Performances will be on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. A Saturday matinee is scheduled for April 5; a Saturday matinee (depending on demand) may be added for April 12. Tech Week begins March 9; Dress Week begins March 16.

Rehearsals will be on Sunday afternoons or evenings (depending on conflicts) and Mondays through Thursdays 7-9:30 p.m. There will be no rehearsal on Fridays or Saturdays. Actors will not be required to be at all rehearsals, depending on which scenes are being rehearsed. The read-through is currently scheduled for Thursday, January 30, and rehearsals will begin immediately after. Please bring all known conflicts to the audition. No conflicts during tech/dress week, please.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
Catherine Donohue: The main protagonist. The actor is required to switch between her character in the part of the narrator and her character in the story as she succumbs to radium poisoning.

Frances O'Connell: Viewed as having the moral backbone of the four women, which could suggest she is a little older.

Charlotte Purcell: Straight talking and tough. Although she is sharp when she first meets Catherine, they soon become good friends.

Pearl Payne: Easy-going and chatty. Likens to Catherine right away.

Tom Donohue: Catherine's husband. Feels emasculated when Catherine first gets the job but warms up quickly to it. Fiercely protective of his wife.

Mr. Reed: Radium Dial supervisor.

Actors will portray other characters, with the exception of Catherine. Everyone is in their mid-to-late twenties. Mr. Reed can be older. Ages are of the characters, not necessarily of the actors. Actors of all identities are encouraged to audition.

SYNOPSIS
"These Shining Lives" by Melanie Marnich chronicles the strength and determination of women considered expendable in their day, exploring their true story and its continued resonance. Catherine and her friends are dying, it's true; but theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits-or endanger the lives of those who come after them.

This production is directed by Stan Austin and produced by Kevin Taylor.