Auditions are open to anyone, with or without experience. Assistant Professor of Theatre Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson, who will direct, noted that while auditions will consist of cold readings from the script, everyone auditioning is strongly encouraged to read the play in advance. She added that headshots and resumes, as well as brief prepared monologues, are appreciated but not mandatory. Anyone interested in working backstage on the production should also plan to attend one night of auditions.
Roles are available for three women and four men, however Thibodeaux-Thompson said that, depending on role-doubling, more women may be cast.
In Cloud 9, Churchill explores the politics of sexuality and sexual identity. Using cross-gender casting and role-doubling, she creates a satirical look at the relationships between the sexually repressed Victorian era and the sexually liberated 20th century. Act I takes place in British Colonial Africa in 1880, where the characters are subjected to, and secretly attempt to resist, the rigid constraints of Victorianism. Act II takes place in 1980 in London – although the characters have aged only 25 years – where everyone has thrown off the sexual restraints of the 19th century.
A limited number of scripts are available for 24-hour checkout with a refundable $10 cash deposit, from the Communication/Theatre program office in UIS' University Hall, room 3010, phone 206-6790, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Scripts are also on reserve in UIS' Brookens Library.
Casting should be completed by September 19. Thibodeaux-Thompson noted that rehearsals will begin Sunday, September 21, and are generally scheduled for Sunday through Thursday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. Production dates are November 7 through 9 and 13 through 15.
For more information about auditions, the play, or helping behind the scenes with such things as costumes, props, and stage-managing, contact Thibodeaux-Thompson at 217/206-8307 or mthom1@uis.edu, or go to www.uis.edu/theatre.
