When: November 14, 15, 16. See times on SignupGenius. Only sign up for one slot to audition for both plays.
Where: Dance Kaleidoscope at 1125 E. Brookside Avenue, Door D5, Indianapolis
Directors
Machinal – Lori Raffel
Hell’s Belle – Becky Schlomann
Compensation: $250
Synopses – Machinal script available HERE
Machinal by Sophie Treadwell: An expressionist parable about an ordinary young woman who lives in a mechanized, materialistic world. A modern Everywoman, Helen works in a boring office, marries her boss who offers her financial security, finds motherhood oppressive, and has a lover who abandons her. Machinal presents the life of a young woman who asks an impersonal society, “Is nothing mine?”
Hell’s Belle: The Unbelievably True Tale of Indiana’s First Serial Killer by Amalia Howard. World premiere winner of Southbank’s Making History Contest. At the turn of the twentieth century, Belle Gunness lured more than two dozen men to her farm and murdered them for the insurance money. But did she get away with it? Her story is as ridiculous as it is captivating. Join the infamous black widow of La Porte, Indiana, her sister Nellie, and the men who Belle loved and killed along the way in this wild ride of a true crime dark comedy.
What to prepare
- Please prepare about a 1-minute monologue. Machinal is a drama, and Hell’s Belle is a dark comedy, so your monologue can be in either style, or mixed style.
- You may also be asked to read from the script. Machinal Script and All Machinal Sides can be downloaded from links in this bullet point. For Hell’s Belle, email Becky for sides and script preview.
- Please bring a resume, headshot, and a list of all conflicts between January 26-May 3
Rehearsal Schedules – All rehearsals will take place at Dance Kaleidoscope, 1125 E. Brookside Avenue, Door D5, Indianapolis
Machinal: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday evenings, starting January 26
Hell’s Belle: Sunday afternoons, Monday evenings, and Thursday evenings starting March 1
Performance Dates – All performances are at Butler University’s Shelton Auditorium, 1000 W 42nd St, Indianapolis
Machinal: Thursday-Sunday, March 12-22
Hell’s Belle: Thursday-Sunday, April 23-May 3
Characters and casting needs
We welcome and encourage actors of all genders, races, ethnicities, dis/abilities, body types, etc. to audition for any role. Note that these plays include moments of violence and intimacy. Combat direction and intimacy direction will be provided.
Machinal Characters – Many roles are doubled
- Young Woman (Helen). Female presenting : The protagonist, a young woman who feels trapped and is struggling against societal expectations and personal desires.
- Husband (George), Defense Attorney. Male presenting: A successful businessman who is emotionally simplistic and treats Helen as a possession. He represents the suffocating conformity of marriage and society. Mechanical, emotionally distant, and demanding. Defense Attorney representing the legal system’s role in shaping Helen’s fate.
- Mother of Helen. Female presenting: Represents the societal pressures placed on women. Resigned to her fate and the expectations of her gender, she emphasizes financial security over emotional fulfillment and pressures Helen to marry George.
- Lover, Prosecutor. Male presenting: A charismatic and adventurous man who offers Helen a temporary escape from her mundane life. To Helen, he represents passion and aping Helen’s fate. The prosecutor is especially aggressive in dismantling her defense during the trial.
- Telephone Girl, Nurse, Ensemble. Female presenting: Helen’s coworker, who introduces her to the speakeasy and Mr. Roe. She’s lively and represents a more carefree approach to life. More Empathetic but fails to grasp the depth of Helen’s suffering.
- Adding Clerk, Bailiff, Ensemble. Gender open: A dull, mechanical office worker who speaks in numbers and echoes others ‐ symbolizing society’s conformity. Member of the court and execution team.
- Filing Clerk, Doctor, Ensemble. Male presenting: A young, curious office worker who occasionally shows enthusiasm, contrasting with the monotony around him. Doctor is domineering and dismissive of Helen’s emotional distress.
- Stenographer, Barber, Ensemble. Female presenting: Judgmental and proper, she looks down on Helen for not fitting into the expected mold. Member of the court and execution team.
Hell’s Belle Characters – The actors playing Ray & Andrew need to be able to step quickly into and out of 10+ distinct characters. Note that the role of Nellie has been precast.
This is a highly physical, fast-paced show that will require actors to perform fight choreography; please email Becky for the script to see specifics. Ages listed are stage ages.
- Belle Gunness: Stage age 30s-40s. Female-presenting. Belle is a tall, strong woman but need not be literally cast as such. She is a Norwegian immigrant and may employ a nordic accent that grows stronger at opportune moments. (At auditions, we’d like to see your best read, whether that’s with or without an accent.) Belle is deliciously three-dimensional, by turns charming, entrepreneurial, seductive, and vulnerable. She’ll try any tactic to get what she wants.
- Ray Lamphere: Stage age 30s-40s. Male-presenting. Belle’s farmhand/lover and possible accomplice. Also doubles as Belle’s second husband Peter Gunness, his brother Gust Gunness, and various others. Ray is a lascivious alcoholic and gambler who falls prey to Belle’s ultimate duplicity.
- Andrew Helgelien: Stage age 30s-50s. Male-presenting. Belle’s final suitor and murder victim. Also doubles as Belle’s first husband Mads Sorenson, Andrew’s brother Asle Helgelien, lawyer Wirt Worden, and various others. Andrew is a verbose sweet-talker.
Questions may be emailed to Marcia Eppich-Harris, or to the individual directors, Lori and Becky.
