Auditions
All of our auditions are open to non-members. We hold read throughs for most of our plays which are also open to anyone who would like to find more out about the production. If you are successful in a part or simply want to help with the production in any way you will be required to join the Lindleys. In order to find out about them please join our mailing list or like our Facebook page! This page will be updated when audition information becomes available - please note we do not usually announce the auditions more than 6 months before the production dates!
We are holding open auditions for the youth group play 'The Railway Children', adapted by Mike Kenny, to be performed Thursday 7th - Saturday 9th November 2019.
The audition will be on Sunday 23rd June 6-8pm, which will take place in the theatre bar, which is accessible through the back gate of the Playhouse Whitstable.
I would encourage parents to drop off and pick up, as space can be limited in the bar area. It can be nerve-racking meeting new people and auditioning on the same day, so feel free to come in and meet us from 5:30pm on either date, as the doors will be open from then!
Notes - please read
- Successful auditionees will be required to pay the £5 membership to the Lindley Players, and will have a place in the youth group outside of play rehearsals (should you wish to have one!).
- The youth group is led by two volunteers - please bear this in mind during communications - and we stick to a cast size with which we feel comfortable. If you/your child is not successful this time please do not take it personally, and you may of course join the youth group waiting list.
- All youth group leaders have been DBS checked and hold chaperone licences from Kent County Council.
- Communication with the cast is through email and/or a facebook group, in the interest of audit trails. Parents/Guardians may join the facebook group if they wish.
- All cast members must be 13-18 years old (inclusively) at the time of performance.
- Rehearsals will be Sunday evenings 6-9pm starting at the beginning of September. There will be some weekday rehearsals scattered about in the fortnight leading up to the show.
This is an ensemble play which means lots of people on stage a lot of the time and can be played with anywhere between 11 and 20 actors! Rehearsals will include lots of group work and workshop activities in order to create the right ensemble approach.
The Audition
The audition will be mainly workshop based, but if you are going for Roberta, Peter, Phyllis, Perks or Mother you will be required to read a monologue which you can find here. Everyone else will only have to take part in the workshop audition.
The main parts are:
Roberta - Nicknamed "Bobbie", she is the oldest and most mature of the three children, and the closest in personality to their mother.
Peter - The middle-child and only boy. He is intelligent and resourceful, though at times rather insensitive. He considers himself the leader of the three and usually does take the lead in crisis situations.
Phyllis - The youngest and least mature of the children.
Mr Perks - warm, funny, the station master and a big part in the lives of the railway children. Northern.
Mother - she is strong, kind and has a wide range of emotions to cover in this play.
The supporting, character roles are:
Mrs Viney - the Northern housekeeper.
Mrs Perks - Mr Perks' wife (Northern)
Jim - The grandson of the Old Gentleman, whom the children rescue when he breaks his leg in the railway tunnel during a paper chase.
The Old Gentleman - a wealthy and kind man who helps TRC.
Mr Szezcpansky - A dissident Russian intellectual, imprisoned in Siberia for his views, who escapes to England to seek his wife and children. Most of his part is in French and some in Russian so would suit someone good at accents!
Father - A high-ranking civil servant, very intelligent and hard-working, and a devoted husband and father. He is wrongfully imprisoned for espionage but is eventually exonerated.
There are lots of smaller character roles as well - doctors, servants, butler, workmen etc. All have lots of opportunity for comedy.