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Friday, October 3 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 4 at 8:00 pm

Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 pm
Thursday, October 9 at 7:30 pm 

Friday, October 10 at 8:00 pm*

Saturday, October 11 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 12 at 2:00 pm

*Talk-back session after the performance.

Produced through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.

"…hilarious…nonstop pandemonium…THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is just right: a ridiculously entertaining disaster.”

- Entertainment Weekly ​

 

 

Welcome to opening night of the Cornley University Drama Society’s newest production, The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. This 1920s whodunit has everything you never wanted in a show—an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines). Nevertheless, the accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences! Part Monty Python, part Sherlock Holmes, this Olivier Award–winning comedy is a global phenomenon that’s guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter!

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Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields 

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Staff: 

Director: Deb Braak

Producer: Marianne DiNenno

Assistant Director/ASM: Audrey Allan

Stage Management Consultant: Alison Traugott

Set Design/Construction: Steve DiNenno

Stage Movement/Physicality Choreographer: Chris Braak

Staging Consultants: Michael Roche and Bill Braak


AUDITION INFORMATION:
Dates & Times:
Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 pm
Monday, May 5 at 7:00 pm

Location:
Reformed Church of the Ascension UCC

1700 W. Main Street
Norristown, PA  19403
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Mischief-makers wanted!

 



REHEARSALS:
Sunday afternoon (2:00 pm), Monday and Thursday evenings (7:00 pm) beginning with the first read-through on May 12.
(Not everyone is called for every rehearsal and there is flexibility around rehearsals throughout the summer.)

*Be prepared to read from the script and do some improv and physical work.
*Sides will be provided.
*Here is a link to the text of the play within the play: The Murder at Haversham Manor

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CASTING:
Adults, all ethnicities. We are looking for truthful, funny, physically adept performers who can commit to the style of the play, adding their own special touches where appropriate. Please be sure to indicate any physical comedy, stage combat, martial arts, dance, and/or gymnastics skills on the audition form.

CHARACTERS:
As a play-within-a-play, the production has the added complication of actors playing actors who are playing characters in the play-within-a-play. The text always uses the actors’ names rather than the characters’ names.

ACCENTS:
The characters in The Murder at Haversham Manor have some kind of British accent. The actors playing the characters, as well as Annie and Trevor, do not necessarily.

NOTE:
In reference to the character descriptions below, the characters in this show are on the binary and written with he/him or she/her pronouns. However, we seek to be as inclusive as possible and ask gender non-conforming, gender queer, transgender and non-binary actors to list on the audition form the roles they most identify with. Unless otherwise noted, roles will be open for consideration of actors of all genders and ethnicities.

Annie:
The company’s stage manager. She has a strong and distinctive accent (It could be Southern, Brooklyn, Cockney, German, etc.) unlike anyone else in the cast.

Trevor:
The company’s lighting and sound operator.

Chris/Inspector Carter:
The head of the drama society, directed the play and plays Inspector Carter (an esteemed local inspector.)

Jonathan:
Plays Charles Haversham (the deceased).

Robert:
Plays Thomas Colleymoore (Charles’ old school friend).

Dennis:
Plays Perkins (Charles’ Butler).

Max:
Plays Cecil Haversham (Charles’ brother) and Arthur the Gardener (the gardener at Haversham Manor).

Sandra:
Plays Florence Colleymoore (Charles’ fiancee and Thomas’ sister).

Stage Crew:
The Cornley Drama Society stage crew. Multiple, non-speaking roles essential to making the production work.

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