“Oleanna” April, 11-21 2013

Backstage at the Players

Needed: two dedicated actors willing to take the ride of a lifetime

Auditions: Players Theatre, 2:00 Saturday, February 16, 2013

Director: Joe Kerata

Oleanna…The story:
A male college instructor and his female student sit down to discuss her grades and in a terrifyingly short time become frontline participants in sex, class and culture wars, with overtones of a modern reprise of the Inquisition.

For the Audition:
Please prepare a short dramatic monologue. Participants may be asked to read from the script. It helps to be familiar with Mamet’s work.

Needed: two dedicated actors:

John: John is a white, male, forty-something college professor. He is about to be granted tenure at a college, is pompous and inherently oppressive, but he is good at heart, with an honest desire to express his thoughts (which he often thinks quite a bit of) to his students.

Carol: Carol is an undergraduate student in her early 20’s, who, despite attending an institution of higher learning, feels oppressed to an extent that denies her full education. She can be perceived as both naive and as a manipulator.

From the director:
I am thrilled at the prospect of working on such a challenging piece. On the surface, it is an examination of sexual harassment…but this is David Mamet. The characters skewer the
culture of political correctness, class, and higher education, in riveting dialogue that leads not
to answers, but to more and more questions.

Director info:
Joe started acting in 1979 while teaching in Lima, Peru. Since then, he has been active in over 50 community and professional productions in Northeast Ohio, including Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow,” and “American Buffalo.” Locally, he has appeared in “Deathtrap” and “Sylvia” as well as serving as stage manager for Backstage’s production of “Three Tall Women.”
In addition to his theater credits, Joe has received numerous teaching awards, including being named Ohio Teacher of the Year. He is currently a science instructor at the Academy for lifelong Learning in Sarasota.