When: Oct. 17
When: 2-6 pm
Where: The Players Studio, 1400 Blvd. of the Arts, Suite 200, Sarasota, FL 34236

Please prepare: One of the following monologues in a  Standard British (RP) accent. 

MONOLOGUES

Synopsis: Oscar Wilde’s brilliantly clever comedic masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, was once called by critic W.H. Auden, “the only pure verbal opera in English.” Earnest tells the story of two young gentlemen in London, who each live a double-life, creating elaborate deceptions to find some balance in their lives. John Worthing escapes the burdens of responsibility to have an exciting life in the city, pretending to be his fictitious younger brother Ernest. Algernon Moncrieff, meanwhile, has invented a convenient invalid, Bunbury, whom he uses as an excuse to gallivant off to the country whenever he pleases. When John falls in love with Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen, he is determined to come clean, but when Gwendolen reveals she can only love a man named Ernest, it somewhat complicates things. When Algernon discovers John’s secret and decides to visit John’s pretty little ward in the country, posing as the debauched “Ernest,” the situation gets even more complicated! Hijinks ensue, and the two gentlemen and their ladies are in for more than they ever anticipated when formidable Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s mother, begins sleuthing around to uncover the far-fetched truth. Oscar Wilde’s brilliant comedy captures with wit and charm the absurdity and delight of the Victorian “age of surfaces” (as Lady Bracknell calls it,) while capturing the struggle of four passionate lovers trying to conform to expectations and, in the most roundabout and
delightfully funny way possible, love who they wish and live how they want.

Character Breakdown
(Standard British (RP) accent is required for audition)

John (Jack/Ernest) Worthing, JP (Male-presenting, late 20-30’s) Jack Worthing
is a seemingly responsible and respectable young man who leads
a double life. He lives his life as a county landowner and
magistrate, but escapes to London under the guise of an imaginary
brother named “Ernest” and is deeply in love with Gwendolen.
Requires strong comedic timing, sincere romantic delivery, and the
ability to shift from guardian to frantic lover.

Algernon Moncrieff (Male-presenting, late 20-30’s) Jack’s witty, charming, and cynical best friend. He invents a fictional friend named “Bunbury”
to escape social duties and falls for Cecily. Requires strong
comedic timing, fast-paced delivery, charming selfishness and a unique swagger.

Gwendolen Fairfax (Female-presenting, 20-30’s) Algernon’s cousin and Lady
Bracknell’s daughter. She is in love with Jack, whom she knows as
Ernest. She is sophisticated, confident, cosmopolitan, and utterly pretentious. Played with aristocratic poise masking her own
stubbornness.

Cecily Cardew (Female-presenting, early 20’s) Jack’s imaginative and sheltered ward. She romanticizes wickedness and has fallen in love with Jack’s brother Ernest in her imagination and has invented a romance and courtship between them. Requires a youthful, bubbly exterior with sharp comedic chops.

Lady Bracknell (Female-presenting, 50+) Algernon’s domineering, snobbish,
and mercenary aunt. A fierce social force who commands every
scene she enters. Requires strong comedic chops with a great
deadpan delivery.

Miss Prism (Female-presenting, late 40-60+) Cecily’s strict book-obsessed
governess. She is an endless source of clichés, and despite her
rigidity, she seems to have a softer side. She harbors a secret
romantic past and has a soft spot for Dr. Chasuble. Must be able
to balance internal anxiety and outer morality.

Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D (Male-presenting, 50-60+) The local rector on
Jack’s estate. He entertains secret romantic feelings for Miss Prism
and is pompous but good-natured and provides clerical contrast to
the chaos.

Lane (Male-presenting, 45-65) Algernon’s manservant. Lane is the only person who knows about Algernon’s practice of “Bunburying.” Deadpan observer of upper-class absurdity. Only appears in Act I

Merriman (Male-presenting, 45-65) The butler at the Manor House, Jack’s estate in the country. Another deadpan observer of upper-class absurdity. Only appears in Act II and III.