FREE Community Play - The Hundred Dresses
By Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills. Based on the book by Eleanor EstesProduced through Special Arrangement with Dramatic PublishingDirected by Keri Burman Castro
Synopsis
The authors of the musical version of The Hundred Dresses have rewritten the musical as a one-act straight play that’s perfect for competition! Wanda Petronski, a second-grader, lives way up in a shabby house in Boggins Heights, and she doesn’t have any friends. Every day she wears a faded blue dress, but she tells her classmates that she has a hundred dresses at home of all fabrics and colors. Soon Maddie, Peggy, Jack and their classmates make a game of teasing Wanda about her hundred dresses until one day she disappears from school, leaving just an empty seat where she once sat. As feelings of guilt overtake the children, Maddie and the others decide they must find out what happened to Wanda and make amends for the way they treated her. But is it too late? Bullying, friendship and forgiveness are all touched upon in this beloved Newbery Honor Book by Eleanor Estes.
Audition Information
Regular Rehearsals: *September 18-October 19 (Tues, Wed, Thurs Evenings)
*A schedule will be provided. Not all actors will be called to every rehearsal.
Tech Rehearsals: November 5-8
Performances: November 9-11 (5 total ticketed performances for the public)
Auditions: By appointment – August 28th & 29th
Callbacks: August 30th – By invitation only
Auditions, Rehearsals, & Performances will be held at Premier Performance Studios (358 Indian Boundary Rd, Chesterton). There is NO fee to participate. This is NOT a musical. Small stipend MAY be offered to certain actors.
Audition Requirements: Sign up for a 10-minute audition slot at the link found HERE. Prepare to present a 1-minute monologue (students must be memorized – adults may refer to a script), and be prepared to cold-read from the script. Callbacks will consist of readings from the script with other auditionees. If for some reason you cannot attend your audition, please notify us in advance.
Casting Requirements
Wanda Petronski – (Student, Female, Aged 9-15): shy, soft-spoken, earnest, and sincere; she desperately wants to make friends, but doesn’t know how.
Jan Petronski – (Male, 14-50): 14-18 or adult, Wanda’s father, a Polish immigrant who speaks broken English; he is earnest and a hard worker who only wants the best for his family.
Maddie Martin – (Student, Female, 9-15): imaginative and playful, yet succumbs to Peggy’s peer pressure; she discovers she has a conscience and integrity.
Peggy Hawthorne – (Student, Female, 9-15): attractive, most popular girl in school, very verbal and powerful; what she says goes.
Jack Beggles – (Student, Male, 9-15): fun, smart, loyal, a design whiz with big dreams.
Cecile Caldwell – (Student, Female, 9-15): wealthy, well-dressed, well-spoken, but on the giggly side.
Willie Bounce – (Student, Male, 9-15): his last name says it all; a boaster, full of energy, adventurous, and a bit over the top.
Miss Mason – (Female, 14-50): 14-18 or adult, the classroom teacher, compassionate but not terribly aware of the dynamics of her student’s friendships.
Old Man Svenson – (Male, 14-60): 14-18 or adult, a recluse who lives alone outside of town, grumpy and lonely.