GUILFORD — Guilford Center Stage announces auditions for its first production, Tourists Accommodated, a comedy by Vermont author Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
Auditions will be held on Wednesday, July 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Grange in Guilford Center. Those unable to attend during those hours may contact the directors for an audition.
Guilford Center Stage is the work of Grange members Laura Lawson Tucker and Don McLean, and was formed in response to community requests for more arts and other events on the building's small stage.
This project begins as plans to renovate the 1896 building are getting under way. The updates focus on accessibility, fire safety, and winterizing the space so the Grange can be used year-round.
Until that work is completed, which may still take a couple of years, Center Stage is keeping its plans modest. But the organizers do want to have something on stage during this transition period.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher was living in Arlington in the early 1930s Depression years, when her sewing circle started talking about the fact that some of the households in town were earning needed extra income by renting rooms to tourists for the night. As the ladies started chiming in with funny stories about this, the group realized it would make an amusing play.
Fisher went home and drafted Tourists Accommodated, took it back to her sewing group for comments, and it was a big hit.
Performances of the play will take place on Columbus Day weekend, Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10.
Community actors of various ages are needed for the sizable cast. There are both speaking and non-speaking roles for children, from age 5 to around age 12, many of whom will appear in just one of the six scenes. One or two parents with children may be on stage together.
There are a number of principal roles and smaller ones for adult men and women. You may come prepared with a monologue, or use a passage from the play. Scripts will be available for those wishing to read a part or engage in dialogue.
Center Stage is also welcoming those who might wish to help with sets, costumes, or backstage work.