DINNER WITH FRIENDS
Newport Theatre Art Center
March 31st to April 23rd
This Pulitzer Prize winning play is a beautifully written drama by Donald Margulies that explores the relationships of four friends, two couples, and the love and loss of love experienced between them.
AUDITIONS, January 30th-February 1st:
Open Auditions (prepare a 2–3-minute monologue)
Monday, January 30th 7-9
Tuesday, January 31st, 7-9
Callbacks, Wednesday, February 1st 7-9
You will be asked to read scenes from the script. Please bring a resume, head shot, and a list of your conflicts.
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE:
The rehearsal schedule will be flexible, depending on the conflicts of the cast. Generally, we will rehearse, Monday-Thursday 7-10 and one weekend day TBD.
CHARACTERS:
Karen & Gabe
Beth & Tom
All four characters are in their mid 30’s to late 40’s.
Karen and Gabe have been together since their 20’s and happily married for around 13 years with two children. They are both dedicated foodies and share careers as international food writers. Food also plays a central role in their social lives – creating delicious meals and sharing with friends. Beth and Tom have been married for around 12 years, introduced by Karen and Gabe. They have two children of a similar ages to Karen and Gabe’s children. The two families are close
Karen: Karen is an organizer managing home, family and a career. She considers herself close friends first with Beth and then with Tom. On the surface she is strong but there are layers of vulnerability that may make the audience question her confidence.
Gabe: Gabe seems to be the more laid back one of the couple. He lives an orderly and structured life and loves writing about food for a living. He and Karen seem perfectly matched, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They know one another so well that their conversations overlap, and they often finish one another’s sentences. Gabe is close friends with Tom who he has known since college.
Beth: Beth is Karen’s best friend. She considers herself creative and met Karen working in publishing. She is an artist of dubious talent and has an interest in new age practices like yoga, meditation etc. She is also the antithesis of Karen - she can’t cook, is totally disorganized and leans more on her emotions to direct her life than on her rational thoughts.
Tom: Tom is a lawyer and a college friend of Gabe’s. He’s also the estranged husband of Beth who is having an affair with his travel agent. On the surface he could be classified as a ladies’ man, which he admits was a role he played in his youth. But there is more to him than meets the eye – vulnerability and a conflict of duty over personal fulfilment.
DIRECTOR’S NOTES:
To me this play is all about relationships – partners, lovers, friends - and the evolution of those relationships. I am really excited about this production as it offers real scope for actors to explore a range of emotions and find truth in their own characters and their connections to each other. Creating real and recognizable characters to make audiences both laugh and cry.
I enjoy working collaboratively with my casts and aim to provide an environment where actors feel free to play, be creative, take risks, be vulnerable and work hard.
If you have any questions or conflicts regarding auditions, etc, contact the director:
