Audition Information For the Boston College Theatre Department Production of DOUBT, A PARABLE By: John Patrick Shanley

General Audition Information

Auditions will be held the first weekend of November on Friday, Nov. 4th from 6pm-9pm and Saturday Nov. 5th from 11am-2pm. Names of those who are asked to attend callbacks will be posted on the back window callboard of the Robsham Theatre Arts Center as well as the theatre department website on Saturday night. Callbacks will be on Sunday, November 6th and will last several hours. Audition sign-up sheets will be posted in the back hallway of the Robsham Theatre Arts Center; please sign up for a five minute audition time slot in the back hallway, and be sure to arrive ten minutes prior to your audition time. Sign up early to pick a time that works best for you!

For auditions prepare one 1.5 -3 minute contemporary dramatic monologue. Please avoid histrionic passion. Doubt is not that kind of show. Playwrights you might consider for monologues: Jahn Patrick Shanley, Neil LaBute, Edward Albee (not Martha), Donald Margulies, Wendy Wasserstein, Pearl Cleague, Lydia Diamond, and Lynn Nottage.

Synopsis The play is set in the fictional St. Nicholas Church School, in the Bronx, during the fall of 1964. It opens with a sermon by Father Flynn, a beloved and progressive parish priest, addressing the importance of uncertainty ("Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty," he says). The school's principal, Sister Aloysius is a rigidly conservative nun who insists on constant vigilance and vigorous discipline. During a meeting with a younger nun, Sister James, it becomes clear that Aloysius harbors a deep mistrust toward priests, her students and society in general. Naïve and impressionable, James is easily upset by Aloysius’ severe manner and harsh criticism. Aloysius and Father Flynn are put into direct conflict when she learns from Sister James that the priest met one-on-one with Donald Muller, St. Nicholas’ first African-American student. In a private meeting Aloysius, in the presence of Sister James, openly accuses Flynn of sexual misconduct. He angrily denies wrong-doing, insisting that he was disciplining Donald for drinking altar wine. James is relieved by his explanation, but Aloysius, becomes more suspicious. In an attempt to recruit an ally, she meets with Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller. She ignores Aloysius's accusations, saying that she supports her son's relationship with Flynn. The enmity between Flynn and Aloysius escalates with the priest threatening to remove her from her position. Aloysius then informs him that she previously phoned the last parish he was assigned and discovered a history of past infringements. After declaring his innocence, the priest begins to plead with her. Disgusted, she leaves him alone in her office to call the bishop to resign from the ministry. Later, Aloysius learns that Flynn has been transferred and promoted to pastor of a nearby parish. At this point she reveals to Sister James that the decisive phone call was a fabrication. With no actual proof that Father Flynn is or is not innocent, the audience is left with its own doubt.

Critical Reaction

“Even as Doubt holds your conscious attention as an intelligently measured debate play, it sends off stealth charges that go deeper emotionally.” – NY Times

"#1 show of the year. How splendid it feels to be trusted with such passionate, exquisite ambiguity unlike anything we have seen from this prolific playwright so far.”—NY Newsday.

"A beautifully balanced drama. Shanley is a writer working at the top of his craft, making the most of a muted but evocative palette in the pursuit of truth's shadows. Here, for the first time in a long time, is a play that is about something." —Chicago Tribune.

Casting:

SISTER ALOYSIUS – A middle-aged woman. She is principal St. Nicholas School and leads her nuns and students with single-minded determination. She knows what is right and wrong and expects others to have reached the same conclusions. She can be compassionate, but generally views this condition to be a weakness and keeps it concealed.

FATHER FLYNN – A well-liked and personable middle-aged priest. Father Flynn has been accused of molesting a young African American student. Although no conclusive proof exists, the circumstantial evidence is compelling.

SISTER JAMES – A nun in her early twenties. She is an enthusiastic yet inexperienced teacher. Timid, and even a bit naïve, Sister James finds herself caught in the middle of the struggle between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius.

MRS. MULLER – A middle aged African American woman. Mrs. Muller is the mother of Donald Muller, the student who Father Flynn has allegedly molested. She is not convinced that Flynn is guilty and considers her son fortunate to have the support of the priest.

Rehearsals

Rehearsal will start on Sunday, November 20th in the Bonn Studio theatre. Please note that this is the weekend of the Effect to Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds and the Notre Dame football game in Indiana. We will typically rehearse from 6:30-10:30pm Monday- Thursdays and Sundays from 1-5pm. Please note that our last rehearsal prior to final exams is December 8th and those who are cast will be expected to return early from winter break to resume rehearsal on January 11th, 2012. The show will run February 1st-5th, which is during the Dance Organization show and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

Break a leg, auditioners!

John Houchin Marc Franklin Director Stage Manager