Author: Sue Ellen Gerrells

South City Theatre will stage 7 performances of the Southern comedy, The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, August 18, 19, 20 and 25, 26, 27 @ 7:30 p.m. and August 21 and 28 @ 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $16 general admission and $13 seniors over 60 and students under 18. Call the box office at 205-621-2128 and leave a voice message for reservations or go online at www.southcitytheatre.com to purchase ticket in advance.

In this side-splitting comedy by the writers for The Golden Girls: Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids, and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage, the “Sweet Delilah” on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh, and meddle in each other’s lives. The Sweet Delilah Swim Club is the story of five unforgettable women—a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever. Directed by Rachael Pike Upton and featuring Leslie Price, Donna Williamson, Jana Hoffman, Tara Bennett, and Destiny Clark.

South City Theatre is proud to present The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, directed by Lisa Ponder and Sue Ellen Gerrells. Evening Performances are April 21-23, 2022 and April 28-30, 2022 at 7:30 PM Matinees are April 24, 2022 and May 1, 2022 at 2:00 PM All performances will be at South City Theatre. Tickets available at https://www.southcitytheatre.com/get-tickets/

Starring Michael Wilbanks, Katy Walker, Sharon Beiswenger, Todd Ponder, Jacob Dinkel, Robin Rushing, Abilgail Heuton, Campbell Pate, Tom Robinson, and Jim Billings.

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most famous and haunting stories to emerge from the 20th Century. The memoirs of this young Jewish girl, forced to hide for nearly two years to escape Nazi persecution, are an essential part of how we remember one of the darkest periods of our human history. Wendy Kesselman’s adaptation of the original, Pulitzer Prize award-winning script by Goodrich and Hackett draws from previously unpublished parts of Anne Frank’s real-life diary, allowing the audience to experience Anne in a way that breathes life into this passionate, complex young woman, allowing us to share her relatable experience of adolescence as a familiarly modern teenager. For nearly two years, Anne, her father, mother, and sister, joined with the Van Daan family, to hide in a secret annex space above her father’s former office in Amsterdam, as the Nazis deported the Jews of Holland to their deaths. In her secret attic, Anne comes of age: she laughs, plays, fights with her mother, and falls in love for the first time. In spite of her oppressive circumstances and the horrors that surround her, Anne’s spirit transcends, as she voices her belief, “in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” Anne’s dynamism, her luminous spirit, and her story of resilience continue to resonate deeply, making her story as vital today as when her diary first was published. 

The Coarse Acting Show by Michael Green
Directed by Dan Strickland

Auditions will consist of reading from the script and possibly some improv.
Location – South City Theatre, 2969 Pelham Parkway, AL
Friday 4/8 starting at 7:00 pm
Sunday 4/10 starting at 2:00 pm

The author defines a Coarse Actor as one who can remember their lines but not the order in which they came. In this hilarious journey through the season of a local theater company, everything that can go wrong, does. Props fail, the scenery malfunctions, sound and light cues are unreliable at best, and even the furniture can not be trusted. In the grand tradition of theater the cast plows ahead in the face of the onslaught and contribute their own comical difficulties due to nature of the Coarse Actor.

Show Dates:
6/10-11 at 7:30, 6/12 at 2:00, and 6/16-18 at 7:30 at South City.

***Bring your calendar with all your conflicts 4/25– 6/18 to the audition.***

Rehearsal:
Begin the first week in May, with a possible read thru the week before. The intention is to rehearse 3 days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon) until tech. If this works and what days will depend on the casts conflicts.

Looking for five men and six women to stage the five one act plays of various genres. There is physical comedy, so the physical ability to do that sort of thing will be a factor. Russian and British accents are a plus (even bad ones).

Also looking for an Assistant Director/Stage Manager and/or light and sound operator (light and sound cue misfires are an important part of the show.)

The scripts include:

Streuth (whodunit) 9 parts
A Collier’s Tuesday Tea (grim working class drama) 9 parts

The Cherry Sisters (Chekov pastiche) 10 parts

Oedocles, King of Thebes (Greek tragedy) 6 parts + chorus

Trapped (country-house, “reading of the will,” thriller) 9 parts 

UPDATED 1/4/22: All live auditions will now be held via Zoom. You will need to book your audition time at the following link: https://calendly.com/lisa-ponder/15min?month=2022-01 Sides will be provided by Friday, January 7, 2022 at 9 PM.

South City Theatre is holding auditions for the provocative and powerful drama, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK on Saturday, January 8, and Sunday, January 9, 2022, from 2:00-4:00 PM via Zoom.

SCT Director Lisa Ponder is looking to cast (5) women, and (5) men. Please familiarize yourself with the plot. The auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Bring a theatre resume and headshot, if possible. Arrive early to fill out an Audition Sheet.

The Diary of Anne Frank delves into the inspirational true telling through the eyes of Annaliese “Anne” Frank, a vibrant, unwavering young teen, who with seven of her immediate family and friends, struggle to survive capture by the Nazis during World War II. For two obscure years, Anne maintains a diary of the group’s daily, claustrophobic existence in a small, concealed storage attic above her father, Otto Frank’s old business.

COVID- 19 PROTOCOLS: Auditionees should be properly masked and distanced at all times during the auditions. Temp checks will be a part of both the audition process and rehearsals. Anyone cast will be expected to be properly masked at all times during rehearsals. Covid-19 vaccines are STRONGLY recommended and PREFERRED.

VIDEO AUDITION SUBMISSIONS: Video auditions will be accepted through January 4, 2022. Auditionees should prepare and submit a 2 -3 minute monologue of their own choosing that is NOT from the script. Please include your name and the role you are interested in as part of your introduction.

Video submissions and questions should be sent to lisa.ponder@southcitytheatre.com.

SHOW DATES will be April 21-23, 2022, and April 28-30, 2022, at 7:30 PM and April 24, 2022, and May 1, 2022, at 2:00 PM.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS (OPEN ROLES)
Director’s Note: Please look for the humanity in these characters as you prepare. Even though the situation is dire they are still people who love, laugh, and argue just like we do.

MARGOT FRANK 15-year-old sister of Anne, ages to 17, pretty, quiet, obedient, demure, frail, friendly, very intelligent, overwhelmed by the trials of hiding, very close to her mother and father. Like Anne, she longed for a friend in whom she could confide. She played the role of peacemaker when Anne overstepped. She was a good girl and was admired by all.

EDITH FRANK A lovely woman, wife and mother, mid-40s, from a wealthy German family, reticent, loving, moral, concerned, gracious, cultured, devoted to tradition, devastated by her relationship with Anne, barely able to cope with the demands of everyday life in hiding and isolation, tries very hard to accommodate the lower middle-class van Daan family whose uncouth and argumentative ways are an irritant to her and causes her to finally erupt into a seething rage.

MRS. VAN DAAN Mid 40s, loud, egotistical, talky, often crude, suspicious, bossy, moody, self-important, overbearing, critical of others, flirtatious, manipulative, sometimes depressed, enjoys a good laugh or story, more accepting of her introverted son, delusional about her younger self’s popularity and looks, feel s if she is the Queen Bee in the group, chafes under her husband’s control, tries to run the household. A big stirrer-upper! Yet she is amazingly acceptable.

MR VAN DAAN Mid-40s to 50s, dour, selfish, complaining, ungrateful, superficial, quarrelsome, dictatorial, highly critical of his son Peter, easily irritated, is rather withdrawn from the other occupants of the Annex. His transgression causes the great blow-up in the Annex.

PETER VAN DAAN 17-year-old boy, ages to 19, withdrawn, unsure, awkward, immature, shy, sometimes amusing, attached to his cat, tries to stay out of everyone’s way, hates his mother and father’s constant quarrels, ages from the introverted teenager to the more mature 19-year-old who enjoys the company of the girls and who begins to be interested in all the other occupants of the Annex.

Mr. KRALER 35-45, Dutch, helps Miep with the responsibilities of feeding and hiding the occupants of the Annex, is an employee of Mr. Frank’s company, a trusted colleague and friend. He is sympathetic to their plight, does what he can for them, and runs the company in Mr. Frank’s name, an honest and good man.

PRE-CAST ROLES
This show was originally slated to run in April 2022 but was postponed due to Covid-19. The following roles are pre-cast with actors from the 2020 production.

ANNE FRANK (Campbell Pate) – ROLE IS CAST – 13-year-old girl, ages to 15, warm, witty, intelligent, charming, self-aware, sensitive, often impatient, sometimes a know-it-all, open, determined, easily hurt, spirited, hopeful, fun-loving, desperate, with all the longings, expectations, and attitudes that adolescence brings. Though hiding and living in constant fear and isolation, she never gave up. She had a fraught relationship with her mother, adored her father, and lovingly envied her sister. A note for the younger actresses who will audition: You should be comfortable with undressing down to a slip (you would still be fully covered) and with kissing the actor who plays Peter Van Daan.

OTTO FRANK (Michael Wilbanks) – ROLE IS CAST – Father of Anne and Margot and head of the group living in his Annex, middle 40s to early 50s, upper middle-class background, a wise man, fair, loyal, attentive, patient, intelligent, soft, level-headed, optimistic, genuinely liked people, decision-maker, teacher, beloved by his workers who protected him and his family as well as the other tenants of the Annex throughout the war. He was especially susceptible to Anne’s charms. He was devoted to his wife, Edith, and comforted her whenever she was depressed about their living conditions, the attitudes of the van Daans/Dussel, or her relationship with Anne.

DUSSEL (Jim Billings) ROLE IS CAST – Mid-40s-50, dentist, stodgy, old-fashioned, disciplined, hypercritical, selfish, horrified at Anne’s behavior, genuinely does not like people, picky, unhappy with everything, a man who has not come to terms with his situation, whiny, a perfectionist, ungrateful, and easily angered.

MIEP (Savannah Grace) ROLE IS CAST – 25-40, Austrian refugee living in the Netherlands, employed by Mr. Frank, entrusted by Otto Frank with provisioning the occupants of the Annex and hiding them from the outside world, she collected fake ration cards, purchased all their foodstuffs, visited the library on their behalf, and generally tried to keep their spirits up. She was courageous, empathetic, compassionate, and friendly.