CAST LIST for Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
comedy by Anne Marie MacDonald
directed by Mary Job
Thank you to all who auditioned! If you would like to be involved in the production backstage, please contact jdd@overtheledge.org for details on our volunteer needs!
comedy by Anne Marie MacDonald
directed by Mary Job
Thank you to all who auditioned! If you would like to be involved in the production backstage, please contact jdd@overtheledge.org for details on our volunteer needs!
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CONSTANCE LEDBELLY
CLAUDE/OTHELLO/JULIET's NURSE CHORUS/SOLDIER/TYBALT/PETER/GHOST IAGO/ROMEO/JULIE's BOYFRIEND RAMONA/DESDEMONA/MERCUTIO/MUSICIAN JULIE/JULIET |
Cassie Little
Adam Pruden Heath Sartorius Michael Boxleitner Anna Szabo Sarah Willis |
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SYNOPSIS
William Shakespeare meets Lewis Carroll (with a touch of Gloria Steinem!) in this zany comedy about a downtrodden assistant professor struggling to complete her doctorate with an underappreciated thesis: that two of Shakespeare’s’ tragedies were originally comedies! Her hopes are pinned on her ability (to date unsuccessful) to decode an obscure manuscript said to be written by Shakespeare’s contemporary and buddy, an alchemist named Gustave. As mysterious forces leave tantalizing clues, Constance Ledbelly goes down the proverbial rabbit hole becoming a character in both Othello and Romeo and Juliet. Along the way she will discover comic and profound insights into the nature of authorship, the Shakespearean Canon, and (last, but not least) her own nature. ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Anne Marie Macdonald is one of Canadian’s leading feminist writers. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) was the winner of the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Drama. |
PRODUCTION DATES AND MORE INFO
Production dates: July 7-17, 2016 Rehearsals will begin around June 1. For more info, e-mail the director at jobmaryh@gmail.com CHARACTERS: 3 women, 3 men with doubling.
NOTE ON CASTING – The characters, with the exception of Constance, are double cast as the people she meets in “real life”, who then morph into “shadow” archetypes of Shakespeare’s characters. Some of these choices are dictated by the script, others are a matter of directorial discretion and actor potential. |
ROLE DETAILS
CONSTANCE LEDBELLY – early 30’s, an Asst. Professor of Literature. Intelligent, but stubborn and very insecure. Her professional and personal lives are going nowhere. She has been reduced to ghostwriting academic articles for Claude Night, her boss, the department golden boy and her sometime lover.
CLAUDE NIGHT – late 30’s.Constance’s boss and occasional lover. The kind of man that bullies and charms his way through life. He has been using Constance’s talents as a writer and scholar for years by preying on her insecurities and ambitions (while two-timing her). (Doubled with Othello and Juliet’s Nurse.)
CHORUS – A mysterious creature who pops up at odd moments to lead Constance in her topsy-turvy journey of academic and personal exploration. He has a sense of whimsy and mischief. (Doubled with Iago and Ghost)
“JULIE, UH JILL” – a student of Constance’s. Late teens, early 20’s. The kind who is always late with her work, and always has an excuse. (Doubled with Juliet).
RAMONA – another student at the college. Assertive and bright. Also Claude Night’s new squeeze. (Doubled with Desdemona)
OTHELLO – The “shadow” comic aspect of Shakespeare’s tragic hero. A noted, but aging and superstitious warrior who tends to inflate his achievements to impress pretty young women. (Doubled with Claude Night)
DESDEMONA – Shakespeare’s tragic victim turned on her head. Assertive, hot-tempered, blood-thirsty. Turns out she was enthralled by Othello’s stories of smiting enemies because she wanted to be that person. She is. (Doubled with Ramona.)
IAGO – Just as envious, malicious and opportunistic as he is in the original. Even when Constance upends his original plot, he comes up with a new one. (Possibly doubled with Chorus or Romeo.)
ROMEO – Even in the original, Romeo tended to be on the erratic side – passionately in love with Rosaline, only to fall in love with Juliet as first sight. What if that trait is predominate? This Romeo is young, fickle, and plays both side of the sexual fence. (Possibly doubled with Iago)
TYBALT – Just has hot-headed as the original and hung up sexually. (Possibly doubled with Ramona/Desdemona, Othello or Chorus.)
MERCUTIO – Romeo’s buddy and cousin, fortunately reprieved from the fate Shakespeare handed him. (Doubled with Ramona/ Desdemona or Chorus.)
JULIET – Juliet always had a tendency towards the overly dramatic. Consider it amplified in this iteration. Meet Juliet as a medieval Valley Girl – amorous, self-absorbed, and already bored with Romeo. On the lookout for something new. (Doubled with Jill)
JULIET’S NURSE – An elderly woman, practiced in managing Juliet’s foibles. (Doubled with Claude Night/Othello)
SERVANT/SOLDIER – Yup, that plot device – dispenser of information on offstage actions and timely interventions (Played by the Chorus)
GHOST – Distributor of mysterious hints (It worked in Hamlet, didn’t it?) (Played by Chorus)
CLAUDE NIGHT – late 30’s.Constance’s boss and occasional lover. The kind of man that bullies and charms his way through life. He has been using Constance’s talents as a writer and scholar for years by preying on her insecurities and ambitions (while two-timing her). (Doubled with Othello and Juliet’s Nurse.)
CHORUS – A mysterious creature who pops up at odd moments to lead Constance in her topsy-turvy journey of academic and personal exploration. He has a sense of whimsy and mischief. (Doubled with Iago and Ghost)
“JULIE, UH JILL” – a student of Constance’s. Late teens, early 20’s. The kind who is always late with her work, and always has an excuse. (Doubled with Juliet).
RAMONA – another student at the college. Assertive and bright. Also Claude Night’s new squeeze. (Doubled with Desdemona)
OTHELLO – The “shadow” comic aspect of Shakespeare’s tragic hero. A noted, but aging and superstitious warrior who tends to inflate his achievements to impress pretty young women. (Doubled with Claude Night)
DESDEMONA – Shakespeare’s tragic victim turned on her head. Assertive, hot-tempered, blood-thirsty. Turns out she was enthralled by Othello’s stories of smiting enemies because she wanted to be that person. She is. (Doubled with Ramona.)
IAGO – Just as envious, malicious and opportunistic as he is in the original. Even when Constance upends his original plot, he comes up with a new one. (Possibly doubled with Chorus or Romeo.)
ROMEO – Even in the original, Romeo tended to be on the erratic side – passionately in love with Rosaline, only to fall in love with Juliet as first sight. What if that trait is predominate? This Romeo is young, fickle, and plays both side of the sexual fence. (Possibly doubled with Iago)
TYBALT – Just has hot-headed as the original and hung up sexually. (Possibly doubled with Ramona/Desdemona, Othello or Chorus.)
MERCUTIO – Romeo’s buddy and cousin, fortunately reprieved from the fate Shakespeare handed him. (Doubled with Ramona/ Desdemona or Chorus.)
JULIET – Juliet always had a tendency towards the overly dramatic. Consider it amplified in this iteration. Meet Juliet as a medieval Valley Girl – amorous, self-absorbed, and already bored with Romeo. On the lookout for something new. (Doubled with Jill)
JULIET’S NURSE – An elderly woman, practiced in managing Juliet’s foibles. (Doubled with Claude Night/Othello)
SERVANT/SOLDIER – Yup, that plot device – dispenser of information on offstage actions and timely interventions (Played by the Chorus)
GHOST – Distributor of mysterious hints (It worked in Hamlet, didn’t it?) (Played by Chorus)