With one 2016 Season production already in rehearsal, Stage 9 is looking for actors for its first special event of the 2016 Season. Auditions for Stage 9’s special 100th Anniversary production of The Trojan Women adapted by Ellen McLaughlin occur on 
, 2016 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Roles are available for four women.
Stage 9’s founding organization, the Hutchinson Women’s Club, presented their first production in 1916. This production was The Trojan Women by famed Greek dramatist Euripides. To celebrate 100 years, Stage 9 will produce a modern public reading of The Trojan Women adapted by Ellen McLaughlin. The public reading is not a full production and will be performed for only two nights.
The story of The Trojan Women holds particular poignancy in our present world of unrest and savagery. After a ten-year siege by the Greek army, the city of Troy is taken by stealth using the device of a Trojan horse. All the men of Troy have been killed, leaving the women of Troy to fend for themselves. The Trojan Women is unusual in that there is little plot and almost no action. Instead, the reading will attempt to evoke the unrelenting tension the women of Troy are experiencing: their husbands have been murdered, their children taken from them, and a sense of their own impending doom hangs over the play. Many tough questions are asked. Where is the dignity, the pity for the women of Troy? What are the after-effects of war? In perhaps the greatest piece of anti-war literature, Euripides gives a very straight-forward, unflinching look at the relationships between men and women, the status of women, and lives and treatment of women, especially in war time.
Four roles are available for women: Hecuba who is the former queen of Troy; Andromache, the daughter-in-law; Cassandra, Hecuba’s daughter, a virgin prophetess who sees the future; and the famous Helen, the “outsider,” the source of all their troubles.
Auditions will be held on Sunday December 27, 2015 at Stage 9 which is located at 9 South Main in downtown Hutchinson. Auditions will be held from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Individuals auditioning for The Trojan Women should bring conflicts which would prevent them from attending rehearsals which typically occur four to five times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday evenings from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. or Sunday afternoons from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. Actors will perform cold readings from the script.
A cast list will be posted no later than Wednesday December 30, 2015 at 12 noon with rehearsals commencing shortly after.
The Trojan Women is directed by Nancy Sliker. Charles Johnston serves as scenery, lighting and sound designer.
Performances for The Trojan Women will occur January 22 and 23, 2016. Tickets are $20. Patrons must be eight years old to attend Stage 9 productions. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at stage9hutch.com as well as at Apron Strings, located at the intersection of Sherman and Main Street in downtown Hutchinson three weeks prior to opening. Patrons may also purchase tickets at the door one hour prior to a performance. The Trojan Women is performed by special arrangement with Playscript, Inc. All seating is general admission. The house opens at 7:00 p.m. Stage 9 seats 85 people and seats are available on a first come, first served basis. To check performance availability, please contact Stage 9 by email at [email protected] or by phone at 316-350-PLAY (7529).
For more information about The Trojan Women, auditions or to schedule interviews with the director, contact Charles Johnston at 646-628-4353 or [email protected]. You may also contact Johnston for information about program advertising or sponsorship for Stage 9’s 2016 Season.
