Gadsden State Community College's Theatre Department is having auditions for an upcoming production Oscar Wilde's timeless comedy, "The Importance of Being Earnest." Auditions will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 and 7 at the College's Black Box Theatre, located in the former Meadows Library on the Wallace Drive Campus. Callbacks will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 8. Performances are scheduled for March 6-8 and 13-15.
"The Importance of Being Earnest" is one of Oscar Wilde's most beloved plays and is celebrated for its wit and satirical commentary on society. Set in Victorian England, the play follows the lives of two men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who lead double lives to escape the conventions of society. Their secrets, mistaken identities and romantic entanglements lead to a whirlwind of hilarious misunderstandings and revelations.
Other roles to be filled in addition to Jack Worthing and Algernon include:
Gwendolen Fairfax - A fashionable and headstrong young woman who is engaged to Jack but believes his name is Ernest. She insists on marrying only a man with that name.
Cecily Cardew - Jack's young ward who falls for the idea of marrying a man named Ernest, much to the confusion and delight when fantasy becomes reality.
Lady Bracknell - Gwendolen's formidable mother, who embodies the strict and hypocritical values of the Victorian upper class and proves to be a major obstacle in the romance between Jack and Gwendolen.
Miss Prism - Cecily's governess, a kind-hearted and somewhat absent-minded woman with a mysterious past.
Rev. Canon Chasuble - A local clergyman and a rather shy and earnest figure, who becomes involved in the romantic shenanigans with Miss Prism.
Auditions are open to all actors in the community. Actors do not have to be Gadsden State students, and they do not have to have prior experience. Auditioners should prepare a one- to two-minute comedic monologue or read from the script at the audition.
"I'm excited to bring Oscar Wilde's brilliant characters and sharp wit to life," said Joe Fuselli, the play's director and a theatre instructor. "It's a play that has stood the test of time because it is both hilariously funny and keenly insightful, poking fun at everything from love and identity to class and morality."