WVU Parkersburg Theatre Department sets audition dates

NEWS
West Virginia University at Parkersburg
300 Campus Drive Parkersburg WV 26104
Phone: 304-424-8203 | Fax: 304-424-8315

WVU Parkersburg Theatre Department to conduct open auditions for upcoming production of "We Have Always Lived in the Castle."

Open auditions are scheduled Sept. 2-5 for West Virginia University at Parkersburg's production of Hugh Wheeler’s adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s haunting mystery, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle."

The Theatre Department auditions will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sept. 2; from 7-9 p.m., Sept. 3; from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sept. 4, and from 1-3 p.m., Sept. 5, in the college theatre, Room 1305. Auditions may also be made by appointment by contacting the director Andrew Clovis at 304-424-8295.

Auditions are open to the community as well as college students, faculty and staff.

Performance dates for the production are Oct. 24, 25 and 26. The play will be presented in repertory with Reader’s Theatre productions of Jackson’s "The Lottery" and "Summer People," as well as a fully-staged version of "The Haunting of Hill House."

"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" tells the story of a neurotic Vermont recluse, Constance Blackwood, who has divorced herself from society after becoming known as “the local Lizzie Borden.” Several years earlier, Constance was tried and acquitted of the torturous murder by strychnine poisoning of her parents, siblings and aunt. The only immediate family members to survive were her younger sister, Merricat, a precocious but sullen 15-year-old who has appointed herself as Constance’s guardian, and their doddering, cantankerous Uncle Julian. The two share her gloomy seclusion with Jonas, a young boy who has been brought in as a companion for Merricat. Jonas, roughly age 10, looks on the eerie legends with great glee.

The Blackwood mansion holds great fascination for the local villagers, in part, because many believe that Constance stores vast hoards of money in the family safe. Constance’s distant relatives seem to believe the same. One of them, Charles, returns from abroad to reacquaint himself with Cousin Constance, or, perhaps, with her money. Merricat, Jonas, and Uncle Julian deeply resent his intrusion and alarming events result.

The cast also includes two nervous, busy-body neighbor women who come to coax Constance back into local society. Helen Clarke seems truly concerned about the Blackwood family, but her friend, Mrs. Wright, only visits for thrill-seeking reasons.

Additional information is available by contacting the college's Theatre Department, 304-424-8295.