Neil Simon Monologues (ISBN: 0-940669-34-X)

HERB: Wait a minutes, you! You just listen to me a minute. I never figures I had anything coming to me. I gave you up, that was my loss. I left that house because if I had stayed it would  have turned into a war zone and there would have been no survivors. You want to talk about guilts, regrets – I got enough to fill up my garage. But that’s my business and I’ll handle it my own way. I never expected anything from you or your brother. Outside this house, you can call me any goddamn thing you want to call me. But under this roof is my domain, and if you talk to me, you show me some respect.

HERB: Okay! For the sake of argument, let us say someone looks at the card. Someone is looking for a valet service for his son’s bar mitzvah. Someone just met a girl at the party and wants to write down her number. Someone has a piece of spare rib in his teeth and is trying to pick it out with the card. Only a small percentage of that group will look at the back of the card. But let’s say one does. He sees, “Libby Tucker, New York trained actress – No Part Is Too Big or Too Small.” Do you imagine he’s going to slam his foot on the break, pull off the road and, say to his wife, “That’s exactly what I’m looking for. An actress trained in New York who doesn’t care if the part is too big or too small. Right under my nose in my very own car. What a break for me. I’ll contact her first thing in the morning and hope and pray that someone else with spare ribs in their teeth didn’t get to her before me!”

Casting call
Button Theatre role up for grabs in ‘Barefoot in the Park’

By Jamie Ward

Staff Writer

Special Photo
Lory Cox and Jake Cullens rehearse their roles as Ethel and Paul for the Button Theatre’s upcoming production of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park.”

DULUTH – For any adult who’s ever dreamed of becoming a professional actor, now’s your chance.

In a unique effort to generate community interest in its upcoming show, Gwinnett County’s professional theatre troupe – Button Theatre – is selling one of the roles in their production of Neil Simon’s comedy classic “Barefoot in the Park.”

“This role is an exciting opportunity for anyone to experience theater from the performer’s point of view,” said Director Celia Rosenblum. “Our hope is that the community will become involved in the production, and that involvement will help us give back to Gwinnett County.”

The walk-on role for sale is that of an elderly delivery person who trudges up five flights of stairs in a New York apartment building. Out of breath and exhausted, the role will allow the actor to deliver the package and receive a signature while failing to utter a word. Considering Neil Simon’s many humorous works, the role will offer the actor the chance to receive a few laughs from the audience while demonstrating their acting chops and comedic abilities at the same time.

“It’s a great way to get audience participation in a show and it’s a novel idea,” said Jake Cullens, an actor and also the drama teacher at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee. “It should generate a good buzz.”

According to Mary Conti, a founding member of the group and its artistic director, the role has already been sold for several performances. She also said selling the role seemed appropriate considering professional actors are paid for their services and the Button group is a nonprofit.

“It wasn’t fair to an actor to just sit there the rest of the night anyway,” she said.

“Barefoot in the Park” will run at 8 p.m. July 5 through 27, Thursdays through Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays at the Hudgens Center for the Arts. Any individual or business interested in purchasing the role should contact Button Theater at 770-831-0591 or by sending an e-mail to info@buttontheatre.com.

We shall see what happens.

Casting 7 men and 3 women. Prepare a 1.5 minute comedic monologue and expect cold readings from the script. Headshot and resume preferred but not required.

Show runs weekends, Jan. 14 – Feb, 12. No pay offered.
Directed by David Kronawitter. Auditions will be held at Big Top Theatre, 2060 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 300, Marietta

For more information call the box office on Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 pm – 6 pm at 770-565-3502
or write us at info@bigtopproductions.com

Play: Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys”
Director: Richard Dillon
Where: Polk Street Players
Description: Two old vaudevillians have been separated for ten years. When the son of one tries to get them back together for one last fling, hilarity ensues.

When:
November 5 – Friday, 8:00 PM
November 6 – Saturday, 8:00 PM Dinner Show
November 11 – Thursday, 8:00 PM
November 12 – Friday, 8:00 PM
November 13 – Saturday, 8:00 PM Dinner Show
November 19 – Friday, 8:00 PM
November 20 – Saturday, 8:00 PM
November 21 – Sunday, 2:30 PM