24th June – July 4th 2020

Assassins – music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim- book by John Weidman

‘It was almost 30 years ago that Stephen Sondheim and book writer John Weidman’s line up of murderous misfits first confronted an off-Broadway audience in a helter-skelter ride through the dark recesses of their minds and motives.’

It’s dark, funny, thought provoking, disturbing and challenging. The intimate space of the Stables Theatre will help create the uncomfortable claustrophobia, allowing the cast of dispossessed ‘outsiders’ to tell their tales. Triggered by grievance, obsession and delusion, is the content of this award winning musical still relevant? ….. you bet it is.

The challenge to the actor is making these grotesques real people ….. they had their reasons and the audience needs to understand this.

The story telling is to be strong, the singing confident. It is going to be a collaborative show with each area of the theatre being vital to the success of the production.

Set in a 1940/50’s travelling American carnival the look will be clean and stylish allowing for the necessary set pieces and the performances to take centre stage.

Familiarisation evenings 2/3/4 December 7-9.15pm

First 45 minutes of each session will be ensemble. Then each character will have a 30 minute session detailed below:

2/12 – 7.45 Proprietor
8.15 Balladeer
8.45 Booth

3/12 – 7.45 Czolgosz
8.15 Guiteau
8.45 Moore

4/12 – 7.45 Zangara
8.15 Byck
8.45 Hinckley and Fromme

Auditions Sunday 8th December 2019 – 2.30pm onwards

Because musical scores are hired and not bought they will not be available to us until the New Year. Audition pieces will be available from the stables from 28th November – in the meantime a good production of Assassins can be seen- https://vimeo.com/69552246

Production Team

Director- Neil Sellman
Musical Director- Oscar Smith
Assistant Director and Stage Manager – Jane Richardson
Lighting – Jonathan Richardson

Fictional Characters

Proprietor

Character playing age – any – acting – a showman
Singing – bass/ baritone – lyrical/ good story telling
Songs – Everybody’s Got the Right, How I saved Roosevelt, Ballad of Czolgosz, Another National Anthem.

Audition – Song – Everybody’s got the right bar 5-22
Dialogue- NA

Balladeer

Character playing age – any – acting – good story teller
Singing bass/ baritone- good story telling
Songs – The Ballad of Booth, Ballad of Czolgosz, Ballad of Guiteau, Another National Anthem.

Audition Song – Ballad of Booth recitative -bar 15

Ensemble

David Herold (historical), Bartender, Billy (Sara Jane Moore’s 9 year old son) Presidents James Garfield & Gerald Ford, Emma Goldman (historical) and various acts from the carnival – who will play reporters, bystanders, tourists, photographers etc

All members of the Ensemble will all have solo sung lines

Songs – How I saved Roosevelt, Ballad of Czolgosz, Something just broke.

Audition Song – How I saved Roosevelt- will be auditioned in threes to hear ability to hold harmony lines.
Dialogue – you may be asked to read some short ensemble scenes.

Historical Characters

Leon Czolgosz ( cheer-goss)

Born in Michigan in 1873 – the economic crash of 1893 threw him and his brothers out of work, he found little solace in the Catholic Church or other immigrant institutions. Eventually he joined a more radical socialist group, the Sila Club, where he became interested in anarchism, especially after hearing a speech by Emma Goldman. At the age of 27 on 6th September 1901 he shot William McKinley at the Pan American Exposition, McKinley died from his wounds eight days later. Czolgosz was executed by electric chair in October 1901.

Character playing age – 25-35, Acting – passionate/ emotional
Singing – bass/ baritone – confident story telling.
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Gun Song, Ballard of Czolgosz, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition- song – Gun Song H- bar 20
Dialogue- pg 26/27

John Hinckley

Born in Ardmore Oklahoma in May 1955, into a wealthy family, Hinckley had an obsessive fixation on the actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in the film Taxi Driver, he fantasised committing suicide in front of her. On 30th March 1981 he attempted to assassinate president Ronald Reagan. He was found not guilty due to insanity and was detained in psychiatric care until discharged in September 2016.

Character playing age – 20-30, Acting – weird/ scary
Singing – baritone – lyrical
Songs- Everybody has the Right, unworthy of your love, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition- song – Unworthy of your love bar 9 – 40
Dialogue- pg 57/58

Charles Guiteau

Born in Freeport Illinois 1841, he had a childhood rooted in religious fundamentalism, a lifetime of lecturing, law and politics then followed. He was convinced that he could help secure victory for the Republican Party but speeches sent to James A Garfield were continually ignored and a coveted ambassadorship to France denied. He shot Garfield on 2nd July 1881 who died 10 weeks later. A two month trial turned into a media circus and he was subsequently hanged in June 1882.

Character playing age 35/45 – acting – fanatical
Singing tenor – tentative to showman
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Ladies and gentlemen a toast, gun song, I am a terrifying and imposing figure, the Ballad of Guiteau, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.
Audition Song – Gun Song bar 40 – 69
Dialogue- Pg 26

Giuseppe Zangara

Born in Italy in September 1900, he worked on his fathers farm and at the age of 23 emigrated to the USA where He continued to be a manual worker. From the age of six Zangara suffered with a chronic and incurable pain. He was a short man at only 5’, one of the reasons his assassination attempt on Franklin D Roosevelt failed. He did however injure 5 bystanders one dying 19 days later. Zangara was held on death row for 10 days before being executed by electric chair in March 1937.

Character playing age 35/40 – acting – desperate/ fanatical
Singing tenor – Intense
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Ladies and gentlemen a toast, How I saved Roosevelt, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition Song – How I saved Roosevelt bar 56 – 91
Dialogue- Pg 25

Samuel Byck

Born 1930 into a Jewish family, Byck left ninth grade to help support his family. Enlisted into the US army in 1954 and was honourably discharged in 1956, when he married and had four children. 1972 he began to suffer bouts of severe depression, he was divorced and admitted himself to a psychiatric ward. Byck began to harbour belief that the Nixon administration was conspiring to oppress the poor. Feb 1974, he attempted to hijack a plane to crash into the Whitehouse – killing president Richard Nixon. During the incident Byck killed a policeman and pilot, was shot by another policeman, bleeding to death He committed suicide.

Character playing age 40/45 – acting – strong/ depressive
Singing Baritone – Good ensemble singer
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition Song – Another National Anthem bar 81-89
Dialogue- Pg 76/77

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme

Born in October 1948 in California – as a child she was a dancer, performing at the Whitehouse. Graduated in 1966, but had started to use drugs and after an argument with her father was made homeless. In 1967, suffering with depression she moved to Venice Beach and met Charles Manson and his family, she found his philosophies appealing and when Manson was arrested for murder, Fromme joined the support for his cause, the supporters cutting an X into their foreheads. September 1975 Fromme confronted Gerald Ford in Sacramento’s Capitol Park about the plight of the Californian Redwoods, she tried to shoot Ford, but the gun didn’t go off. Fromme was held in prison until 2009, 34 years, when she was released on parole.

Character playing age 30/35 – acting – strong/ schizophrenic
Singing Alto – Lyrical
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Unworthy of your love, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition Song – Unworthy of your Love bar 41-68 & 69-109
Dialogue- Pg 71/72/73

Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman was an anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century. Born in June 1869, in Kovno, Russian Empire to a Jewish family, Goldman emigrated to the United States in 1885.

Character playing age any – acting – inspirational
Dialogue Pg 36-39 – This actor will be auditioned as part of ensemble for singing purposes

Lee Harvey Oswald

Born in October 1939, as a child Oswald was described as withdrawn and temperamental with a juvenile psychiatric assessment describing a ‘ personality pattern disturbance with schizoid features and passive aggressive tendencies’. Married to a Russian, an American Marxist and former marine Oswald was believed to have assassinated president J F Kennedy on 22nd November 1963.Two days later Oswald himself was shot dead. There are many conspiracy theories surrounding this event.

Character playing age 20/25 – acting – unsure/ hotheaded
Singing Baritone – Choral
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Unworthy of your love, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition Song – Everybody’s got the right Bar 5 – 22
Dialogue- Pg 93/94/95

Sarah Jane Moore

Born in February 1930 in West Virginia, Moore was divorced five times and had four children before turning to revolutionary politics. Moore had a fascination with Patricia Hearst. She was evaluated by the Secret Service as being of no risk to the President following being apprehended for illegal hand gun possession. In 1975, 17 days after after Lynette Fromme, Sarah Jane Moore attempted to shoot Gerald Ford, using a new gun she had bought in haste, she missed. She was jailed for life, only being released in 2007 after 32 years.

Character playing age 40/45 – acting – strong/ schizophrenic/ comedic
Singing Alto – Confident
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Gun Song, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition Song – Gun Song bar 92-123
Dialogue- Pg 71/72/73

John Wilkes Booth

Born May 1938 in Maryland, the 9th of 10 children, Booth found it difficult to accept his brothers rise to acclaim as the foremost actor of the day. Booth continued to work as an actor during the American Civil War, a vigorous supporter of the southern cause he was outspoken in his advocacy of slavery and hatred of Lincoln.

With co conspirators, Booth worked on plans to abduct Lincoln, but after several failed attempts and on hearing the president was to attend a performance of ‘Our American Cousin’ at Ford’s Theatre the group used the opportunity to assassinate him. Booth was said to have broken/injured his leg when escaping, was tracked down to a farm in Virginia with co conspirator, David Herold.The Barn was surrounded, Herold surrenders, the barn is set alight and Booth dies of gun shot wounds either by soldiers or his own hand.

Character playing age 25/30 – acting – strong/ sincere/ passionate
Singing Bass/ Baritone – Confident
Songs- Everybody has the Right, Ballad of Booth/Ladies and Gentlemen/ Gun Song, Another National Anthem, Take a look Lee, Everybody’s got the Right.

Audition Song – Ballad of Booth Pt I to bar 17 & Pt II
Dialogue- Pg 17/18

David Herold

David Edgar Herold, born June 1842, was an accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. After the shooting, Herold accompanied Booth to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth’s injured leg. He d July 1865.
Character playing age 20-25 – acting – desperate
Dialogue Pg 17/18 – This actor will be auditioned as part of ensemble for singing purposes

Looking forward to seeing you at Auditions ….. if you can let me know you are coming we may be able to time the audition slots …. Any questions please ask neilcsellman@hotmail.com
Neil