Fuddy Meers
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Gary Lehman
Performance Dates
August 15 - 24, 8 shows at the Riverside Arts Center
Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sunday 8/18 & Wednesday 8/21 matinees at 2pm
Audition Dates
Sunday, May 12 & Monday, May 13 @ 7:30pm
Callbacks if needed Wednesday May 15 @ 7:30pm
Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Please complete an online form and read sides before auditions. (Sides will be posted soon.)
Auditions will get underway promptly at 7:30;
please arrive by 7:15 if you are not able to complete the online items ahead of time.
Everyone will need to complete a conflict calendar at auditions.
Auditions will consist of some improv exercises and readings from the play.
Synopsis
A sinister and zany comedic romp with a dark domestic drama at its heart, Fuddy Meers illustrates a world in which nothing is as it seems, hardly anyone can be understood, and trusting the wrong person can get you locked in the basement with a foul-mouthed sock puppet, hit over the head with a frying pan, or hauled over the Canadian border. This is especially challenging if you are a sunny amnesiac like Claire, who must contend with kidnapping, family reunion, and intrusive carnival music playing in her head, all before she can figure out whether she prefers juice or coffee.
When Claire is stolen from her bedroom by a limping, lisping man in a mask and a manacle, who claims to be her brother, a chase ensues, led by her husband, Richard, and son, Kenny. The destination is Claire’s childhood home, where her mother, Gertie, is aching to reveal the secrets of her past -- if only Claire could understand Gertie’s stroke-afflicted speech patterns and cryptic funhouse mirror photographs! Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire has crafted a play about pain, identity, miscommunication, and, ultimately, the courageous confrontation of a traumatic past. And sock puppets… don’t forget the sock puppets.
Characters
Claire (Female | 30s-40s | Open Ethnicity): Claire has a form of amnesia that makes her memory wipe every time she goes to sleep. She is curious, sunny, resilient, and intuitive despite her memory loss. Throughout the day, Claire hears music and sounds that are parts of her memories even though she can’t place the sounds.
Richard (Male | 30s-50s | Open Ethnicity): Claire’s husband. Richard is seemingly kind, chatty, and is cheerily helping his wife get through the day. He’s curated a book of memories that will tell Claire exactly who she is and what she likes. Richard is hiding something underneath his friendly exterior, though.
Limping Man/Phillip (Male | 30s-40s | Open Ethnicity): Like his name suggests, Phillip walks with a limp and talks with a lisp. He has scars over half of his face from a previous accident. He is persuasive, fidgety, and has a traumatic past that he tries to avoid. Phillip believes that he is reformed and good, having had the bad burned out of him. Whether or not that is true, is up to us to decide.
Gertie (Female | 60-90 | Open Ethnicity): Claire’s older mother who suffered from a stroke that affected her speech. Now her words are jumbled but the meaning is spot on. She knows exactly who everyone is, what is going on, and is very intelligent. If only people could understand what she is saying.
Millet (Male* | 20s-60s | Open Ethnicity): Millet is an odd character, accompanied by his sock puppet named Binky. His personality is childish at times with Binky acting as a voice to thoughts and facts that Millet feels he can’t say.
Heidi (Female* | 20s-60s | Open Ethnicity): Heidi is a tough person, ready to break free of the life she’s been living. She poses as a police officer for part of the show and tries to keep everyone following her plans.
Kenny (Male* | 18-25 | Open Ethnicity): Kenny is Claire’s child and is called “troubled.” He is protective of his mother and resentful of his stepfather Richard. He frequently is high and acts out against his parents, but deep down, he wants recognition and to not have to grow up so fast.
* There is a possibility that these roles will be cast as any gender. PTD is currently waiting on permission to do so.
QUESTIONS
Contact Gary Lehman, Director, at garylehman72@gmail.com
In reference to character descriptions: We will list race/ethnicity when specific to the character but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities, and encourage actors of all types to audition. Additionally, most characters we encounter currently are on the binary and are written with he/him or she/her pronouns and you will see that in the descriptions. However, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with. Also, we will list disability when specific to a character, but are otherwise seeking actors with disabilities as well as non-disabled actors for all roles.