Raven-Winged Hours
by The Archive Theater Company
May. 06 - May. 07 (2023)
Imagine spending an evening in Edgar Allan Poe's Victorian parlor as he recounts some of his most famous stories to you. Then imagine these stories taking on their own life before your eyes. In this world-premiere production, playwrights Jennifer Rose Davis, Adriana Fontánez, and Chris Fontanes bring you into Poe’s world of gothic terror with a dramatic retelling of poems and stories including The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, and more.
Raven Winged Hours: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe
By Jennifer Rose Davis, Adriana Fontánez, and Chris Fontanes
Directed by Chris Fontanes
Auditions for Raven-Winged Hours from The Archive Theater will be Saturday, May 6, 2023 from 10 AM – 8 PM and Sunday, May 7 from 2 PM – 8 PM. Callbacks will be Monday, May 8 from 7-10 PM.
ALL ROLES OPEN - No role has been pre-assigned!
Auditions Signup: https://www.theaterforms.com/ArchiveTheater/Raven-WingedHours/auditionform/
We will be auditioning for 7 Performers and 2 Understudies who will play multiple characters and a Greek chorus. This is an ensemble-based play so all actors will play multiple characters.
All actors and understudies will be paid a $400 stipend on closing night plus tips collected during the show. Please do not audition unless you can make all the required tech week rehearsals and performances.
WE EMPLOY ONLY TALENT LOCAL TO AUSTIN, TX, AND ITS SUBURBS. While we appreciate the rich talent available nationally, we are an Austin-based group and believe in supporting our local community of actors and crew artists. Casting sites, please do NOT repost this audition.
To sign up for an audition slot: Please fill out and submit our online audition form on Theaterforms and make an appointment for your audition. You'll want to have your calendar handy and be prepared to enter rehearsal conflicts. You will be asked to upload a headshot (a JPEG file) and a theatrical résumé (a PDF file) if you have them. Don't worry If you don’t have a headshot or resume, you can still submit the audition form.
Our auditions are more like callbacks because you will work with other actors reading from pre-published sides. We encourage you to sign up with your friends and prepare sides together. Please wear comfortable clothes in which you can move while preserving your modesty. We often cross-cast genders in true Shakespearean fashion so gender-neutral clothing can be a benefit when auditioning.
About the Schedule:
There will be an initial reading on May 25, promo photoshoots in June, and then the rest of the rehearsals will run from August 2 through September 6. We typically rehearse Monday - Thursday, from 7-9 until tech week. We prefer to keep Friday - Sunday available for actors and crew to have lives.
Performances run Thursdays - Sundays, September 7 - October 1 from 8 -10 PM. Sunday performances on Sept 10 and Sept 17 are late matinee performances from 5 - 7 PM. Actor and crew call is typically 1.5 hours before each performance. There is an additional required performance on Wed Sept 27 from 8-10 pm for the Wells Branch community.
The only performance where we can accept conflicts is the shortened Educational Performance on Wednesday, Sept 13, 8:00 call, performance 9 - 11:30 am. We will work with people’s schedules and replace performers who cannot make it because of work.
A detailed list of every rehearsal and performance can be found in Theatreforms.
Character Descriptions:
Actor 1 - Edgar Poe/Egeus/Chorus - Lean, hungry, and bookish look. Able to read poetry with resonance and meaning.
Actor 2 - The Raven/Berenice/Painter’s Wife (Katherine)/Chorus - Needs the ability to appear healthy, deathly ill, and birdlike through motion. The role requires excellent physical acting skills.
Actor 3 - The Daughter/ Fortunato’s Friend/Chorus - Needs the ability to appear nervous, insane, sly, and cunning. The role requires some stage combat.
Actor 4 - The Father/Dr. Moran/Caretaker (Wilson)/Chorus – Needs the ability to appear frail and querulous, or calm and nurturing. The role requires some stage combat.
Actor 5 - Officer 1/ Painter (Edward)/ Montressor/Chorus - Needs the ability with the ability to scream without hurting the voice. The role requires some stage combat.
Actor 6 - Officer 2/ Gentleman (Robert)/ Fortunato/Chorus - Needs the ability with the ability to scream without hurting the voice. The role requires some stage combat.
Actor 7 - Egeus’ Servant/ Valet (Jackson)/Luchesi/Chorus - The role requires stage physicality in "breaking down" a door and comic timing.
Actor 8 - Male Understudy/Chorus - Needs excellent flexibility and memorization skills. The role requires some stage combat. Archive understudies always get a performance.
Actor 9 - Female Understudy/Chorus - Needs excellent flexibility and memorization skills. The role requires some stage combat. Archive understudies always get a performance.
