Auditions for MVT's World Premiere of SHIPMENT DAY
The World Premiere of
SHIPMENT DAY
A Hawaii-based true-life drama
by Lorenzo DeStefano
Performance Run Commitment: November 8 – December 9, 2018
When: Monday, September 10, 7pm
Where: Manoa Valley Theatre
Guest Director
Lorenzo DeStefano
Artistic Associate
Bree Kale`a Peters
(will assist with auditions and first week of rehearsals)
About
Set in Honolulu between 1934 and 1937, Shipment Day dramatizes the traumatic early life experiences of the well-known leprosy activist Olivia Robello Breitha. It chronicles Olivia’s diagnosis with the condition at 18, her two and a half year confinement at Kalihi Hospital, to the day before her shipment to Kalaupapa, the Hansen’s disease settlement on Molokai. As Hawaii State Department of Health parolee #3306, Olivia would spend the next seventy years of her life, until her death in 2006 at the age of 90, at Kalaupapa.
Olivia's cousin, Hawaii-born writer Lorenzo DeStefano, is author and guest director of Shipment Day.
Auditions
Shipment Day has roles for 4 females and 4 males. All but the actress portraying Olivia portray additional characters/voices. The following are the roles in the show. All roles are available. Reading the play in advance is strongly recommended. Specific scenes to be read at auditions are available by clicking here.
OLIVIA ROBELLO - female, 18-to-early 20s, a young Portuguese girl
MARY FERNANDEZ - female, 40s/50s, Olivia’s Portuguese mother
also plays WOMAN’S VOICE IN KALIHI HOSPITAL (offstage)
BETTY - female, 20s-30s, local Asian, a patient at Kalihi Hospital
also plays EVA, EXAM ROOM NURSE, FEMALE RADIO ACTOR (offstage)
LINDA - female, 20s-30s, a local, possible Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian, a patient at Kalihi Hospital
also plays MARY, HOSPITAL ATTENDANT, NEIGHBOR LADY (offstage)
MANUEL ROBELLO - male, 40s/50s, Olivia’s Portuguese father
also plays DOCTOR WAYSON and EXAM ROOM DOCTOR
LES TEXEIRA - male, 20s, Olivia's Portuguese fiancé
also plays JOE, a Navy Sailor, caucasian, on shore leave in Honolulu
HANK - male, 20s-30s, caucasian or African American, a Navy sailor on shore leave in Honolulu
also plays HEALTH DEPT. OFFICIAL, MALE RADIO ACTOR (offstage), NEIGHBOR MAN (offstage)
CARL - male, 20s-30s, caucasian, a Navy sailor on shore leave in Honolulu
also plays PHOTOGRAPHER, HOSPITAL OFFICIAL (offstage)
Additional offstage voices to be assigned.
Production Schedule
Rehearsals:
September 14 – November 7, 2018
Performance run commitment:
November 8 - December 9 (maximum 19 performances)
curtain times: Wed, Thur - 7:30pm, Fri & Sat - 8:00pm, Sun - 4pm
call time: 90 minutes prior to performances (or as otherwise set)
There will be a public Q&A following the November 11 performance.
Performances will be held at Manoa Valley Theatre. Rehearsals will be held at `Iolani School, 563 Kamoku Street. The rehearsal schedule will be Mondays through Fridays from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays as necessary. Cast members will uniformly receive an honorarium to help defray the out-of-pocket expenses associated with volunteerism and participation in this production. This honorarium is not an offer of employment.
Please note: participating in a Manoa Valley Theatre production is a serious commitment and rehearsal attendance is very important. As determined by the director, specific rehearsal schedules have some flexibility.
About The Director
Lorenzo DeStefano (Playwright and Guest Director)is a photographer, writer and filmmaker born and raised in Honolulu. His plays include Shipment Day, 221 Finchley Lane (adapted from his novel), Providence, and Camera Obscura. His theatre directing credits include Shipment Day, Providence, the 25th anniversary production of William Inge’s Natural Affection, for which he received an L.A. Drama-Logue Award, Horton Foote’s The One-Armed Man, the world premiere of Conversations With The Spanish Lady by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, Jitters, by David French, and the world premiere of Twisted Twain, a one-man show by Bill Erwin. (www.lorenzodestefano.com)
Script Perusal
Scripts are available for perusal on premises at the Manoa Valley Theatre business office, 2833 East Manoa Road, between 9:30 am and 5:00 pm, Mondays through Fridays.
More Information
For more information, please contact MVT at 988-6131 or businessoffice@manoavalleytheatre.com.