Dreamwell Theatre will hold auditions for Christopher Durang’s Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them, directed by Adeara Jean Maurice.

Auditions will be held December 7th at the CORALVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1:00-4:00, and at the IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY on December 9th from 6:30-9:00.  Auditioners are encouraged but not required to prepare a monologue.  Performances will be February 20, 21, 27, & 28. Questions can be directed to adearajean.maurice@gmail.com

Character Descriptions

Felicity (female, 20 – 30) – a perfectly nice, educated young woman, sane and sensible despite her family. Realistic.

Zamir (Male, 20 – 40) – a charming and intimidating young man of indeterminate ethnicity;  mix of sexy and scary, can go from charming to angry to vulnerable quickly, dark haired, probably Pakistani or Egyptian or Indian. But could look Italian or Greek too. Does not have an accent, sounds American.

Luella (female, 40 – 50) – Felicity’s mother, sweet, somewhat dazed/forgetful/befuddled woman. Obsessed with the theatre and escaping from reality. Says what’s on her mind.

Leonard (male, 40 – 60) – Felicity’s father. Stubborn and forceful, strong minded. Sure he’s right about everything. Patriotic.

Reverend Mike (male, 20 – 40) – a minster who directs porno movies. Likeable face, bit sexy, midly debauched feeling. Good intentions with loose morals.

Hildegarde (female, 20 -50) – Outgoing and eager. Great comedic timing, not afraid to be herself, impressionable, conservative in opinion.

Voice/Narrator (fe)male, 20-50) – Well spoken, charismatic, should have a good voice. Energetic and versatile. Also plays a character that only speaks in Looney Tunes voices.

Synopsis

Christopher Durang turns political humor upside down with this raucous and provocative satire about America’s growing homeland “insecurity.” Why Torture is Wrong, and the People who Love Them tells the story of a young woman suddenly in crisis: Is her new husband, whom she married when drunk, a terrorist? Or just crazy? Or both? Is her father’s hobby of butterfly collecting really a cover for his involvement in a shadow government? Why does her mother enjoy going to the theatre so much? Does she seek mental escape, or is she insane? Honing in on our private terrors both at home and abroad, Durang oddly relieves our fears in this black comedy for an era of yellow, orange and red alerts.