The Hendersonville Performing Arts Company announced earlier this month that they will be replacing the previously scheduled Little Women with the ever-popular, Steel Magnolias.
"The Board of Directors of HPAC strongly felt that continuing with a musical at this time, would be unwise, and in the interest of keeping our casts and public safe, we felt that this was the best decision," the PAC said on Facebook.
This will be the final show of the 2019-20 season (which was originally scheduled for May).
Here is a collection of Important dates and instructions for submitting a video audition:
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Audition Deadline: Submit this audition form by Thursday, July 30, at 11:59 p.m.
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Potential Callbacks: Tuesday, August 4, at 6:30 p.m.
- Rehearsals: Rehearsals will begin Monday, August 10, and will be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. We will adjust the schedule to meet the needs of our cast.
- Show Dates: Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., from September 11-27
Character Descriptions:
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M’Lynn Eatenton: 50ish. Shelby’s mother. Socially prominent career woman
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Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie: Mid-20s. Prettiest girl in town
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Ouiser Boudreaux: 50ish and older. Wealthy curmudgeon. Acerbic but loveable
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Clairee Belcher: 50ish and older. Widow of former mayor. Grande dame
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Truvy Jones: 40ish. Owner of the beauty shop
- Annelle Dupuy-Desoto: Late teens to late 20s. Beauty shop assistant
Audition Instructions:
HPAC has included an audition monologue for each character on the next few pages. Please identify which character(s) you’d like to audition for, and then video yourself performing the monologue for each character. Please complete this form, which includes a space for you to share your video submissions, by Thursday, July 30, at 11:59 p.m. And, follow these instructions:
- Please record in a well-lit space where we can clearly see your face, and limit background noises
- Please share your video as a link (Google Drive, unlisted YouTube link, Vimeo, etc.)
- At the beginning of your video, please state your name and for which character you’re auditioning
- If you’re auditioning for multiple characters, please send a separate link for each character
- Don’t feel pressured to memorize the monologue, but please do feel familiar and comfortable with the material
Callback Instructions:
Hendersonville Performing Arts Company will notify you if you are needed for callbacks by Sunday evening, August 2. Callbacks will consist of cold reads from the script, and they’ll be in person at HPAC with care to follow CDC guidance and stagger callback times.
Audition Monologues:
M’Lynn
"No. I couldn’t leave my Shelby. I stayed there. I kept on pushing… just like I always have where Shelby was concerned… hoping she’d sit up and argue with me. But finally we all realized there was no hope. At that point I panicked. I was very afraid that I would not survive the next few minutes while they turned off the machines. Drum couldn’t take it. He left. Jackson couldn’t take it. He left. It struck me as amusing. Men are supposed to be made of steel or something. But I could not leave. I just sat there… holding Shelby’s hand while the sounds got softer and the beeps got further apart until all was quiet. There was no noise, no tremble… just peace."
Shelby
"Mama…listen. I don’t know why you have to make everything so difficult. I look at having this baby as the opportunity of a lifetime. I have it all planned. I'm going to be very careful. And this time next year, I'm going to be bringing your big healthy grandbaby to the Christmas festival. No one is going to be hurt or disappointed, or even inconvenienced. Sure, there may be some risk involved. That’s true for anybody. But you get through it and life goes on. And when it’s all said and done there’ll be a little piece of immortality with Jackson’s good looks and my sense of style… I hope. Mama, please. I need your support. I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a life-time of nothing special."
Ouiser
"It’s not your fault, M’Lynn. I used to think that you were crazy for marrying that man. Then I thought you were a glutton for punishment. Now I realize that you must be on some mission from God. I have not slept in days. I look like a dog’s dinner. However, when I got up this morning, I decided I would try to rise above it. I would start anew. Whatever that man has done, I would overlook it in honor of your wedding day, Shelby. I thought I would make myself a little presentable and floss up the house in case somebody wanted to drop in… it being a big day in the neighborhood and all. So I go out to my magnolia tree and there is not a bloom on it! I was standing there looking at my…my naked magnolia tree when I saw Drum across the way loading what appeared to be a cannon. I asked what happened to all these magnolia blossoms. He said the wind probably blew them off during the night. Then I asked him how the wind managed to blow them all off into your pool. Then he fired at me! Is that rude or what?"
Clairee
"Lloyd and I missed it to fifty years by three months. That stinker. Bless his heart. He tried. He just couldn’t make it. Shelby, I hope you and Jackson will be as happy as Lloyd and I were. We had such a good time. Until last November… at least he hung on through the state playoffs. I don’t miss the whirlwind of being the Mayor’s wife. It’s not easy being just one. I don’t like going to things by myself. If I go with another couple, I’m a third wheel. If I go with a friend, we’re just a couple of old biddies."
Truvy
"She prays at the drop of a hat these days. Ever since Mardi Gras. She had her choice of going to a Bible weekend with her Sunday School class or to New Orleans with me and two other sinners. She left that Friday a pleasant, well-adjusted young lady and she returned on Tuesday a Christian. Her boyfriend's so confused he doesn't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt. He's crazy about her. He says he could deal with another man in her life, but he has trouble with the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost."
Annelle
"Miss M’Lynn. I don’t mean to upset you by saying that. You see. When something like this happens, I pray very hard to make heads or tails of it. I think in Shelby’s case, she wanted to take care of that baby, of you, of everybody she knew… and her poor body was just worn out. It wouldn’t let her do everything she wanted to do. So she went on to a place where she could be a guardian angel. She will always be young. She will always be beautiful. And I personally feel much safer knowing she’s up there on my side. I know some people might think that sounds real simple and stupid… and maybe I am. But that’s how I get through things like this."
