CASTING NOTICE - Ad Astra's final production for 2024.
Love Lies Bleeding
By Don De Lillo
Love-Lies-Bleeding is a truly magnificent play, drawing its audience in to a scenario we hope we never find ourselves in, but still hangs over us in frighteningly close proximity.
Theatre Weekly
VENUE: 210 Petrie Terrace, QLD 4000
DIRECTED BY: Michael Futcher
PERFORMANCE SEASON: 31st October - 22nd November 2024
ERFORMANCE TIMES: Thurs, Fri & Sat 7.30PM and Saturday Matinees 2PM
REHEARSALS: Rehearsals Part-time September-October TBC - Subject to availability
PAYMENT: This is a co-op production, all get a share of ticket sales after expenses.
AUDITIONS: Monday 19th August 9:30 - 3:30
CALL BACKS: Thursday 22th August
To apply, please email creatives@adastracreativity.com only. Please include your current CV in Word or Google Doc only, as well as a RECENT headshot. Please make sure you specify the role/roles you will be auditioning for and any dates/ times you cannot make.
THE TEAM
Director - Michael Futcher
Michael is a director, writer, actor, dramaturg, acting coach, and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Matrix Theatre. Over the last 40 years Michael has worked on more than 100 stage productions in various capacities. He is the recipient of numerous Queensland and national awards including a Green Room Award, two APACA Awards, several Matilda Awards and AWGIE and Helpmann Award Nominations.
Assistant Director - Tom Pocilujko
Tomas Pocilujko is an actor and creative currently based in Brisbane. Most recently Tom was seen on stage in Woodward Production’s Plied and Prejudice, Teddy in Six Mile Saloon on NYE by Brisbane Immersive and in Joan Must Die* (I Never Liked Her Anyway) by Daniel Evans produced by QUT. Tomas graduated from Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) (Honours) in 2023. For Ad Astra, Tomas has worked as a tech operator for The Amatuers directed by Susan O’Toole Cridland and as Associate Producer and Lighting Designer for the Sydney tour of Toy Symphony.
Ad Astra Theatre Company
Ad Astra started in 2018 in a converted 1970s two story brick office block at 57 Misterton Street in Fortitude Valley - called the Satellite Theatre. It has a vibe very similar to the cool small theatres of LA, London and NYC. From humble beginnings, it has grown to take its place amongst the best independent theatre companies in Brisbane. It has seen hundreds of emerging and re-emerging amazing creatives showcase their talent on a professional stage. Many have been nominated for Matilda awards over the years. Ad Astra receives regular critical acclaim for its productions from both reviewers and audiences alike. In 2024 we have kick started Astra Nova, which is a program for emerging playwrights, who get to work with a mentor over a six month period to help bring new local plays to a professional stage. Next year, we will open our second venue, the premiere space there is the Galaxy Theatre . The new venue will offer spaces for rehearsals, performances, film events and so much more.
Artistic Director - Fiona Kennedy
Fiona loves textual analysis and exploring the playwright’s intention. Each season she curates a selection of Australian, Classic and unexpected productions that give Brisbane’s emerging and re-emerging creatives the opportunity to reach for the stars! Ad Astra's motto is ‘to the stars and beyond’. We strive to take players and audience beyond what is familiar and known, beyond what is timid and undisturbed, to new paradigms and distant galaxies. Fiona has an exciting range of acting credits to her name including Bakersfield Mist and Loot and has performed in theatres across south east Queensland.
Executive Producer - Gregory Wilken
Gregory is committed to helping emerging and reemerging creatives grow especially in the ‘business’ side of production. Gregory has been working across Ad Astra to develop budgeting guidelines, marketing plans as well as systems and procedures to ensure that each production has every chance of success. Gregory has been travelling interstate and overseas meeting with theatre companies to learn from their successes and setbacks to help Ad Astra grow stronger. Gregory is also an accomplished actor with theatre and film credits around Australia.
ABOUT AD ASTRA THEATRE COMPANY
Ad Astra started in 2018 in a converted 1970s two story brick office block at 57 Misterton Street in Fortitude Valley - called the Satellite Theatre. It has a vibe very similar to the cool small theatres of LA, London and NYC. From humble beginnings, it has grown to take its place amongst the best independent theatre companies in Brisbane. It has seen hundreds of emerging and re-emerging amazing creatives showcase their talent on a professional stage. Many have been nominated for Matilda awards over the years. Ad Astra receives regular critical acclaim for its productions from both reviewers and audiences alike. In 2024 we have kick started Astra Nova, which is a program for emerging playwrights, who get to work with a mentor over a six month period to help bring new local plays to a professional stage. Next year, we will open our second venue, the premiere space there is the Galaxy Theatre . The new venue will offer spaces for rehearsals, performances, film events and so much more.
ABOUT THE PLAY
The play concerns an artist named Alex Macklin in the last years of his life, and the effect his condition has on his son, Sean, and his second and fourth wives, Toinette and Lia, respectively. After a major second stroke, Alex is left in a persistent vegetative state and the other characters convene to reach a consensus about his fate. Sean pleads for mercy killing, arguing that his father is no longer alive except in a narrow technical sense. Toinette is sympathetic to this idea but later in the play evinces doubt and uncertainty about the metaphysical nature of their undertaking. Lia is initially opposed to the idea, arguing for a natural death without intervention, though later she agrees to Sean's plan to sedate and ultimately end Alex's life with the aid of morphine. The play also contains three scenes portraying earlier episodes in Alex's life with Lia and with Toinette.
Though written before the national debate concerning Terri Schiavo, the play predicts many of the questions central to that debate and is a powerful meditation on themes of mercy and mortality in the age of advanced medical technology. DeLillo has stated "I suppose this is a play about the modern meaning of life's end. When does it end? How does it end, how should it end? What is the value of life? How do we measure it?"
Please note the role of Toinette has already been cast.
Characters :
Alex - A Man, 70s (2x Roles Available)
Lia - A Woman, Early 30s
Sean - A Man, 35
Please prepare one realistic monologue in an American accent, no more than 3 minutes long. You will be asked to do a reading from the script. NB - accent should be STANDARD American not Southern.
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