Winners Circle Productions is putting together several different companies of Edward Clinton's Winners! during the touring phase of its Pre-Broadway tryout. If you are interested in auditioning for Winners!
Send picture/resumes to:
Winners Circle Productions
P.O. Box 670
Mystic, CT 06355
If you send a video, it should be no longer than 10 minutes. Include any previous performance video as well as a picture and resume.
The following is a description of the characters needed for a production of Edward Clinton's Winners! In addition to being physically fit and having the type of physic to compete in a beauty pageant, each actress must have certain specific abilities or the willingness to expertly learn the skills required to perform the respective roles. In addition, if the actress interested in the role feels that she has any other special talents and skills that would be appropriate as talent for a beauty pageant competition, then these may also be able to be incorporated into the performance. Don't limit yourself to the special skills and talents of the characters as written.
CHARACTERS
Sheri Alexander, Miss Texas , petite and stunning. She is high maintenance and has a core of iron. Needs a good singing voice.
Carole Ann Truitt, Miss Ohio, very tall (at least 5'10" or taller), almost exotic looking, gorgeous, sensuous, very intense. Needs a good singing voice. Must be able to perform with a ventriloquist dummy or learn how.
Kim Trojohowski, Miss New Hampshire, small. Ivory soap kind of attractive without make up, big eyes, glasses, seems confused, but she isn't. She is really quite smart. Needs a good singing voice and be able to twirl baton along with a baton twirling dance routine.
This is an ensemble piece. The show runs 90 minutes without an intermission and all three characters are almost always on stage for the entire show. There are a few places where one character or the other is off stage, however, during that time the actress is usually getting into a costume change and then going right back out. The costume changes are very fast and overall the show is quite a fast paced farce and very demanding. It requires the skill and talent of a real pro.
Notes regarding the characters:
These characters are all trained to compete. And that's what they do - without even thinking about it. This play needs a tremendous amount of energy from all three actresses throughout the entire performance. This is a crucial element to always keep in mind.
Sheri's Texas accent should be completely down-played. She is very wealthy. And since television plays such a large part in American life today, regional accents are diminishing throughout the country as a whole. This is especially true of Texas. The key is to do the role straight, limiting the accent to a flavor. Just saying the words as written, such as: "git," "whyn't," etc. will give the audience enough of a flavor of the accent. Leave it at that. I have purposely limited, to the extreme, expressions such as "you-all," because it has been my experience that if you give an actress one too many chances to say "you-all" (I believe it appears once in the script), you end up very quickly with Ellie May from "The Beverly Hillbillies." This is not what we want. A Texas accent can become very grating if not used with extreme moderation. Lastly, any strange thing Sheri says must be played quite straight to be funny. An actress commenting on an already commenty line leaves the audience with nothing to laugh at. When Sheri says something is cute, it is to her simply a statement of fact. In playing the role of Sheri, to play "cute" would be a big mistake. Onstage, as in life, there is a difference between playing at something and being it. Quite a crucial distinction. Sheri is cute. That's a fact. She doesn't have to play at it.
The key to playing the role of Carole is "abandon." She is totally "out there" with no apologies whatsoever. She doesn't think for a second that any of her opinions, or her behavior, might be inappropriate, whether it's slurping on an orange or doing her ventriloquist routine. That's just Carole.
The trap one must avoid in playing the role of Kim is in becoming even slightly passive, low-key or "depressed." Kim's energy drives the entire play throughout. From the moment she jumps up in Scene One, she has to be filled with energy. Yes, she is conflicted. Yes, she says she doesn't want to be at the pageant, but she is there, isn't she. Kim is always thinking. Always trying to do something. If Kim's energy level is not kept very high, throughout the entire performance, the play as a whole will not work.
EJC Stonington, CT
TIME
Early February
The Present
The Week of the Miss God Bless America Pageant
PLACE
Detroit , Michigan , downtown. The Presidential Penthouse on the top floor of the new "Harriott House Hotel." A very large, modern and elegant hotel room with one king-sized bed Center-Stage with bedside tables to each side. At the top of the play the bed clothes are slightly rumpled. Phone is on Stage-Left bedside table. The bedspread and accessories are extremely upscale. Stage-Left there is an elegant writing desk and chair. To one side of this desk is a locked door leading to the rest of the suite. Down Stage-Right is a small sitting area with a loveseat, two matching chairs and a coffee table. Down Stage-Left are two matching upholstered club chairs directly opposite each other. As the play begins, there is a suitcase, 2 batons, a book, a make-up case at the foot of the bed, as well as a duffle bag up SL against the window wall. The back-wall is semi-circular and comprised completely of a series of narrow rectangular windows topped by an elegant valance. Outside, we see the sky filled with pink clouds at the beginning of the play. Stage-Left is a small open hallway leading to and showing the door to the walk-in closet and another door to the huge bathroom. Stage-Right there is a set of double doors leading to the outside hallway. In this area there is also a large mirror with a small table beneath it. On the table is a large, elegant, elaborate vase of flowers. The effect of the entire room is one of elegance at the top of the world, floating in the clouds. |
