The Revolutionists By: Lauren Gunderson Director: Leigh Matthews Bock Open Auditions: December 11 & 12 at 6:30pm Rehearsal Timeframe: Example: January 2 – March 7, 2024 Evening Performances (7:30pm): March 8, 9,15 & 16 Matinee Performances (2:30pm): March 10 & 17 Content Label: Adult themes & language PG-13
The Majestic Theatre (a division of the City of Corvallis Parks and Recreation department) is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion and to creating a safe place for actors of all backgrounds to explore their craft. We are particularly eager to work with artists of color and other artists from marginalized communities. All auditions are free and open to the public. This audition is for an amateur, volunteer production. The Majestic Theatre staff and volunteers do not discriminate on the basis of age, national origin, race, gender, ethnic background, ability, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or any protected class.
Auditions will be held in person at the Majestic Theatre. A headshot will be taken at auditions to be posted with the cast list.
SHOW SYNOPSIS
Four badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. A playwright, an assassin, a former queen, and spy hang out and try to beat back the extremist havoc in 1793 Paris. A dream-tweaked comedy about legacy, art, activism, feminism, chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world.
Beneath the humor lies some important issues to be pondered. Who are the heroes and who are the victims in history, and why do they sometimes change over time? Does the pen dominate the sword? Why have women’s contributions not received adequate recognition, and why have they not achieved the same standing as men? Why do minorities, the poor, and the already oppressed continue to suffer abuse by the privileged?
FROM THE DIRECTOR Leigh Matthews Bock
I invite you to consider becoming a part of this show as it seeks to set the record straight. For the greater part, history has been written by white men, and The Revolutionists makes a powerful statement about women whose histories have been forgotten, despite their roles in shaping it. Lauren Gunderson hopes to rectify gender imbalances in some small measure by sharing the stories of four women who impacted, and were victims of, the French Revolution.
PREPARATION NOTES
You will need to contact the director (Leighmbock@comcast.net) to receive a short monologue from the play. You are asked to become familiar with it and be ready to share it during auditions. You will also be sent a recording of the a cappella song from The Revolutionists (Let It Be Me) to become familiar with. There will be a short time during the audition process that will focus on singing the show’s anthem (Let It Be Me) a cappella. Wear comfortable clothes to audition; be ready to move as part of your audition. Please note that if you are interested in the Olympe role you will not be required to sing.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
All but one character does not have a specific race or ethnic background; we're excited to see a diverse pool of actors audition for these roles. Please note that one character does require an actor who identifies as Black. In addition, character ages and actor ages aren't required to be the same.
OLYMPE DE GOUGE Desired Actor Gender: Female Presenting Character Age: 40-55 Character Race: Any Character Ethnicity: Any Ability/movement: On stage the entire play. Sit, stand, lean, climb and be comfortable with ascending and descending stairs. Possibly down on the floor at times. Olympe, a visionary and radical in every action she took, who dared to push the definition of equality beyond where male rebels believed it could extend. French playwright and vocal activist, Olympe believed that a true revolution would give equal rights to the men and women of France. She advocated for the abolition of slavery in the colonies, and died for her belief. Olympe de Gouges spent her adult life composing political pamphlets, writing plays to advocate for gender equality, and shouting to make men hear even a whisper of her voice. MARIANNE ANGELLE Desired Actor Gender: Female Presenting Character Age: 25-45 Character Race: Black Character Ethnicity: Any Vocals: Able to sing a cappella Ability/movement: On stage nearly the entire play. Sit, stand, lean, climb and be comfortable with ascending and descending stairs. Possibly down on the floor at times. Based most loosely upon the historical canon, Marianne Angels. Marianne is a blend of various women of color who sought equality during the French Revolution in order to raise up women’s realities not only in France itself, but also on one of its island colonies, Saint-Domingue. Three years after the French Revolution began, the Haitian Revolution became one of the largest and the first fully successful slave revolt in history. Spurred by witnessing French citizens cry out against royal domination, both free and enslaved people of color on the island were inspired to demand freedom and equality through the same means as their mainland influence. Marianne serves as a spokeswoman for those fighting against the tyranny of colonialism and slavery.
CHARLOTTE CORDAY Desired Actor Gender: Female Presenting Character Age: 18-30 Character Race: Any Character Ethnicity: Any Vocals: Able to sing a cappella Ability/movement: On stage nearly the entire play. Sit, stand, lean, climb and be comfortable with ascending and descending stairs. Possibly down on the floor at times. Charlotte is the woman who stabbed radical journalist and politician Jean-Paul Marat. While Marat’s legacy and name recognition has thrived thanks to his role as a martyr for the rebels, Charlotte faded into obscurity. Her action may have left a permanent mark on history, but her independent and powerful persona is most often reduced to “the nameless woman who killed Marat." The French Revolution’s male-centered narrative seeks to eradicate all of Corday’s agency, emphasizing how Marat’s murder and legacy influenced the revolutionists’ thinking rather than Corday’s own political statement or how her act forever transformed how women could participate in revolution. Through exploring her story leading up to her attack on Marat and her time spent in jail afterwards while obscuring the moment of violence itself, The Revolutionists restores Charlotte’s voice and story to its rightful place in history.
MARIE ANTOINETTE Desired Actor Gender: Female Presenting Character Age: 35-45 Character Race: Any Character Ethnicity: Any Vocals: Able to sing a cappella Ability/movement: On stage nearly the entire play. Sit, stand, lean, climb and be comfortable with ascending and descending stairs. Possibly down on the floor at times. Arguably the most recognized symbol of privilege during the revolution, Marie was perceived both then and now as just that, a symbol. Although her reputation is based almost exclusively on what society accredits as her most defining character traits–naive, privileged, and apathetic–the Marie Antoinette we know from history is nothing more than a caricature of the perception of women in revolutionary France. Even her infamous response to being informed that the peasants were revolting, “let them eat cake,” is now largely believed to be manufactured in order to demonize the French queen. Revolutionists hated Marie for her obsession with material goods and lack of sympathy towards the public struggle and criticized her entitled, callow nature. What they failed to recognize, however, was that Marie was also a young woman separated from her family, immersed in an unfamiliar culture and language who had a whole lot of expectations forced upon her by accident of her birth. The goal of The Revolutionists is not to excuse her entirely of blame or collusion, but instead, to instill Marie with some of the humanity and integrity of which time and reputation have robbed her.