Davenport's QC Theatre Workshop will host auditions for its summer production, Nina Raine's family drama Tribes, on Saturday, February 21 at 5:00pm, with performances scheduled for June 12 - 28. Directed by Augustana College theatre instructor Jennifer Popple, Tribes features roles for three women and three men, ages early 20s through early 60s, with two of the roles requiring some performance of sign language.
The recipient of the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Best Play, Tribes tells the story of a young deaf man born into a hearing family, whose parents - wanting to protect him from feeling like an outcast - prevent him from learning sign language. However, when he meets a young woman who is losing her hearing and is already fluent in sign, deeper questions about family, community, beliefs, traditions, and communication are raised in this smart and moving new work that the Chicago Tribune called "uncommonly fine play," and the New Yorker magazine deemed "extraordinary."
Raine's unique drama employs both speech and sign language - with the latter being interpreted for hearing audiences via projected super-titles - and two of Tribes' cast members will be asked to perform sign language in their roles. But while prior familiarity with sign language will be beneficial, it is not required, as rehearsals will be set aside for the actors to focus exclusively on sign.
Female actors are sought for the roles of Beth (50s/60s), Ruth (20s), and Sylvia (20s), and male actors for the roles of Christopher (50s/60s), Daniel (20s), and Billy (20s). Those auditioning will be asked to perform a memorized dramatic monologue of two minutes or fewer and be prepared to read from the script. Rehearsals will begin in early May, with opening night scheduled for Friday, June 12.
Prior to Tribes, the QC Theatre Workshop will present its two spring productions. The first production of 2015 is author Keith Huff's Broadway smash A Steady Rain. Running March 13 - 28, and described by the Chicago Tribune as "a gritty, rich, thick, poetic, and entirely gripping noir" this tale of two Chicago cops and a horrific shooting reunites the team who initiated the Workshop's 2012 debut production of RED: director Tyson Danner and co-stars Mike Schulz and Thomas Alan Taylor. In May, the Workshop with partner with Dress for Success Quad Cities to present a benefit production of Nora and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss and What I Wore May 15 - 17.
and other events at the QC Theatre Workshop, call (563)650-2396 or e-mail info@QCTheatreWorkshop.org, and visit QCTheatreWorkshop.org and Facebook.com/QCTheatreWorkshop.
A Steady Rain Performances
Friday, March 13, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 14, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 20, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 21, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 27, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 28, 7:30 p.m.
Love, Loss and What I Wore
Performances
Friday, May 15, 7:30pm
Saturday, May 16, 7:30pm
Sunday, May 17, 3pm
Tribes Performances
Friday, June 12, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 13, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 14, 3 p.m.
Friday, June 19, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 21, 3 p.m.
Friday, June 26, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 27, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 28, 3 p.m.
