APAC schedules auditions for ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’

Aloha Performing Arts Company Director Jerry Tracy will conduct open auditions for volunteer actors for “Arsenic and Old Lace” at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 and 22.

This perennial American mystery comedy by Joseph Kesselring is the next production of the Aloha Performing Arts Company. It will be presented at the historic Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu the first three weekends of October.

Rehearsals will begin Aug. 27 and generally will be Sunday afternoons and Monday through Thursday evenings. Not every character is required at every rehearsal. Time commitment varies from role to role. The overall rehearsal and performance schedule will be posted at auditions. If cast, actors should be available for the entire rehearsal period with a minimum number of conflicts, and must commit to the entire performance run.

No experience is necessary and newcomers are encouraged to audition. Fourteen roles are available..

Those auditioning are asked to prepare a one- to two-minute memorized comic monologue and provide the director with a hard copy. Auditions also will include reading from the script, which is available at the APAC office for on-site perusal or checkout in exchange for a deposit. Prospective cast members are welcome to attend both evening audition sessions, but this is not necessary in order to be considered for a role. A possible invitational callback audition might be at 6 p.m. Aug. 23, if necessary.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” is set in Brooklyn in 1941. The plot revolves around sisters Abby and Martha Brewster, two sweet, eccentric old ladies. They have three nephews: Teddy, who lives with them, and thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt; Mortimer, a frazzled drama critic; and Jonathan, the mysterious black sheep of the family. The original Broadway production featured Boris Karloff as Jonathan, and the 1944 movie version starred Cary Grant as Mortimer.

Lonely men are poisoned and bodies are discovered in various places in the house. Madcap slapstick mayhem ensues, but somehow the show arrives at a happy ending.

For more information or to arrange a script perusal, call the APAC office at 322-9924 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.