All My Sons Auditions

Name: All My Sons Auditions
Start: 2024-10-20T18:00:00-04:00
End: 2024-10-20T21:00:00-04:00
Location: 340 Prospect St, Fall River, MA 02720, 02720

Schedule

Sun Oct 20 2024 at 06:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

340 Prospect St, Fall River, MA 02720, 02720 | Fall River, MA

Auditions: October 20 and 21, 6:00 – 9:00 PM.
Auditions will consist of cold readings of sides/scenes from the script. Actors may be asked to read several different sides and/or with several different groups, so it is important to plan to stay for the entire audition time. Actors only need to come to one of the audition days. Also, children will be asked to read first and may not need to stay for the entire audition time.
Production Dates: January 23-26 and January 30-February 2.
Tentative Rehearsal Dates: Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays beginning November 17th. There will not be rehearsals on Thanksgiving, Christmas/First Night of Hanukkah, or New Year’s Eve.
Synopsis:
Set in August 1946, All My Sons by Arthur Miller is a three-act play which illustrates how the love of money can create a lifetime of misery and guilt. The play is based on a true story and was awarded the Tony Award for Best Author and for Best Direction of a Play. The plot of the play revolves around Joe Keller and Steve Deever selling faulty airplane parts to the army, which killed twenty-one American pilots. Joe was exonerated from the crime, but Steve was found guilty and sent to prison. The twin shadows of this catastrophe and the fact that the Keller’s younger son, Larry, was reported missing during the war dominate the action. Steve's son, George, brings the truth to the family prior to Joe's son, Chris, marrying George’s sister, Ann. The climax showing the reaction of a son to his guilty father is a fitting conclusion to a play electrifying in its intensity.
To read the script: It is readily available at most public libraries. You also may be able to find a copy online.
Character Descriptions:
Please note that the age ranges are the age of the characters in 1946.
Actors should be able to “read” or “appear” to be that age.
Joe Keller — Joe, 60s, was exonerated after being charged with knowingly shipping from his factory defective aircraft engine cylinder heads (for Curtiss P-40 fighters) during World War II, becoming (in his own words) "the guy who made 21 P-40s crash in Australia." For over three years he has placed the blame on his partner and former neighbor, Steve Deever, although he himself committed the crime. When the truth comes out, Joe justifies his actions by claiming that he did it for his family.
Kate Keller (Mother) — Kate, 50s, knows that Joe is guilty but lives in denial while mourning for her younger son Larry, who has been "missing in action" for three years. She refuses to believe that Larry is dead and maintains that Ann Deever — who returns for a visit at the request of Larry's brother Chris — is still "Larry's girl" and also believes that he is coming back.
Chris Keller — Chris, 32, returned home from World War II two years before the play begins, disturbed by the realization that the world was continuing as if nothing had happened. He has summoned Ann Deever to the Keller house in order to ask for her hand in marriage, but they're faced with the obstacle of Kate's unreasonable conviction that Larry will someday return. Chris idolizes his father, not knowing initially what he has done.
Ann Deever — Ann, 26, arrives at the Keller home having shunned her "guilty" father since his imprisonment. Throughout the play, Ann is often referred to as pretty, beautiful, and intelligent-looking and as "Annie.” She had a relationship with Larry Keller before his disappearance and has since moved on because she knows the truth of his fate. She hopes that the Kellers will consent to her marriage to Larry's brother, Chris, with whom she has had corresponded by mail for two years. Ann is the truth-bearer in the play.
George Deever — George, 31, is Ann's older brother: a successful New York lawyer, WWII veteran, and a childhood friend of Chris's. He initially believed in his father's guilt, but upon visiting Steve in jail, realizes his innocence and becomes enraged at the Kellers for deceiving him. He returns to save his sister from her marriage to Chris, creating the catalyzing final events.
Dr. Jim Bayliss — Jim, 40s, is a successful doctor, but is frustrated with the stifling domesticity of his life. He wants to become a medical researcher but continues in his job as it pays the bills. He is a close friend to the Keller family and spends a lot of time in their backyard.
Sue Bayliss — Sue, 40s, is Jim's wife: needling and dangerous, but affectionate. She too is a friend of the Keller family but is secretly resentful of what she sees as Chris's bad idealistic influence on Jim. Sue confronts Ann about her resentment of Chris in a particularly volatile scene.
Frank Lubey — Frank, 33, was always one year ahead of the draft, so he never served in World War II, instead staying home to marry George's former sweetheart, Lydia. He draws up Larry's horoscope and tells Kate that Larry must still be alive because the day he died was meant to be his "favorable day.” This strengthens Kate's faith and makes it much harder for Ann to move on.
Lydia Lubey — Lydia, 27, was George's love interest before the war; after he went away, she married Frank, and they soon had three children. She is a model of peaceful domesticity and lends a much-needed cheerful air to several moments of the play.
Bert — Bert, 8, is a little boy who lives in the neighborhood; he is friends with the Bayliss' son Tommy and frequently visits the Kellers' yard to play "jail" with Joe. He appears only twice in the play: the first time, his part seems relatively unimportant, but the second time his character is more important as he sparks a verbal attack from Kate when mentioning "jail,” which highlights Joe's secret.