Audition Notice

Quark Theatre is holding auditions for Escaped Alone, by Caryl Churchill.

Directed by Adam Remsen – opening January 20, 2023

Three old friends and a neighbor. A summer of afternoons in the backyard as four women, all “at least seventy,” meet for tea and ruminations on catastrophe. Caryl Churchill’s darkly comic play bends time and space to find absurdist humor and wrenching revelations juxtaposed with backyard tea and environmental disaster. The women explore themes of politics, crisis, communication, and female endurance within a wry comedic voice.

Winner of the 2017 Writers’ Guild Awards, Best Play

The New York Times said of Escaped Alone: “The play’s combination of theatrical technique and untrammeled imagination, and of the personal and the universal, make you understand why Ms. Churchill is regarded by many… as the most dazzlingly inventive living dramatist in the English language.”

AUDITIONS: Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at TheatreSouth (home of Voices of the South), 1000 Cooper Ave in the First Congo basement.

ROLES AVAILABLE: No roles have been precast. Actors of all ethnicities are encouraged to apply. The play has four roles, all women who can believably play age 70 or older.

• SALLY is the hostess of the garden party. A dominant personality.
• MRS. JARRETT is the neighborhood newcomer and the play’s narrator.
• VI is a neighbor and friend of Sally’s. Outspoken and opinionated.
• LENA is the group’s peacekeeper, rather timid, uncomfortable in her own skin.

Please note: At one point the entire cast will sing together, a cappella. Also, please be prepared to try to read in a British accent, although the decision has not yet been made whether the show will be performed with accents or not.

PAPERWORK: Please bring a performance resume. Headshots are not necessary.

Rehearsals will begin in early December 2022. We will open January 20, 2023 and run Friday-Saturday-Sunday for three weekends, closing on February 5. Friday and Saturday curtain is 8:00, Sunday at 2:00.

Please email via our contact page for a copy of the script or with any questions.