JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE Auditions-UPDATE
Title of Show: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Synopsis: Set in 1911 Pittsburgh, boarding house owners Seth and Bertha Holly host a makeshift family of people during the Great Migration of the 1910s when descendants of former slaves moved in large numbers from the South, seeking jobs and new lives.
Director: TBA
Ages Called: 12+
IMPORTANT DATES
AUDITIONS
Thursday, November 18 (6:00PM-8:00PM)
AUDITIONS AT: South Bend CIVIC Theatre
403 N. Main Street, South Bend
VIDEO AUDITIONS accepted. Contact Jeremy@sbct.org
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
December TBS- February 4, Sunday-Thursday 6-9:30PM (***Rehearsals for December will be sporadic. Full rehearsals will begin in January 2022. A full rehearsal schedule will be available at Auditions).
Tech: Saturday, February 5th and 6th (All Day), February 7th-9th (6-10PM)
Pay What You Can Preview: February 10 @ 7:30PM
LIVE SHOWS
February 11-12, 18-19 at 7:00PM, February 20 at 2PM (at John Adam’s High School)
February 15th @ 9am (School Show)
ROLES
Seth Holly- In his early fifties, Seth is owner of the boarding house and works as a craftsman.
Bertha Holly- Seth’s wife of 25-years and five-years his junior, Bertha runs the boarding house. She does all the cooking and cleaning, later with the aid of Zonia.
Bynum Walker- A “conjure” man staying with the Holly’s at the boarding house, Bynum is in his sixties and is a freed slave from the south.
Rutherford Selig- The only white character in the play, Selig is a peddler who sells Seth’s goods. Known as the “People Finer”, Selig is from a family that first brought Africans across the Atlantic to become slaves. But now he unites people by recording the names and places all of the people he peddles to.
Jeremy Furlow- Another resident of the boarding house, Jeremy is a guitar-playing 25-year-old. He came to the North looking for a job and a way in life. He works construction, putting in the new road outside of town.
Herald Loomis- An odd man who dons an overcoat and hat in mid-August, Loomis is 32 and a displaced man searching for his wife. He was forced to work for Joe Turner for seven years, which separated him from his wife and daughter. He works as a deacon for the Abundant Life Church and at times was possessed by spiritual beings.
Zonia Loomis- Herald’s daughter, Zonia is described as a tall and skinny 11-year-old.
Mattie Campbell- Mattie is a 25-year-old woman who is disappointed with her position in life and is looking for love.
Rueben Mercer- Reuben is the Holly’s next-door neighbor and about Zonia’s age.
Molly Cunningham- Molly is a good looking young woman of 26 who is strong and independent.
Martha Pentecost- Loomis’ wife, Martha is about 28 and very religious and a member of the Evangelical church. She left the South and her daughter behind.
(Joe Turner- While Turner does not make an actual appearance in the play, he is often referred to with the expectation that the audience is aware of who he is. Joe Turner, the brother of the governor of Tennessee, would kidnap black men and force them into labor on his chain gang for seven years.)
Audition information
Performers must be vaccinated.
WHAT TO PREPARE: No preparation necessary! Sides provided at auditions.
COVID PROTOCOLS
All volunteers will receive temperature checks and be required to mask. If your temperature is over 100.4° F, then you will be denied entrance. This includes volunteers under 12. Volunteers 12 and over must provide proof of vaccination. Volunteers 12 and under will receive temperature checks and be required to mask.
Masks are required at all times except when performing on stage.
If a volunteer of any age exhibits COVID symptoms or is exposed to COVID, they must provide the theatre with a negative COVID test before being allowed to return.
If a volunteer tests positive for COVID, they are required to immediately alert the theatre, so that contact tracing may be conducted.
CIVIC contact tracing will require all exposed volunteers and/or staff to be tested. If additional positive tests are discovered, then measures will be taken to ensure the safety of all up to and including the postponement of a production.