The Glass Menagerie

Apex Theatre Studio will hold auditions for its fall studio show for upper division students on Saturday, August 9th from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. at the studio (or via Zoom).

Synopsis:

A drama of great tenderness, charm, and beauty, The Glass Menagerie is an icon of the American theater.

The production will be under the direction of George Judy, Professor of Theatre (Louisiana State University)

Please note the role(s) of Amanda and Older Tom (narrator) will be played by professional actors.

OVERVIEW: Amanda Wingfield is a faded, tragic remnant of Southern gentility who lives in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. Amanda strives to give meaning and direction to her life and the lives of her children, though her methods are ineffective and irritating. Tom is driven nearly to distraction by his mother’s nagging and seeks escape in the world of the movies. Laura also lives in her illusions. She is crippled, and this defect, intensified by her mother’s anxiety to see her married, has driven her more and more into herself. The crux of the action comes when Tom invites a young man of his acquaintance to take dinner with the family. Jim, the caller, is a nice ordinary fellow who is at once pounced upon by Amanda as a possible husband for Laura. In spite of her crude and obvious efforts to entrap the young man, he and Laura manage to get along very nicely, and momentarily Laura is lifted out of herself into a new world. But this crashes when, toward the end, Jim explains that he is already engaged. The world of illusion that Amanda and Laura have striven to create in order to make life bearable collapses about them. Tom, too, at the end of his tether, at last

Roles available:

Younger Tom Wingfield

Male

Tom feels fettered by the constraints of his job and his family and yearns for escape in all aspects of his life. Dissatisfied with his monotonous warehouse job, he writes poetry on the side and keeps secrets.

Laura Wingfield

Female

Laura is deeply fragile, both emotionally and physically: she is painfully shy, and a childhood illness has left one leg slightly shorter than the other, making her walk with a limp.  Despite her fragility, Laura does not willfully delude herself about the nature of her reality. She accepts her leg injury and her shyness without trying to pretend that she is another version of herself.

Jim O’Connor

Male

Jim works with Tom at the warehouse. He and Tom were acquaintances in high school, where Jim was the hero: sports star, lead in the theater productions, class president, etc.  A nice, ordinary man who is unaware of the darker side of life.

Rehearsal schedule: Mondays 5:00-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Saturdays 1:00-4:00 p.m. August 11th thru September 24th

Performances: Thursday September 25th (student preview), Friday, September 26th (opening) Saturday, September 27th(7:00 p.m.) Thursday, October 2nd (10:00 a.m.-school show) Friday, October 3rd (10:00 a.m. school show) Saturday, October 4th (7:00 p.m.) Sunday, October 5th (2 p.m.)

Tuition: $375 (payment plans available)