AUDITIONS: Agatha Christie’s THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD

AUDITIONS: Agatha Christie’s THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD

Playing in the Long Beach Playhouse’s Mainstage Theater

Adapted by Philip Grecian from the novel by Agatha Christie

Directed by Mitchell Nunn

AUDITION DATES:  Nov. 4 – 6, 2024

• Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 – 7pm – 9pm: Open Call
• Tuesday,  Nov. 5, 2024 – 7pm – 9pm: Open Call
• Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 – 7pm – 10pm: Callbacks – By invitation only.

(Auditioners only need to come to one night of open call auditions.  We are only seeing in-person auditioners during audition times – no video submissions.)

PERFORMANCE DATES:  Jan. 11 – Feb. 8, 2025

AUDITION NOTICE:

TITLE: Agatha Christie’s THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD

AUTHOR: Adapted by Philip Grecian from the novel by Agatha Christie

DIRECTOR: Mitchell Nunn

RUN:  Jan. 11 – Feb. 8, 2025

Fridays & Saturdays 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Special performances on Thursday and Sunday nights may be added for private parties and special events.

This is a volunteer community theater production.  Non-Equity.  There is no pay. 

AUDITION DATES:

Open Call:

Dates: Monday, Nov. 4 and Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

(Auditioners only need to come to one night of Open Call Auditions.)

Times: 7pm – 9pm

Location: Long Beach Playhouse  

Callbacks: By Invitation Only.

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024

Times: 7pm – 10pm

REHEARSALS:

First Read-Through: Saturday, Nov. 9, Noon – 4pm

Regular Rehearsal: Starting Monday, Nov. 11: Mondays – Wednesdays, 7pm – 10pm; Saturdays 9am – Noon.

(Please see beginning rehearsal schedule BELOW for specific dates and times.)

Location: Long Beach Playhouse

NOTE: Open to working with some minor conflicts except for tech dates and performances.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

Bring headshot and resume. 

Sides for cold readings will be provided at the auditions.

SHORT SYNOPSIS:  

In the small village of King’s Abbot, before she commits suicide, Mrs. Ferrars admits to her fiancé, Roger Ackroyd, that she had murdered her husband a year earlier. Ackroyd relays the information to the village doctor, James Sheppard, revealing that the woman was being blackmailed to keep the murder a secret. Later, Ackroyd himself is murdered as he sits in his study, and the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is called out of retirement to investigate. Poirot engages Sheppard’s help to find the killer, referring to the doctor as his “Watson”. Every servant and acquaintance in the household at the time of Ackroyd’s murder has something to hide – but who did it? And why?

CASTING THE FOLLOWING ROLES:

NOTE: Actively seeking all ethnicities for all roles

DR. JAMES SHEPPARD:  (M, 50s)  The physician in King’s Abbot. Upon the murder of Roger Ackroyd, Dr. Sheppard serves as Hercule Poirot’s Watson-like associate. It’s important to him to know what Poirot knows, and he is writing it all down with the idea of authoring a book. (Role requires an English Accent.)

CAROLINE SHEPPARD: (F, Late 50s) Dr Sheppard’s older unmarried sister and the leader of the village gossips She knows everything that goes on in the village and has an ability to put pieces together and come up with an answer before anyone else in the community.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

HERCULE POIROT: (M, 45 – 70)  The famous Belgian detective who has retired to King’s Abbot. Poirot is short, has quirky habits and is proud of his carefully groomed mustache. He relies on logic and critical thinking to determine the facts of a crime. He is a master of human nature who keeps his thoughts to himself and only reveals them when he is certain of his theory. (Role requires a Belgian Accent.)

JOHN PARKER: (M, 40 – 60) He is a competent servant and a worrier. He blackmailed a former employer and was looking for an opportunity to blackmail Ackroyd as well.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

GEOFFREY RAYMOND: (M, 25 – 40)   Ackroyd’s secretary and business manager. Raymond is young, charming, debonair and fascinated by every aspect of murder and the investigation. He admits being in debt, but the money he will receive from Ackroyd’s will takes care of this.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

INSPECTOR RAGLAN: (M, Late 50s) The official inspector of Ackroyd’s murder. He is proud of his investigative method, though it is pedestrian at best and usually wrong. He is something of a bumbler.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

MAJOR HECTOR BLUNT: (M, 40 – 50) A big game hunter and friend of Ackroyd. Blunt is a man of few words, but when he does speak, he is . . . blunt. He secretly loves Flora but feels that, as he is considerably older, she doesn’t see him as a romantic partner. By his own admission, he is uncomfortable in society and prefers the jungle of Africa.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

FLORA ACKROYD: (F, early 20s)   Flora is Roger Ackroyd’s young and beautiful niece. She is resentful she is financially dependent on her uncle and agrees to marry Ralph Payton in order to escape this heavy dependence even though she harbors a secret love for Major Blunt.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

MRS. ACKROYD: (F, 40s – 50s) Flora’s mother and Roger Ackroyd’s sister-in-law. Mrs. Ackroyd and Flora came to live at Fernly Park after her husband died, Shallow and solipsistic, she has fallen into debt in an attempt to sustain her lifestyle and is dependent upon money from her penurious brother-in-law. She is a difficult woman to be around. (Role requires an English Accent.)

ELIZABETH RUSSELL: (F, 40s) Ackroyd’s chief housekeeper, She is somewhere over 40 but comes off as older do to her stern demeanor. Elizbeth is efficient and no-nonsense with a proficiency that renders her intimidating. Respectability is deeply important to her, and she has a secret that she fears would ruin her reputation if it came out. (Role requires an English Accent.)

URSULA BOURNE: (F, mid 20s) A housemaid at Fernly Park. ,Born into gentility, Ursula was thrown into the workforce when her father died and the family fortune was lost. Her references may be false, but she is an excellent housemaid and a hard worker.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

NOTE:  KENT AND PATON WILL BE PLAYED BY ONE PERSON

CHARLES KENT: (M, 20s) An alcoholic and heroin addict and relies on thievery. Appears worn and shabby do to heavy drug use. When he is caught attempting to burgle Fernly Park, he demonstrates the anger and the shakes of a drug addict needing a fix. (Role requires an American Accent.)

RALPH PATON: (M, 20s) Ackroyd’s adopted stepson. Payton in handsome and charming, but he is terrible at handling his own finances and obligations. He is steeped in debt and counts on his stepfather’s fortune for support. He is engaged to Flora and has disappeared making him a prime suspect in Roger Ackroyd’s murder.  (Role requires an English Accent.)

BEGINNING REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: