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Darien Arts Center Holds More Auditions For 'On Golden Pond'

DARIEN, Conn. -- The Darien Arts Center will hold extra auditions Thursday and Saturday for its production of "On Golden Pond" after some auditions were canceled last weekend due to weather.

Darien Arts Center Stage Committee members meet to plan for their next production, "On Golden Pond."

Darien Arts Center Stage Committee members meet to plan for their next production, "On Golden Pond."

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Diane Farrell

The auditions will take place Thursday, Jan. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. and again on Saturday, Jan. 31, from noon to 2 p.m. at the DAC Visual Arts Studio. The Visual Arts Studio is located at 2 Renshaw Road behind Darien Town Hall, and is located past the Darien Arts Center main entrance in the building across from the baseball field dugout.

The award-winning play was written by Ernest Thompson and deals with family themes such as aging, love, resentment, loss, forgiveness, acceptance and renewal. The play is set at the Thayer family's summer retreat in Golden Pond, Maine, where the family has come for a long time and where they face perhaps their last summer. The family has to come to grips with finality and whether or not they have "measured up."

The Darien Arts Center production of the play is directed by Patrick Kiley and will be performed March 13, 14, 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. and March 15 and 22 at 2 p.m.

The characters to be cast are:

  • Norman Thayer (60+ age range): A retired professor nearing his 80th birthday, he is frustrated with himself and life. He has memory and hearing troubles and rails against old age.
  • Ethel Thayer (50+ age range): Norman's wife, she is resolute, strong-willed and determined. She shows cracks in her determination and is inwardly fearful as she watches Norman's troubles. 
  • Chelsea Thayer Ray (Mid-40s age range): Norman and Ethel's daughter, she tries to come to grips with her uneasy relationship with her father. She is confident in most aspects of her life, though sometimes reverts back to the "fat little girl" in her father's presence.
  • Billy Ray Jr. (13 years old): The son of Chelsea's fiance, he is left to spend a large part of the summer with Norman and Ethel. He is resentful and upset at first but comes to appreciate them and their lifestyle.
  • Billy Ray (40-50s age range): Chelsea's fiance, he is a dentist from California who seems out of place with the rustic setting of Golden Pond and is unsure how to deal with Norman.
  • Charlie Martin (Mid-40s age range): The local mailman and town gossip, he has had a crush on Chelsea since they were kids which has not fully dissolved. 

Actors should come prepared to the auditions, and knowledge of the play is helpful. Actors will be given sides to act from and may be asked to return for a subsequent callback audition if needed. Any questions or special requests can be emailed to Kiley at patrickbk888@hotmail.com.

 

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