On September 5 and 6, the Theatre Committee will host auditions for Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, the first production of SAAC’s 54th theatrical season. Registration for auditions will begin at 5:30 on Tuesday, September 5, with auditions beginning at 6:00 pm. Wednesday will be reserved for call backs from Tuesday and new faces at 6:00pm.
Alexander Jeffery, the production’s director, is seeking experienced and non-experienced actors who are 17 years of age and up to fill the roles. The ensemble cast will feature 6 women and 15 men. Jeffery will consider all physical types and ethnicities for roles.
Auditioning for a part is easy. Simply fill out an audition form, which is available in advance from the SAAC office or can be downloaded from SAAC’s website, and be prepared to read from the script. Readings will be provided. No advance preparation is necessary, but actors are welcome to get the readings the week before auditions from the SAAC office.
Characters needed for this production are Fred, the narrator; Holly Golightly, a country girl turned New York café society girl; Joe Bell, a bartender acquainted with both Fred and Holly; Madame Spanella, a roller skating tenant in the brownstone; I.Y. Yunioshi, a photographer, who lives in an apartment on the top floor of the brownstone where Holly lives; Rusty Trawler, a presumably wealthy man, thrice divorced, well known in society circles; O.J. Bermana, a Hollywood agent who has discovered Holly and groomed her to become a professional actress.
Also included in the cast are Mag Wildwood, Holly’s friend and sometime roommate, a fellow socialite and model; Doc, a veterinarian from Texas, whom Holly married as a teenager; Jose Ybarra-Jaegara, a Brazilian diplomat, who is the companion of Mag Wildwood; Editor; Sid Arbuck; Air Force Colonel; journalist; a man; a stern lady boss; Dr. Goldman; O.J.’s servant; Rusty’s servant; a reporter; and a female cop.
In “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, the unnamed narrator befriends Holly Golightly. The two are tenants in a brownstone apartment in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Holly is a country girl turned New York cafe society girl. As such, she has no job and lives by socializing with wealthy men, who take her to clubs and restaurants, and give her money and expensive presents; she hopes to marry one of them. According to Capote, Golightly is not a prostitute but an “American geisha”.
Holly likes to shock people with carefully selected tidbits from her personal life or her outspoken viewpoints on various topics. Over the course of a year, she slowly reveals herself to the narrator, who finds himself fascinated by her curious lifestyle and past.
Jeffery said of this production, “’Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, though a 1958 novella by Truman Capote, is more widely known for its famous film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn. Recently, Richard Greenberg created a Broadway play that sticks truer to Capote’s original intention for the material. I love this stage adaptation because it lives more in the grey area of relationships than the film does. It’s less of a love story and more about the impact other human beings can have on our lives. It keeps the light party atmosphere of the movie, while examining what it means to be complete, and how we look at the past through rose-colored lenses. Capote’s sharp wit is ever-present in the material, creating memorable characters and metaphors that define them.”
For more information about auditions for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, please call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474. SAAC is located at 110 East Fifth Street, El Dorado, Arkansas.