December 22nd & 23rd @ 6:00pm
The Matthews Opera House invites community actors to audition for Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel’s poignant, memory-rich drama set in 1930s rural Ireland. We’re seeking performers of all experience levels to bring this moving story of sisterhood, resilience, and fleeting joy to life.
No experience necessary! You will be asked to read with other participants from sections of the script previously selected by the directors. All auditions will be performed as a “cold read” (seeing the script for the first time). Auditions are also a great time to express your interest in backstage work, set building, lights and all of the other necessary skills that make a show great! Stop by if you have any interest in the action “behind the scenes” and visit with the directors. 
Dancing at Lughnasa – Directed by Shirlene Joseph 
Dancing at Lughnasa follows five unmarried sisters living a modest life in rural Ireland in 1936, as remembered by the now-grown son of one of the women. During the summer of the Lughnasa festival, their world is shaken by small but powerful events—the arrival of a new radio, the return of their long-absent missionary uncle, and the unexpected visit of the boy’s charming father. These moments of music, memory, and brief joy ultimately reveal the fractures that will change the family forever, in what is widely considered Brian Friel’s masterwork.
Performance Dates
March 26, 27, 28, 29
Thursday – Saturday • 7:00 pm
Sunday • 2:00 pm
Available Roles
Michael:  Young man, narrator
Kate: Forty, schoolteacher
Maggie: Thirty-eight, housekeeper
Agnes: Thirty-five, knitter
Rose: Thirty-two, knitter
Chris: Twenty-six, Michael’s mother
Gerry: Thirty-three, Michael’s father
Jack: Fifty-three, missionary priest