Much news to report on the upcoming premiere of my full-length script “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” based on the true story of the Moscow theatre seige of 2002 where Chechen terrorists held an audience hostage.
* Charlie Boswell has agreed to direct the show. He’s directed several other things at Studio Roanoke. He helmed the very first thing done in that space, a staged reading of my one-act “The Angel of Brooklyn.” He’s since directed some of their full-length productions, including “Nobody Gets Paid,” which opens there March 7.
* Auditions for the show are set for March 24 and March 25; below I’ll copy the email that has gone out.
* Finally, there’s a poster, shown above. Sharp-eyed observers (such as myself) will notice one small error. My last name is misspelled. That’s being corrected. When there’s a new one, I’ll post it as well. That aside, it’s a marvelous poster. The artist researched the event (as did I, of course). The image is that of the actual theatre — the House of Culture of State Ball-bearing Plant No. 1. Billowing out of it are smoke and poison gas.
As you can see from the poster, the show is at Studio Roanoke May 16-27. It’s a dark, grim, spooky show, quite unlike any of my other work.
The audition release from Studio Roanoke:
Auditions for “57 Hours in the House of Culture” by Dwayne Yancey and directed by Charlie Boswell will be held at Studio Roanoke 30 Campbell Ave., SW
Roanoke, Virginia 24011
on Saturday and Sunday, March 24th and 25th at 2pm!
About “57 Hours in the House of Culture”
In October 2002, Chechen terrorists seized a theatre in Moscow and hundreds died during a failed rescue attempt involving poison gas. Now, night after night, the ghosts of the dead theatre-goers relive the terrifying experience of being held hostage.
Performances run May 16-27 (Wednesday-Saturdays @8pm, Sundays @2pm)
Roles for men and women available:
Eight basic characters:
*Andrei, a phlegmatic 60ish or older man who doesn’t really want to be at the theatre but isonly there to satisfy his wife. (Male)
* Svetlana, his more enthusiastic theatre-going wife (Female)
* Irina, a mother in her 40s, who is paranoid and conflicted (Female)
* Ivan, the usher, who serves the role of the narrator (Male)
* Mosvar Barayev, the Chechen terrorist leader (Male)
* Fatima the Black Widow, one of the female terrorists (Female)
* Dmitri or Dmitrovna the Musician, an orchestra musician who plays either a string instrument or the piano, although this can be simulated (Male or Female)
* Olga Romanova, a petite but strong-willed 26-year-old perfume sales clerk who comes in off the street and tries to intervene (Female)
* Two Russian soldiers
For a reading copy of the script, please contact Studio Roanoke at info@studioroanoke.org
We hope to see you there!
dwayneyancey 