Original One-Act Auditions
Casting Notices
Annual Original One-Acts: A Perfect Opportunity to Shine!
Our annual Original One-Acts production is the perfect chance for performers of all experience levels to take the stage! This showcase features short scripts selected by our Playwriting Review Committee, offering a unique opportunity for those who might not usually have the time to commit to a full-length production.
With shorter run times and flexible rehearsal schedules, these one-act plays make it easy for busy students, professionals, or first-time performers to get involved in live theatre. Whether you’re a seasoned actor or new to the spotlight, this production is a welcoming space to explore your creativity and join a supportive community of artists.
We encourage everyone—regardless of experience level—to come out and give it a try. These one-acts are designed to be a fun, low-pressure way to step onto the stage and share in the joy of storytelling.
Auditions for our Original One Acts will be held
- Date: Wednesday, January 8th and Thursday January 9th
- Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
- Location: Valencia Arts Center, Academy Theatre. 1164 W Howard St, Winona, MN 55987. (This program is not a production of Cotter Schools.)
- Accessibility: this location is ground floor, and there is a drive way for individuals to be dropped off at the door. This is a fully ADA compliant building. Parking is on the street.
What to prepare:
- Please be prepared to provide your conflicts for January 20th – March 9th.
- No Audition Preparation Needed. Sides will be provided.
- Please expect to attend auditions for roughly 30-40 minutes.
Rehearsals will be arranged based on availability of cast and directors.
Tech week will be February 23rd – 27th
Sign up is not required but if you’d like to sign up for auditions, please use this link:
You do not need to sign up beforehand, you can choose to come when you are able. If none of these times work for you, but you would like to audition, let us know at [email protected] or by phone 507-218-7767 (text or voicemail).
Performances will be:
- Evenings Friday February 28th & March 7th
- Evenings Saturday March 1st & 8th
- Afternoons Saturday March 2nd & 9th
Please contact Theatre du Mississippi with any thoughts, questions, or concerns at [email protected] or by phone 507-218-7767 (text or voicemail)
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.
About the Scripts
Heard Mentality
Written by: Allison Fradkin
Directed by: TBD
Synopsys: Ada may be hard-of-hearing, but she certainly isn’t hard-of-fearing how her first date will go. Will Ada’s new hearing aids aid and abet her insecurities? Or will they turn hearing impairment on its ear? (8 page long).
Characters:
- Ada: has a hearing impairment, female-identifying, open age, open ethnicity
- Left E: a hearing aid, any gender, open age, open ethnicity
- Right E: a hearing aid, any gender, open age, open ethnicity
It is very important to this production that Ada be a part of the hearing impaired community. Being able to move forward and stage this piece will be determined upon if we have the ability to authentically cast the role of Ada. “Heard Mentality” is an own-voices play that celebrates the versatility of disability and enables audience members to experience the world through the eyes (and ears) of a woman with a hearing impairment.
Midwestern Goodbyes
Written by: Charly Sparks
Directed by: Jaye Clarke
Synopsys: A young woman named Sloane shows up at her own funeral and is disappointed to find that her religious mother planned it. (45 pages long).
Characters:
- Bennett: Age 30. Male-identifying. Best friend of Sloane. He is a punk who knows when to act politely.
- Mom: Age 55. Female-identifying. Sloane’s mother. She is a perfectionist and very religious.
- Max: Age 27. Male-identifying. Sloane’s boyfriend. He is mousy, but very observant.
- Sloane: Age 30. Female-identifying. Deceased. She is an eccentric, sailor-mouthed artist with kooky hair and facial piercings.
#Proposal
Written by: James and Jane Jeffries
Directed by: Michael Opiola
Synopsys: Leni wants the perfect proposal from her boyfriend Craig and she wants to capture the proposal perfectly for her followers on TikTok – no matter how many takes are required. (13 pages long).
Characters:
- LENI ANDERSON (F) a woman who wants her proposal to be so good that the number of her followers doubles
- CRAIG WILSON (M) a man who is nervous about proposing to his girlfriend
- CAM (M/F) camera operator
- MIKA (M/F) makeup/boom microphone operator/props
- JESSICA (F) cue cards/blocking coach/intimacy coordinator
One Summer Night
Written by: Christopher G. Smith
Directed by: Brittany Clipsham
Synopsys: On a summer evening in 1978 teenagers meet in the country to party. Laura searches for Mick, the boy who brought her and meets Bruce sitting in the cemetery. While Bruce does his best to cover for his buddy, he discovers that Mick may have left something very special behind. (10 pages long).
Characters:
- Bruce: A 17-year-old teenage boy
- Laura: A high school girl
The Yellow Dress
Written by: Kathleen Kenney-Peterson
Directed by: TBD
Synopsys: A woman is going through her grandmother’s belongings and discovers she was a fighter in the French Resistance during WW2. (13 pages long).
Characters:
- Carla, in her 40’s. Not close to her mother, Marian
- Marian who is in her late 70’s.
- The ghost of Helen, age 19, who is Carla’s grandmother and Marian’s mother.
For more information, contract Theatre du Mississippi at [email protected] or 507-218-7767 (text/voicemail).