Red Mask Players seek actors for 'Inherit the Wind'

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September 8, 2010

BY MARY KAY SWEIKAR Commercial-News The Commercial-News Wed Sep 08, 2010, 02:00 AM CDT

DANVILLE — The Red Mask Players are looking for a host of actors to perform in one of the most celebrated dramas of our time — “Inherit the Wind” — which they will present on the first three weekends of November.

Auditions will be at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday at the Kathryn Randolph Theater, 601 N. Vermilion St.

The cast includes roles for 24 men (three non-speaking), six women, and a boy and a girl about 13 years old.

Director Debbie Prentice said, “This show was chosen for a couple of reasons. It’s a great story, and also it has connections to Danville.”

“Inherit the Wind” is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial, which resulted in the conviction of biology teacher John Scopes, a former Danville resident, for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in Tennessee.

The play has another unique tie to Danville: The fictional character, prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady, is based on the prosecutor at the actual trial — William Jennings Bryan. Reportedly, Bryan took speech lessons from Red Mask founder Kathryn Randolph while he was on the road with the Redpath Chautauqua Troupe.

“I’m very excited about directing this play,” Prentice said. “It’s a drama based on a true story, which appeals to most people.”

Prentice encourages anyone who is interested in being on stage, and especially men, to try out for this production. There are some non-speaking parts and some parts with minimal lines, so previous stage experience isn’t required.

To help novice actors prepare for the audition, a one-hour workshop will be conducted beginning at 6 p.m. before each audition.

“The workshop is for those who are auditioning for the first time or for those actors who want some audition pointers,” Prentice said. “It’s free and will be held in a group setting.”

Playwright Jerome Law-rence and Robert E. Lee wrote the book “Inherit the Wind” in 1955, and it is still relevant today. It was their response to the threats to intellectual freedom they saw in the anti-communist sentiments of the McCarthy era.

Defense attorney Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow) and E. K. Hornbeck (based on journalist H. L. Mencken) round out the colorful leads in this classic.

Jim Wolfe, stage manager for the Red Mask play, has been with the theater group more than 25 years.

“I’ve done most of the other jobs with Red Mask, but I’ve never been the stage manager before,” he said. “This play requires a big cast, and it will be challenging, but I’m looking forward it.”

Wolfe is most familiar with the 1960 film adaptation of the book, starring Spencer Tracy as Drummond and Fredric March as Brady. There also was a TV movie produced in 1988 and a 1999 made-for-cable adaptation.

“Inherit the Wind” remains one of the most popular American plays of all time. It has been translated into 30 languages, and read and produced worldwide. To this day, it remains a favorite stage production for high schools and colleges, and it is required reading for many school systems.

FYI

For further information about the Red Mask production of “Inherit the Wind,” call Debbie Prentice at 474-6191.

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Red Mask Players seek actors for 'Inherit the Wind'

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