STEPPING OUT
Register an interest to perform in this hilarious play coming to Shrewsbury's Walker Theatre for 2 nights only, next March.
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AUDITIONS WILL BE TAKING PLACE LATE NOVEMBER
SYNOPSIS
STEPPING OUT is SMTC’s first venture into non-musical theatre; a play, with music and 'tap' dancing. So it’s close.
Richard Harris's award-winning comedy about a group of seven women and one man who attend a weekly tap-dancing class in a dingy north London church hall.
It ran for three years from 1984 in the West End, from where it went to Broadway. It subsequently became a film starring Liza Minnelli and Julie Walters, and then Harris wrote a musical version which hit the West End in 1997.
Over the course of several months we get to know this disparate group as they chatter about their work, home and sex lives. As the play expands you realise that for some it's just a few hours' release from a humdrum life; for others, it's a form of therapy.
The main target of the play is that Mavis plans for them to appear, for one night only, at a charity show and it's her job to get them in line, in time and on time.
There’s posh Vera, mouthy Maxine, bubbly Sylvia, blundering Dorothy, eager Lynne, cheerful Rose and awkward Andy – plus the sole male in the class, Geoffrey.
Trying to turn them into Gingers and Freds, the ever-patient Mavis, whilst “helping” at the piano is the cantankerous Mrs Fraser.
Much of the comedy – apart from the deliberately bad dancing – comes from personality clashes among the tappers, chiefly the one-upmanship between Vera, the newcomer to the group who suffers from foot-in-mouth disease and frock-shop owner Maxine. “I used to be fat, you know,” Vera says carelessly to Sylvia. Maxine has one of the best one-liners “I hope your sex life is as busy as that pullover,” she says to sweet, charming Geoffrey.
As the charity show looms, tensions rise in the group as the routines become more complicated, while some find their feet, others struggle. Their back stories are revealed as they hang about the hall after class – and, it turns out, everyone has “a thing” – whether loneliness, an inattentive husband, money problems or worries about their child's future.
The play provides little time to expand the dancers' stories, which are left without resolution. Stepping Out is not meant to be deep. It's a frothy confection with a heartwarming ending and good fun, hopefully for the cast, definitely for the audiences.
CHARACTER LIST
1. Mavis - The teacher, ex-pro dancer, attractive, 30 - 50 Considerate, organised and always obviously in charge of the group. Required: proficient tap-dancer
2. Lynne - Eager to please, understatedly pretty, never wears make-up, about 20-25, a student nurse.
3. Dorothy - Small, anxious, birdlike, 25-45, habit of repeating other people’s last words (people’s last words).
4. Maxine - Confident, attractive, Jewish business woman, big diamond rings, 30-40.
5. Andy - (Woman), thin, 25-40, timid, bullied by her husband.
6. Geoffrey - Shy, quiet, honest, a bit bumbling, widower, has a crush on Andy, 30-50.
7. Sylvia - Short, bubbly, flirty, over-ample curves! Chews gum all the time, 25-40
8. Rose - Black, larger than life, Trinidadian/Asian, wearing obvious wig, crucifix around her neck and lots of finger rings, 30-50.
9. Vera - Neat, proper, snob, but well-meaning, expensive tastes in clothes (but doesn’t quite get it right), immaculate hair & make-up aspiring middle-class, 35-50.
10. Mrs. Fraser - The pianist, 50+, coat & hat, reads magazines, intolerant, sarcastic, grumpy, believes she is doing everyone a favour just by being there. (Does not need to be able to play piano)
Casting note
This play is very story and character driven, therefore we are looking for those who can embody the character of a role, define their own interpretation and bring such a character to life. We ask that preparation involves making some decisions about the character and how it could be performed, but also being open to change/direction.
Ideally all of the cast will have some tap experience, there will be a movement section of the audition whereby we will be looking for this (or at least a willingness/ability to learn very quickly).
*Ages are ‘playing ages’.