Walterdale Theatre Associates presents
Amigo’s Blue Guitar
by
Joan MacLeod
Directed by Bob Klakowich
Cultural Consultant & Dramaturg – Leo Campos Aldunez
Stage Manager – Laura Eschak
Performance dates: February 7 – 17, 2024
Audition dates (in person): October 15 – 16, 2023, 6 – 9:30 pm
Callbacks (if necessary): October 17, 7 pm
First read: October 22 (time and location TBA)
Rehearsals
October – mid-January: Tentatively Monday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons (some flexibility).
From mid-January: Frequency may increase.
Cue-to-cue will likely be January 28, after which all are expected to clear their schedules.
Some accommodation will be made during the holiday break in late December.
About the play
Amigo’s Blue Guitar, winner of the 1990 Governor General’s Award in drama, is by Canadian playwright, Joan MacLeod. It centres on a family living on an island off the BC coast that sponsors a refugee from El Salvador amid that country’s brutal civil war. Set in 1990, the play explores the meeting of two contrasting cultures. The characters go on a journey starting from a number of misconceptions about each other, then gradually they begin to reach an understanding. The story is told with warmth and humour, but with some intense scenes. Its universal message of diversity awareness is even more relevant today than it was 30 years ago.
Limited copies of the script are available in the Theatre Alberta library, and the libraries of MacEwan University and University of Alberta.
Characters
Note: Ages given here are as scripted and approximate. Actors need not feel that their ages must match exactly.
ELIAS: Mid to late 20s. Salvadoran refugee. He has endured much injustice and personal sacrifice. Note: Facility with the Spanish language a definite asset.
MARTHA: 60s +. Mother to Owen, grandmother to Callie and Sander. She has come from Oregon for an extended stay. Empathic, and always well meaning, though her mind occasionally wanders.
OWEN: 40s. Father to Callie and Sander. Divorced, a US draft dodger, somewhat self-absorbed, sought to escape the Vietnam war by settling in the Gulf Islands.
CALLIE: Early to mid 20s. Part of the sister-brother relationship that is central to the story. She has likely outgrown her insular existence on the island. Seeks a romantic relationship with Elias in spite of the complications.
SANDER: A year or two younger than Callie. A college student who initiated the refugee sponsorship as a class project. Naïve, tendency to romanticize, as the younger sibling clearly trying to assert himself.
Walterdale Theatre Associates is committed to inclusive casting. Artists who are members of under-represented communities are very much encouraged to audition.
We are a volunteer/member organization and cannot engage Equity performers.
Audition requirements
Auditions will be held at Walterdale Theatre (10322-83rd Avenue NW, Edmonton) in the Glenfield Rehearsal Hall (upstairs). You will read from the script in small groups in 30 – 45 minute time slots.
To request an audition, email Bob at amigoauditions@gmail.com. Please include:
1. Your name
2. The part you would like to read for
3. Your preference for a Sunday (the 15th) or a Monday (the 16th) audition slot (not guaranteed, but we’ll do our best).
Note: Also please state if you have mobility issues, and we’ll do what we can to accommodate you.
Once your time is assigned, you will be emailed an audition form. Please fill it out in full including any potential conflict dates you have within the rehearsal period. You may scan it and submit to amigoauditions@gmail.com, or bring it to the audition. (Blank copies will be available at the audition.)
Resumes and/or headshots are encouraged but not required. Submit or bring as above.
Questions? Email Bob at amigoauditions@gmail.com.
