Aloha Performing Arts Company

Aloha Performing Arts Company is seeking nine actors with good British accents for its next production, the hilarious farce "Noises Off" by Michael Frayn, directed by Jerry Tracy. Auditions will be held at the APAC loft in Kainaliu on Monday and Tuesday, April 16 and 17, at 6:30 p.m. Those auditioning should be ready to read from the script with an English accent. Rehearsal will begin in late April and performances will be at the Aloha Theatre June 8-24. APAC's loft is on the second floor of the old Ben Franklin building, across the street from Oshima's and Kimura's in old Kainaliu town. Parking is scarce, so those auditioning are encouraged to park on the street or in the public lot just north of the building.

The audience experiences "Noises Off" in three acts, each referred to in the the script as Act One. The first act one reveals an English touring theatre group in rehearsal for a comedy called "Nothing On." During what is supposed to be the final dress rehearsal, the director emerges wearily from the audience to remind the faltering cast that they open the next day, and the rehearsal bumbles on. The second act one shows us the same act, from a backstage vantage point, after the production has been on the road for a month. The third act one, six weeks later, is presented onstage again, with the audience seeing the set as they did in the first act one. The production has run amok: backstage romances spilling onto the stage, catfights, drunken performers, missed cues, bad ad libs, irate director explosions and general theatrical mayhem. Art imitates life and vice versa in this madcap peek at the inner workings of the crazy world known as the theatre.

"Noises Off" was revived on Broadway in 2002, starring Patti LuPone and Peter Gallagher, to glowing reviews and public accolades. Roles available are: Dotty Otley/Mrs. Clackett, a grand dame of the theatre; Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent, in her 30's; Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain, about 30; Selsdon Mowbray/Burglar, in his 70's; Brooke Ashton/Vicki, in her 20's; Frederick Fellowes/Philip Brent, in his 40's; Lloyd Dallas, the director; Tim Allgood, the company stage manager; and Poppy Norton-Taylor, the assistant stage manager. Many production crew positions are also available. Scripts are available for onsite perusal Monday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. til 4:00 p.m. or by special arrangement. For more information, call the APAC office at 322-9924.