Auditions

Parts needed: Director Alan Shearman is seeking 5 women and 9 men ages 20-50. Auditioners will be asked to do readings from the script. Please also bring a headshot and resume. Call 503-635-3901 to schedule an appointment.

Performance Schedule: Mar 13 - April 19, 2009, Thurs-Sat at 8 PM, Sundays at 7 PM and some Sunday matinees.

About the Play: This venerable French farce by Georges Feydeau with a new translation by David Ives (All In the Timing, Is He Dead?) received rave reviews with its recent Chicago debut. A young wife wonders if her husband is having an affair when she surreptitiously opens his mail and finds a strange pair of suspenders. Mistaken identities, slamming doors and a hotel rendezvous are served up with frothy frenetic fun!

VICTOR EMMANUEL CHANDEBISE: 40s/50s Managing director of the Paris Life Insurance Company for all of Paris and the provinces, he is a no-nonsense sort of fellow with shrewd business savvy and little sense of humor. In every way he has lived the life of a successful bourgeois gentilhomme. He has a thriving business, a comfortable home, adequate servants and, most important, a beautiful wife who absolutely adores himŠ at least she used to adore him, until a dark cloud concerning his bedroom performance - or lack thereof - began to loom.

POCHE: a former soldier in Ferraillon's regiment, he is now employed as a porter at the hotel. He is also a persistent drunk, which Ferraillon tries to combat with frequent and violent beatings. As circumstances would have it, he is also an exact double of Victor Emmanuel.

CAMILLE CHANDEBISE: 20s/30s The young nephew of Victor Emmanuel, he lives in his uncle's house and works for him as a secretary. He has had a difficult time finding employment due to a rare speech impediment that does not allow him to pronounce consonants; only vowels - until Dr. Finache provides him with a silver palate. Still, he is good-hearted and industrious; and although he is certainly not irreproachable, he is very adept at projecting an image of innocence and naïvety.

ROMAIN TOURNEL: 40s/50s An employee of the Paris Life Insurance Company, he has worked for Victor Emmanuel for some time. Although a trusted friend of the family, he is absolutely dedicated to having an affair with his employer's wife; an idea she coquettishly encourages but continually rebuffs. He fancies himself quite the ladies' man, but obviously wears his brilliantine too thick and his charm too thin.

CARLOS HOMENIDÈS DE HISTANGUA: 40s The Spanish husband of Lucienne and a potential client of the Paris Life Insurance Company, he gives added meaning to the image of the hot-blooded, jealous Latin lover.

DR. FINACHE: 40s Chief medical officer of the Paris Life Insurance Co., and an old friend of the family, he is Victor Emmanuel's closest confidant. He is also one of the most dedicated rogues and libertines in all of Paris.

ETIENNE PLUCHEUX: 40s The haughty and egocentric butler of the Chandebise household and husband of Antoinette, he is a much better butler than he is husband.

AUGUSTIN FERRAILLON: 40s Owner and manager of the Frisky Puss, he is a former sergeant-major with the 29th Infantry Regiment who believes that his hotel should be run with same sort of military precision and discipline.

BAPTISTIN: 50s/60s An ancient employee at the hotel, he is a rather unusual decoy to help ensure the privacy of the hotel patrons and confuse any ill-timed police raids.

RUGBY or HERR SCHWARZ: Frustrated and confused, he is a foreign guest at the Frisky Puss Hotel who unfortunately does not speak the language. Can be played either unintelligibly Cockney or German.

RAYMONDE CHANDEBISE: 40s/50s The presently unhappy wife of Victor Emmanuel, she is everything a turn-of-the-century bourgeoise French wife should be: elegant, charming, beautiful, scheming, jealous and at present, extremely insecure. She thinks Victor Emmanuel has of late lost all romantic interest in her and she has come to mistrust his fidelity. Thus, with this "flea in her ear," she decides to take matters into her own hands.

LUCIENNE HOMENIDÈS DE HISTANGUA: 30s Wife of Carlos, she is coincidentally the oldest and dearest friend of Raymonde Chandebise. With her strong will and fiery temperament, she is a perfect confederate to help Raymonde "trap" Victor Emmanuel.

ANTOINETTE PLUCHEUX: 30s Wife of Etienne and cook in the Chandebise household, she is pert, saucy, sly and every ounce the coquette - with everyone but her husband. At present, the object of her flirtatious attentions is Camille, and she seems determined not to let her marriage to Etienne disrupt her social life.

OLYMPIA FERRAILLON: 30s Devoted and loving wife of Augustin, she is a former courtesan of no little repute. It was this reputation - and her savings - that allowed Ferraillon to resign his commission in the army. Together they have created their dream hotel.

Auditions

A Flea In Her Ear