A FLEA IN HER EAR Auditions at Allen Contemporary Theatre

 

A FLEA IN HER EAR AUDITIONS

THE STORY

Raymonde Chandebise suspects that her husband, Victor, a placid and successful insurance executive, is secretly having an affair. To find out, she and her friend Lucienne write him an anonymous love letter suggesting a rendezvous at the shady Frisky Puss Hotel. Thinking the letter was intended for his coworker, the gigolo Tournel, Victor sends Tournel off to make the rendezvous in his place. Lucienne’s jealous Spanish husband, meanwhile, finds the letter, recognizes his wife’s handwriting and takes his pistols to the Frisky Puss, hoping to catch her in the act. Meanwhile, Victor’s nephew Camille tries to warn everyone about the mix-up, but his ridiculous speech impediment prevents anyone from understanding him. In Act Two, all decamp to the Frisky Puss where, it turns out, the drunken bellboy Poche is the exact double of the proper Victor Chandebise. Meeting Poche and thinking she’s been caught by her husband, Raymonde keeps trying to escape from the hotel with Tournel, but a revolving bed keeps flinging them from room to room, as more and more of the involved parties pile into the hotel in a climax culminating in the entrance of the jealous Spaniard and his pistols. In Act Three the vortex spins even faster as all the parties return to the Chandebise home utterly confused about what actually happened and who was who at the Frisky Puss. The drunken bellboy arrives, is mistaken once again for Victor, and all the threads of the multiple mix-ups are sorted out as Victor and Raymonde recognize their mutual confusions and are reunited.

 

Director: Eric Levy

Producer: Robyn Mead

Stage Manager: Jennifer Patton

 

AUDITION INFORMATION

Auditions will be held at

Allen Contemporary Theatre

1210 E Main St. #300

Allen, TX 75002

April 15 from 2:00 – 4:30 PM

April 16 from 2:00 – 4:30 PM

 

Bring a current headshot, resume, and a list of conflicts from May 15 – June 30, 2023.

NOTE:  Conflicts during tech week and performances will not be accepted.

There will be no double casting/understudies.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.

 

 

PRODUCTION & REHEARSAL INFORMATION

Performance Dates: June 30 through July 16, 2023, Friday & Saturday evenings @ 8:00 pm and Sunday matinees @ 3:00 pm.

Rehearsals will begin the week of May 15, 2023 at Allen Contemporary Theatre. Rehearsals will typically run Monday-Thursday evenings from 7-10pm and Sunday afternoons or evenings. Not everyone will be called to every rehearsal. Tech week begins June 24.

ALL ROLES ARE AVAILABLE

Roles are open to actors 18 years of age and older. Allen Contemporary Theatre seeks diverse performers, including but not limited to, ethnicity, race, color, country of origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, body size, marital status, adults of all ages, religion, beliefs, political affiliations, socioeconomic status, experiences, and any form of disability.

 

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN

NOTE: There will be NO French accents in this show. However, the actor playing Rugby will have a British accent, the actor playing Don Carlos Homenides de Histangua will have a heavy Spanish accent, and the actor playing Camille will pronounce only his vowels.

To help everyone decide which parts they might be interested in (and more importantly, what parts they are not interested in), we have broken the characters down by size.

Large Roles – These are the leads. They feature prominently in every act of the play and have a large amount of lines to memorize.

Medium Roles – These characters feature prominently in two of the three acts of the play or less prominently over all three acts and have a fair number of lines to memorize.

Smaller Roles – These characters feature somewhat prominently in one act or in smaller amounts over several acts and are not burdened with having to memorize a lot of lines.

Regardless of the size of the role, each performer/character will have their moment(s) where their comic timing will be able to shine!

Large Roles

Victor Chandebise – Male, 40s-50s – The managing director of the Boston 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. He has a thriving business, a comfortable home, adequate servants, and, most importantly, a beautiful wife who absolutely adores him. At least, she used to adore him, until a dark cloud concerning his bedroom performance, or lack thereof, begins to loom. NOTE: The actor playing Victor will also play Poche, a porter at the Frisky Puss Hotel. He is a persistent drunk, which Ferraillon, his boss, tries to combat with frequent and violent beatings. As circumstances would have it, he is also an exact double of Victor.

Raymonde Chandebise – Female, 30s-50s – The presently unhappy wife of Victor, she is everything a bourgeoise French wife should be: elegant, charming, beautiful, scheming, jealous, and, at present, extremely insecure. She thinks Victor 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.

Camille Chandebise – Male, 20s-30s – The young nephew of Victor, 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 will 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 certain not irreproachable, he is very adept at projecting an image of innocence and naivety.

Romain Tournel – Male, 30s-40s – An employee of the Boston Life Insurance Company, he has worked for Victor 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 which 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.

Don Carlos Homenides de Histangua – Male, 30s-50s – The Spanish husband of Lucienne and a potential client of the Boston Life Insurance Company, he gives added meaning to the image of the hot-blooded and jealous Latin lover.

Lucienne Homenides de Histangua – Female, 40s-50s – The 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.

Medium Roles

Dr. Finache – Male, 40s-60s – The chief medical officer of the Boston Life Insurance Company, he is an old friend of the Chandebise family and Victor Emmanuel’s closest confidant. He is also one of the most dedicated rogues and libertines in all of Paris.

Etienne – Male, 20s-40s – The haughty and egocentric butler of the Chandebise household and the husband of Antoinette, he is a much better butler than he is husband.

Ferraillon – Male, 30s-50s – The owner and manager of the Hotel Coq d’Or, he is a former sergeant-major with the 29th Infantry Regiment and believes that his hotel should be run with the same sort of military precision and discipline.

Smaller Roles

Antoinette – Female, 20s-30s – The wife of Etienne and cook in the Chandebise household, she is pert, saucy, sly, and every ounce a coquette—with everyone but her husband. At the moment the object of her flirtatious attentions is Camille, and she seems determined not to let her marriage to Etienne disrupt her social life.

Olympia – Female, 30s-50s – The devoted and loving wife of Ferraillon, she is a former courtesan of no little reputation. It was her reputation and savings that allowed Ferraillon to resign his commission in the army, and together they have created their dream hotel.

Eugenie – Female, 20s-30s – The young upstairs maid at the hotel.

Baptiste – Male, 50s-70s – 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 (We might age a younger actor for this part).

Rugby – Male, any age – Frustrated and confused, he is a guest of the hotel who has little patience for all of the shenanigans that go on there.