Select one of the monologues below and memorize the material; the director needs to see your acting choices, being memorized will support this. Hard copies of the monologues, and the audition form, are available on the Call Board in Cowles Auditorium, in the Theater Office, or connect with Professor DuVall.
MONOLOGUE #1 - HENRIETTA: The stars are music. The pattern. The numbers – when you put them in the right order – they’re music – it’s so simple.
(But) pulsing isn’t random. There is a pattern. (this is her big idea) The brightest stars take the longest to blink. A pattern is a standard. And if we have a standard we can compare stars all over the sky. Right now if we see two stars that look equally as bright, we can’t tell which one is the brighter star, and which one is the closer star. But the pulsing can tell us which is which. Thepulsing is the answer.
If you think of the notes as the star’s brightness. If this is the dimmest star gets – (hits a low note on a piano) and this is the brightest (hits a high note). Then the time it takes to get from here (low note) to here (high note) – could tell us how bright it actually is, which we could compare to how it appears, which could tell us how far away it is, which we could compare to other stars which could tell us how far away they are, and if we know that we can – we can skip star to star across the deepest space until we know…Exactly where we are. (piano will be available at auditions for this piece)
MONOLOGUE #2 - ANNIE: You know Will (Williamina) was the first woman to ever hold the title “curator” in astronomy? And the Draper Catalogue is all her work – She discovered stars, and nebulae, novae – She’s the reason that I’m here, and even if she has far too much fun I am the first to admit that she is fundamental to this institution.
We have WORK. TO. DO. And Dr. Pickering is a very particular man – Align the spanker with a star. The matching dot indicates how bright that star is. Record magnitude, position, date and repeat until you fill up the logbook. We collect, report, and maintain the largest stellar archive in the world. And we resist the temptation to analyze it. Can you do this job, Miss Leavitt?
MONOLOGUE #3 - MARGARET: I just wonder why you exceed expectation in everything except this family. Even so, Daddy is so proud. You think he isn’t. You think he resents your “great escape,” and because you never wrote or came home, you wouldn’t know. You also wouldn’t know that I made you up for him. I wrote letters for you, “from you,” brought them in the house every week – So happy – thrilled! – Read them to the whole family – “Look what we got from Henrietta today!” “Oh Daddy, she says hello, she says she loves you, thank you.” On and on. Such a comforting fiction.
I did that so that you could have a home to come back to.
PLEASE NOTE: ***The character of Margaret sings in the production, if you would like to be considered for Margaret, please also prepare a verse + chorus of your favorte hymn or folk song***
MONOLOGUE #4 - PETER: There is an ocean liner leaving tomorrow – You should be on it – I’ll be on it – I’m saying come with me – to Europe – For a month – or two? You don’t have to decide now – but close to now because the liner leaves tomorrow – I said that – Pack warmly – cold at night – We might stop in Spain – And there’s dancing and lobster and water and moonlight and bobbing around and that’s romantic – or sickening – Either way they’ll be an eclipse. Which is fun…
This is a rather large moment for me so I just want to be clear because it took me three years to get this far. So. Your mind and spirit…I quite adore…those things…about you. And I don’t expect you to reciprocate immediately or at all, but I feared combusting if I didn’t tell you that you’ve been the brightest object in my day since we met. And we work with stars. And I know I haven’t been the most emotive suitor but I have been a thoughtful one, and I hope that counts for something. And I also hope I do not offend you by expressing how deeply I…admire you.