"Enchanted April" - by Matthew Barber - Easthamptoon Theater Company (Easthampton, MA.) - AUDITIONS
Easthampton Theater Company
Will Hold AUDITIONS for
Matthew Barber's
"ENCHANTED APRIL"
Written by Matthew Barber
Directed by Gilana Chelimsky
Produced by Michael O. Budnick and Deb Jacobson
AUDITION DATES:
November 10, 2025 and November 12, 2025
Callbacks (If necessary) November 19, 2025
(By appointment only)
Auditions to be held at the First Congregational Church, 212 South Highway, Southampton, MA. 01073
Seeking eight talented and dedicated actors of a wide range of ages.
All roles available; none pre-cast.
Actors of all races, ethnicities, and gender identities encouraged to audition.
Matthew Barber’s "ENCHANTED APRIL," based on Elizabeth Von Arnim’s beloved novel of the 1920s, is a gentle and beautiful story of the importance of platonic relationships, friendships among women, self-care, and rediscovering who you are when life has caused you to lose yourself. The original 2003 Broadway production was nominated for two Tony awards and won Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards. For auditions, please choose and prepare a short contemporary monologue (no more than 2-5 minutes).
ABOUT THE AUDITION PROCESS:
For auditions, please choose and prepare a short contemporary monologue (no more than 2-5 minutes).
- Your monologue should ideally show us both your dramatic skills and comedic timing.
- You will be asked to perform your monologue, after which you may be given some direction and asked to perform it again.
- You do not have to have the monologue fully memorized, but the better you know it, the more prepared and engaged you will be and the more we will be able to evaluate your acting skills.
ABOUT CALLBACKS:
- Callbacks will be Wednesday, November 19, 2025 from 6:00pm until 10:00pm.
- If you receive a callback, sides will be provided ahead of time.
- If called back, please be prepared to stay the entire time, although you may not be needed the entire time.
- If you are not called back, that does not necessarily mean that you are not still being considered for a part.
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE:
- The readthrough will take place in early December, with two to three workshopping sessions over the following week.
- Rehearsals will start in earnest at the beginning of January.
- Rehearsals will be in Southampton on Sundays from 1:00pm to 4:00pm and on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 9:30pm.
- All actors will not be called for every rehearsal.
- However, all actors are required to be available every day during production week, which will start on March 7th.
CAST DESCRIPTIONS:
Please note: all characters but “Costanza” will have a British accent.
- Lotty Wilton (mid-30s to early 40s) - a middle-class housewife who has withdrawn into herself over the course of her marriage, but chafes like a caged bird. She is candid, sincere, and guileless, so much so that it both intrigues, charms and annoys. It's her yearning for a respite from her dreary life that propels her toward the enchanted April where she blossoms into the confident, strong, desirable woman hidden beneath.
- Rose Arnott (late 30s to mid-40s) - a rigid, reserved and melancholy woman constrained by restrictions and duties. She and her husband have grown apart since a devastating personal tragedy four years earlier. She longs for redemption, to reunite with her husband, who she loves deeply, and to find some solace in the life that is before her.
- Mrs. Graves (60s to 70s) – a forthright and solid, aristocratic woman ensconced in a world of dark dusty old things who is on the verge of being a "dusty old thing" herself. She does not "suffer fools gladly" and is intolerant of impertinence, idiocy and youth, and pines for a place she can sit and remember...or perhaps, forget.
- Lady Caroline Bramble (mid-20s to 30) – a ravishing, yet melancholy beauty who has chosen to deaden her despondency and confusion with liquor and men, and only the liquor works. In WWI, she saw the horrors of war. She is now unsatisfied with her station, her life, her parents, her...everything, and aches for a place where she can ponder the existential questions facing her.
- Mellersh Wilton (mid-30s to mid-40s) – Lotty’s husband, a family solicitor who’s forgotten his own creativity and passion in favor of looking important. He is so caught up in projecting the right image that he didn’t notice his wife disappearing within it.
- Frederick Arnott (40 to 50) – Rose’s husband, a successful author who threw himself into a wildly successful, if unfulfilling, career. He longs to reconnect with his wife, but is settling instead for the wild parties and wilder company she abhors.
- Antony Wilding (mid-20s to mid 30s) – owner of the magical Italian castle and a handsome young artist. His longing for family he lost draws him to connect with the women who’ve rented his home.
- Costanza (50s to 60s) – the housekeeper at the Italian castle, she is funny and loving with limited patience for snootiness. NOTE: This character speaks almost exclusively in Italian, so a performer fluent in Italian or convincingly familiar with Italian language and pronunciation strongly preferred.
If you would like to schedule an audition, please sign up for ONE only on our signup genius page linked here. (https://tinyurl.com/EnchantedAuditionSignup) AND fill out our audition form HERE (https://forms.gle/1d5d9Q7HVWq3zf7F7)
You MUST sign up for a slot AND fill out the audition Google form to be booked for an audition.
If you would like more information, or have any questions/concerns, please contact the production team at info@easthamptontheater.com.
Please be prepared to provide a list of schedule conflicts at the audition.
EASTHAMPTON THEATER COMPANY seeks volunteers!
No community-based theater exists without the much appreciated work of theater lovers who are willing to provide their time and expertise.
If you are interested in any aspect of theater production for "ENCHANTED APRIL" or future productions, such as tech, set design or building, ushering, marketing, or board membership, and you have time and skills to offer, please contact us at info@easthamptontheater.com
Performances:
March 14, 2026 through March 22, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Performances to be held at The Williston Theatre, 19 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA. 01027
TICKETS:
Tickets are available now and can be purchased online at easthamptontheater.com or at the door.
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This program is supported in part by a grant from the Easthampton Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Sweet-natured Lotty Wilton is suffering depression from the bleak London winter, and from an oppressive relationship with her pompous solicitor husband.
When she sees an advertisement in the paper to rent a castle in Italy for the month of April, an idyllic spot “for those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine,” she jumps at the chance to escape her downtrodden existence.
Sensing an instant kinship with fellow housewife Rose Arnott, a severely angelic woman with sorrows of her own, Lotty persuades her along on the adventure.
Seeking to reduce the costs, the two ladies find Caroline Bramble, a beautiful and exhausted socialite, and Mrs. Graves, an overbearing widow, to round out the party.
As the month passes, verdant sun-drenched San Salvatore works its magic on each sad and hardened heart, healing grief and bringing hope.
And with the arrival of two chastened husbands and one attractive young artist, romance blooms again.
Matthew Barber’s "ENCHANTED APRIL," based on Elizabeth Von Arnim’s beloved novel of the 1920s, is a gentle and romantic comedy of manners.
Against the backdrop of a country still reeling from World War I, "ENCHANTED APRIL" offers to its characters, and viewers, a necessary balm of sunshine and renewal. (STAGEAGENT).
ABOUT EASTHAMPTON THEATER COMPANY
EASTHAMPTON THEATER COMPANY (ETC) was created by Easthampton and nearby residents to bring quality community theater productions to the city. With the support of local businesses, patrons and theater aficionados, ETC strives to become the premiere theatrical venue for locally produced theater within the burgeoning arts scene based in Easthampton.
P.O. Box # 885
Easthampton, MA. 01027
