Worcester Count Light Opera Company

Will Hold AUDITIONS 

for Thornton Wilder's

"OUR TOWN"

Written by Thornton Wilder

Directed by Dawn Davis

https://www.wcloc.org/auditions

AUDITION DATES:

September 14, 2025 from 6:00pm (by appointment)

September 16, 2025 from 7:00pm (by appointment)

Callbacks (if needed) September 20, 2025 at 1:00p.m.

WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC), Grandview Ave. Playhouse, 21 Grandview Avenue, Worcester, MA

• Auditions will consist of readings from the script. 
• Sides will be available at the audition. 
• You are strongly encouraged to familiarize yourself with the script and sides ahead of time but do not need to be memorized. 
• Script and sides are available online, with notes below. 
• Some cast may double as Ensemble/Supporting Characters. 
• There may be some singing and choreographed movement; no previous experience or training is necessary.
• Sign up for an audition by completing this form, then select a date and audition time. 
• Those unable to make in-person auditions may request to self-tape by emailing dawn@dawndavis.net,although in-person is preferred.

REHEARSALS:

• The play will typically rehearse three times per week, usually one weekend day and two weeknights. 
• Schedule will be solidified around the cast’s conflicts, holidays, and the play that is currently using the space. 
• First read-through will likely happen late September/early October.
• Not all cast is required at every rehearsal. 
• Actors cast as the Stage Manager and the Webb/Gibbs families (except for the younger siblings) must not have major rehearsal conflicts.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

• Stage Manager (ages 35+) The narrator, who also plays the roles of master of ceremonies, Mrs. Forrest, Mr. Morgan, and a minister. They guide Emily in her return to the living world. 
• Dr. Frank Gibbs (ages 35+) The town's doctor, and a strong but loving husband and father. He mourns his wife in the third act. 
• Mrs. Julia Hersey Gibbs (ages 35+) Dr. Gibbs' wife, mother to George and Rebecca. In the final act, she is seen as a spirit. She harbors a dream to travel outside of Grover’s Corners. 
• George Gibbs (ages 18-29) Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs' sixteen-year-old son, who discovers his love for Emily, marries her in the second act, and grieves for her loss in the third act. 
• Rebecca Gibbs (ages 10-14) Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs' daughter, who is four years younger than George. She realizes that Grover's Corners is part of New Hampshire, part of America, part of the world, the universe. This expanding image is central to Wilder's theme.
• Mr. Charles Webb (ages 35+) The editor and publisher of the Sentinel, the town's newspaper, and one of its most important citizens. He lives across from the Gibbs family. 
• Mrs. Myrtle Webb (ages 35+) Charles Webb's wife, and mother to Emily and Wally. She shares regrets about how young women go into marriage blindly.
• Emily Webb Gibbs (ages 18-29) The Webbs' intelligent daughter, who grows up during the play, joins the two major families when she marries George Gibbs, and dies later during childbirth. 
• Wallace "Wally" Webb (ages 10-14) Emily's younger brother and one of the spirits in the last act. In Act III, we discover that he died suddenly from a ruptured appendix while on a Boy Scout trip. 
• Simon Stimson (ages 30+) The organist of the Congregational Church who is the subject of town gossip because of his alcoholism. As a suicide who hangs himself in the attic, Simon's memories of the past are negative. 
• Mrs. Louella Soames (ages 30+) A local busybody who clucks over Simon's alcoholism and idealizes George and Emily's marriage. She is a spirit in the last act.
• Howie Newsome (ages 30+) The milkman who guides a seventeen-year-old horse named Bessie. Howie appears during Emily's return to the past in the last act.   
• Joe Crowell, Jr. (ages 10-14) Joe is the paper boy in the first act and during the flashback, when Emily returns to life. A scholar at Massachusetts Tech, he is killed in France during World War I before he can use his education.
• Si Crowell (ages 10-14) Joe's younger brother, who takes Joe's job as paper boy in Act II to indicate the passage of time. 
• Samuel "Sam" Craig (ages 30+) The son of Julia Gibbs' sister Carey, he comes back from Buffalo after twelve years' absence. He provides exposition in the last act.
• Joe Stoddard (ages 30+) The town undertaker, who provides background information in the third act. 
• Constable Bill Warren (ages 50+) The town law enforcement officer, whose duties require him to be sure that doors are locked and that drain pipes are adequate.
• Professor Willard (ages 30+) A faculty member of State University who recites facts about Grover's Corners.

SIDES:

• Stage Manager (ages 30+) – Stage Manager sides, page 32
• Emily (ages 18-29) – Emily sides, pages 56-57
• George (ages 18-29) – George sides, pages 45-46
• Adult Women (ages 30+) – Adult Women sides, pages 10-12, character of Mrs. Gibbs
• Adult Men (ages 30+) – Adult men sides, pages 23-24, character of Mr. Gibbs
• Rebecca (ages 10-14) – Rebecca sides, page 30
• Youth Male (ages 10-14) – Youth Male sides, pages 3-4, character of Joe Crowell, Jr.

Performances:

December 5, 2025 through December 14, 2025

(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)  

WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC), Grandview Ave. Playhouse, 21 Grandview Avenue, Worcester, MA.

TICKETS: 

For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org

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COVID 19 PROTOCOLS

Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.

ABOUT THE STORY

Every minute is a gift. 

An American classic for our time.  

The day starts and ends pretty much the same way in Grover’s Corner. 

Beyond the humdrum of daily life, glimmers of joy, flickers of melancholy, and secret desires are hidden away in the mundane. 

It’s in the eyes of young lovers, the silence of a lonely townie’s room, and the hearts of the wild and restless. 

Stars shine over this sleepy New England town, but are dimmed when compared with the wonderment tucked away within the seemingly ordinary moments of this place so many call “home.” 

Even in the smallest of moments, beauty is there. 

The secret is to stop and take notice.

For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org

BUY TICKETS

ABOUT WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC)

Founded in 1937, WCLOC is Worcester’s oldest active theater company. As a local, non-profit community theater, we depend on the generosity of our members, patrons, subscribers, and donors to help forward the mission of our organization to entertain, inform, and nurture local artists and audiences through the production of high quality, affordable musicals, plays, and children’s educational workshops. A donation to WCLOC allows us to continue to keep tickets affordable for local audiences, helps us maintain and make necessary improvements to our Clubhouse, and supports a full season of memorable theater and educational opportunities.

WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY

P.O. Box # 51

Worcester, MA. 01613

# 508-753-4383

www.wcloc.org