Name: AUDITIONS: ON GOLDEN POND
Start: 2024-06-15T11:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-06-15T14:00:00-07:00
Location: 2400 S Chester Ave, Bakersfield, CA, United States, California 93304

Audition Notice
ON GOLDEN POND
by Ernest Thompson
directed by Jan Hefner
This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory – but still as tart-tongued, observant, and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiancé, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. The boy quickly becomes the “grandchild” the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness – and slang – in return. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is now against them, but the years have been good and, perhaps, another summer on Golden Pond still awaits.
This classic love story still shines 45 years after it was written, with themes that seem even more important and relevant in today’s world.
AUDITIONS: UPDATE - Saturday date and time remain unchanged. Second audition moved to Tuesday June 18.
Saturday, June 15 11am – 2pm
Tuesday, June 18 6pm – 8pm
Location: Bakersfield Community Theatre, 2400 S Chester Ave., Bakersfield
Auditions will consist of warm readings from script excerpts. No prior preparation is needed.
REHEARSALS:
Read-through will be held at a time to be announced between June 24 and July 11. Daily rehearsals, Mondays through Thursdays, 6-9 pm, will begin August 5. Actors cast should plan to use the time between read-through and start of rehearsals to learn their lines, and should ideally be off book by the start of rehearsals.
CONFLICTS:
Please bring a list of conflicts between August 5 and September 21st, including potential brush-up dates of September 12 and 19.
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Fridays and Saturdays, September 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, & 21 at 7:30 pm. Sunday matinee September 15 at 2:00 pm
If you are unable to attend the audition dates, or for more information, contact the director at [email protected].
ROLES TO BE CAST (ages shown are playable ages):
Norman Thayer, Jr – 79. He walks slowly but upright. On the one hand he is boyish and peppery, having hung onto his vigor and his humor, but at the same time, he is grant, heas has a manner, a way of speaking and of carrying himself.
Ethel Thayer – 69. Pretty and energetic, Ethel is a spritely, active woman who loves her husband completely and who is in love with simply being alive. She is caregiver, sweetheart, and friend to Norman.
Charlie Martin – 44. The local delivery-by-boat mailman, Charlie is a long-time family friend and a typical Maine down-Easterner. Still single, he has had a life-long crush on Chelsea.
Chelsea Thayer Wayne – 42. Attractive and divorced with a nervous edginess and plenty of her father’s humor. She is still dealing with the lack of closeness between her and Norman. She is engaged to Bill Ray, whom she brings to meet her parents.
Billy Ray – 13. Son of Bill Ray, he is a typical California teenager who comes to spend a month with Norman and Ethel on Golden Pond while his father and Chelsea are in Europe.
Bill Ray – 44. Chelsea’s fiancé and Billy’s father, Bill is definitely not the outdoors type. He is trying his best to make a good impression on Norman and Ethel.
Since 1927, Bakersfield Community Theatre has helmed works that encourage diversity and inclusivity, promoted local artists, and focused on the community aspects of theatre. While some scripts call for specific character guidelines, people of all ages, races, ethnicities, gender identities, and physical abilities are encouraged to audition. BCT is a safe and inclusive place, and we take pride in the connection to our community.
bctstage.org