A quirky cast of characters filed in and out of the audition space at the Capital Repertory Theatre in downtown Albany on Monday, Feb. 12. It was audition day for both equity and non-equity actors hoping to land a role in Capital Rep’s upcoming production of The Crucible, scheduled to open in April.
An equity actor is one who belongs to a union. Because Cap Rep is a member of the League of Professional Theatres (LORT), it is required to give a percentage of roles, including featured parts, to union actors.
When an optimistic thespian delivers his or her monologue and sheds the everyday veneer for the few moments of an audition, Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill looks for those who make a connection with the audience as a believable character in a world created onstage.
`I look for an actor who can be very focused and very relaxed at the same time so that it doesn’t look like they’re acting,` Mancinelli-Cahill said.
When Ruth Salter enters the room, it is hard to ignore her vibrant personality. She brings the eccentricities of Sarah Goode to life during her audition.
`Your rags will be glamorous,` said Mancinelli-Cahill, referring to the costume her character will don.
`Can I take that as an offer?` Slater, an Albany resident who is a non-equity actor, asked.
Salter has been working with Cap Rep since landing the role of Granma Joad in the `Grapes of Wrath in 1996. It is the artistic expression of creating a persona on stage that has inspired her to participate in more than 30 productions.
`I tend to have supportive roles, bit parts,` said Salter. `But those can be fun and bring you into the company of a theater, which is an experience in and of itself.`
Salter also believes in the importance of exposing people to the theater.
`I think school classes are a good way to start interest,` said Salter. `There are a lot of opportunities for kids to get involved in theater classes which creates an interest in a new audience.`
Mancinelli-Cahill said theater is a venue that embodies a social dynamic modern cinema and television are unable to capture.
`In our society right now, there are fewer and fewer places to have a communal experience,` said Mancinelli-Cahill. `In the theater, everyone is there at the same time having he same experience.`
Set in Salem, Mass., during the famous witch hunts of the late 17th-century, Arthur Miller’s `The Crucible` was written during the McCarthy Era, a period in American history typified by anti-Communist vehemence.
`The Crucible` embodies themes and motifs that are appropriate when considering the political and social climate of society today, said Mancinelli-Cahill. `Theater has the greatest ability to connect the past to the present.`
`The Crucible` is part of the theater’s `Classics on Stage` featuring a special week of student matinees.
`Each year a classic production is chosen to correspond with school curriculum,` explains Mancinelli-Cahill. `Students and teachers can get an opportunity to see what it’s really supposed to be like when it’s off the page.`
As a student of theater himself, David Girard, a veteran Equity actor, who auditioned for the role of Rev. Hale, considers `The Crucible` a pivotal plan in American culture.
`It’s my favorite play,` said Girard. `It’s one of these plays that I don’t think I could stop learning from. It’s an incredibly important piece of theater, symbolically, the mistakes being made in the play are still being made today.`
Girard said that theater has the ability to break down social walls both on stage and in the dressing room.
`There’s a great sense of camaraderie; gay, straight or whatever, guys are guys,` said Girard.
Auditions are still continuing. You’ll be able to find out if Salter and Girard made the show when `The Crucible` takes to the stage from April 27 ` May 26.
Capital Repertory Theatre is located at 111 N. Pearl St., Albany.
For information, call 445-7469 or visit the Web site, www.capitalrep.org. “