"Murder" Auditions August 7 & 8

ACT will hold auditions for the first production of our 2011-2012 season, Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Nile," at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, August 7 and 8. All roles are open and previous experience or participation with ACT is not necessary to audition.

Mike Manfred is directing the exotic whodunnit for ACT. Audiences first saw Manfred as sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello in "Little Shop of Horrors," then Felix Unger in "The Odd Couple." Last year, he appeared as one of Stanley Kowalski's poker buddies in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and as Underling, the butler, in "The Drowsy Chaperone." He also just finished directing a contemporary Goth gender-bending version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" for ACT's "A Midsummer Night's Scenes."

"Murder on the Nile" was adapted for the stage by Agatha Christie herself from her popular 1937 novel "Death on the Nile." For the play, she condensed the numerous character from the book into a smaller group of tourists aboard an Egyptian paddle -steamer, on which a wealthy, young socialite and her new husband are honeymooning, when a murder is discovered.

A large, diverse cast is required for the show, with roles for a variety of ages, character types and cultural ethnicities.

KAY RIDGEWAY-MOSTYN: A charismatic, rich, young and spoiled socialite.

SIMON MOSTYN: Kay's new husband; from humble beginnings, determined not to use Kay for her money.

CANON PENNEFATHER: A clergyman; Kay's guardian whom she calls Uncle Ambrose. The ultimate sleuth and pivotal detective of the play.

JAQUELINE DE SERVERAC: Simon's ex-fiance and Kay's best friend; raging with jealousy over Simon and Kay's marriage.

WILLIAM SMITH: (AKA LORD DAWLISH): An irreverent man disguising himself as a regular passenger, but is really a wealthy aristocrat; wants to marry Christina. (light Standard British accent)

MS. HELEN CHRISTINA GRANT: The sweet niece of Ms. Ffoliot Ffoulkes, looking to break free. (light Scottish accent)

FFOLIOT FFOULKES: Unpleasant aging socialite; rude, snobbish and gruff.

DR. BESSNER: Medical doctor from a small country in Europe; hates Kay's father and blames him for the financial ruin of his country and his family.

LOUISE: Kay's devious French maid. (light French accent)

STEWARD: The ship's Nubian Steward. (Egyptian/Arabic accent)

CAPTAIN: The ship's captain; drunk. (Egyptian/Arabic accent)

TWO BEAD SELLERS: Egyptian marketplace dwellers selling beads and fake artifacts.

McNAUGHT: Ship's manager.

POLICEMAN: Egyptian police officer.

Auditions will take place in the Barbara Titelman Spessard Rehearsal Hall of the ACT Workshop (located at 1213 12th Street, downtown next to Tom & Joe's diner) and will consist of readings from the script. Perusal copies are available at the ACT office.

A pre-audition reading of the script will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, August 6, in the ACT Rehearsal Hall as an opportunity for people to become familiar with the plot and characters of the play. This reading is not part of the auditions and will have no play into the casting of the show.

For more information auditions, call ACT at (814) 943-4357.