Cuckfield Dramatic Society
By Richard Harris
(Performance Dates: Wed 29th - Sat 1 June)
Director: Harriët Sheldon
Choreography: Dancing with Emily
We may have planned our February show as the rescheduled Double Bill but even while Christmas Cabaret tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, but CDS is already planning our second show of 2019.
This will combining acting and dance and we are looking for old and new
faces to audition! So it's a great chance to learn some new skills!
Stepping Out is a stage play with dancing routines throughout. (N.B. This is the play and not the full musical developed from it.)
There is an outline of each role below (1M, 9F).
This rollicking comedy sees eight individuals with different backgrounds and differing motivations who all attend the same weekly tap dancing class. Initially they treat the classes as a social occasion but over time they develop both skill and cohesiveness. The dance routines are the background for the focus of the play and the relationships and interactions of the different people.
We would like to cast both people with acting and/or tap-dancing abilities, with an emphasis on acting.
- Actors who can’t tap dance will be taught the steps needed!
- Dancers who haven’t acted will be helped to learn lines, act naturally and play members of an amateur group!
For those actors who have little or no experience in dancing we have arranged dance lessons (once a week).
- These will start sometime after Christmas and well in advance of main rehearsals.
- Steps required will be within the scope of even total beginners – as long as they have a basic sense of rhythm!
Acting rehearsals will then commence in March 2019 and will be two evenings per week.
Since most of the cast need to act and dance (at least a little) we are holding separate auditions for each of the two disciplines.
So please plan (except for the role of Mrs Fraser) to attend one of each type if you can.
- Acting Auditions: Tuesday 20 and 27 November, 19:30 for 20:00, White Harte Inn, Cuckfield, RH17 5LB
- Tap-dance Auditions: Thursday 22 and 29 November, Oathall Community College, Lindfield, RH16 2AQ
So we hope to see plenty of determined tap-dancers and aspiring actors at the auditions!!!!
Why not get in touch or come along to the auditions to learn more!
We look forward to seeing you!
- Ages are a guideline and we will be flexible with certain characters.
- Some roles are better dancers than others – but apart from Mavis all are supposed to be amateurs.
MAVIS (??? Lines) An
ex-professional dancer, attractive, 40ish. She runs the class and is a
pro whose job is to make the punters happy.
DOROTHY (128 lines) A small, anxious and
birdlike woman who works for the council. She could be anything from 30
to 45. She dances with extravagantly large movements and often gets in
everyone’s way. Unwittingly very comical!
LYNNE (110 lines) At 19 (or a playing age
under 25), she is the youngest member of the group. She is eager to
please, has a lovely face and a big smile. She never wears make-up and
her skin glows healthily. She works as a Nurse, but dreams of being a
dancer. She is a good, light on her feet and attentive.
ANDY (160 lines) Tall and thin and in her 30s
or 40s. She is very timid and withdrawn and tends to stoop as though
ashamed of her height. She is hopeless, with no co-ordination
whatsoever. She is defensive and prickly with the other girls.
MAXINE (289 lines) A good-looking lady in her
40s. She always looks good, no matter what and is able to sell
anything. She is confident, competent and enjoys dancing. She is the
most natural dancer in the group and knows it.
SYLVIA (255 lines) A short and very bubbly
individual in her early 30’s. She is forever commenting on her weight
and shouts, rather than talking. She constantly chews gum and isn’t a
very good dancer, but doesn’t give a damn.
VERA (284 lines) She is in her mid-30s/40’s,
neat and proper as a pin. For all her primness, however, she tends to
come across as a high-class tart. She dances as primly and as
efficiently as she does everything else.
ROSE (119 lines) A larger than life lady in
her 40s, Rose is ideally Afro-Caribbean (but could potentially be played
by another ethnic minority). Rose is loud, flamboyant, and constantly
late for class but none seems to mind. When it comes to dancing, she has
little sense of rhythm but loves every minute of it.
MRS FRASER (100 lines) The
class pianist in her 50s (or older). She is a square-shaped lady who
prides herself on her pessimism. (Piano skills would be preferable)
and finally the only man in the cast
GEOFFREY (90 lines) A tall, rather awkward man in his mid-40s. He is the sort of man who doesn’t like being noticed and most of the time wouldn’t be. He is limited in his dancing but competent.