Twin City Theatre Company announces auditions for:
The Shadow Box by Michael Christofer, directed by Mark Highland.
Joe, Brian, and Felicity come from different walks of life, different parts of the country, and are in different stages of accepting the things they have in common: they are all dying of cancer, and they are all living out their final days, in company with friends and family, in homey hospice cottages on the green and pleasant grounds of a large California hospital. They are observed, studied, and counseled by an invisible Interviewer as they talk candidly about their emotional and physical struggles, and face interpersonal challenges: Joe’s wife Maggie, in denial about her husband’s impending death, refuses to go inside his cottage; artistic Brian, busy trying to write and paint enough for twelve lifetimes, must mediate between his ex-wife Beverly and his boyfriend Mark; and Felicity, confused and in pain, refuses to die until she gets a visit from her daughter Claire — a daughter who has been dead for years. Michael Cristofer’s sensitive, emotionally devastating, ground-breaking play exploring the end-of-life experience won both a Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1977.
Auditions:
Saturday, July 12, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM, Champaign Public Library, Busey Bank Conference Room 222
Saturday, July 12, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM, Champaign Public Library, Busey Bank Conference Room 222
Callbacks (if needed): Sunday, July 13, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM, Champaign Public Library, Robeson Room C
Sign-Up for an Audition Time: https://www.signupgenius.com/…/10C0E4FACAB2BA1F9C34…
Complete the Audition Form: https://forms.gle/GeM18z5Yp77LdbcTA
Casting:
3 male-identifying adults; 4 female-identifying adults; one adult, any gender; and one teen-aged boy.
3 male-identifying adults; 4 female-identifying adults; one adult, any gender; and one teen-aged boy.
Roles are open to all ethnicities. You will be asked to perform readings from the script. Actors may be up and down to read multiple times in multiple combinations and scenes, to “work” on a scene with a scene partner during the audition, and to read for multiple roles.
Audition Sides: https://drive.google.com/…/1uSwPm5vxrPTHe6w2o19…
THE INTERVIEWER (any gender) – A doctor or psychiatrist conducting a study of terminal cancer
patients
COTTAGE ONE
JOE (male-identifying) – a terminally ill patient. A strong, thick-set man, a little bit clumsy with moving and talking, but full of energy
MAGGIE (female-identifying) – JOE’s wife. Dressed-up but still a mess. Packs to be prepared for
anything.
STEVE (male-identifying) – JOE and MAGGIE’S son. Youthful, energetic teenager loves his Dad. Plays the guitar.
COTTAGE TWO
BRIAN (male-identifying) – a terminally ill patient. Middle aged, graceful, simple, direct, straightforward – mind and body balanced like an athlete.
MARK (male identifying) – BRIAN’s partner, younger than BRIAN
BEVERLY (female-identifying) – BRIAN’s former wife. Middle aged, very curiously and esoterically dressed. Drinks from a flask. She and MARK don’t get along.
COTTAGE THREE
FELICITY (female-identifying) – a terminally ill patient. Crochety senior citizen, suffering from dementia.
AGNES (female-identifying) – FELICITY’s daughter. Plain looking middle-aged woman. Very neat, very tense, very tired. The effort to be perfect has left her confused, awkward and unsure.
Rehearsals:
Location – First United Methodist Church of Urbana
Dates – July 16th – September 19th Monday through Friday, 6:00 PM- 9:00 PM
Due to the structure of this show, not every actor will be called every night until the point of act runs/full runs.
NO Rehearsal on: Aug 20, 27, Sept 1, 3, 10, 17
Location – First United Methodist Church of Urbana
Dates – July 16th – September 19th Monday through Friday, 6:00 PM- 9:00 PM
Due to the structure of this show, not every actor will be called every night until the point of act runs/full runs.
NO Rehearsal on: Aug 20, 27, Sept 1, 3, 10, 17
Load-in and Tech: Sept. 21 – Sept. 25
Performance dates: Sept. 26, 27, Oct. 3, 4 – 7:30 PM; Sept. 28 & Oct. 5 – 2:00 PM
Performance location: Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC), 200 S Broadway, Urbana (inside Post Office Building north of Lincoln Square).
Performance dates: Sept. 26, 27, Oct. 3, 4 – 7:30 PM; Sept. 28 & Oct. 5 – 2:00 PM
Performance location: Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC), 200 S Broadway, Urbana (inside Post Office Building north of Lincoln Square).
Questions? Please contact twincitytheatreco@gmail.com
Upcoming Auditions:
If All the Sky Were Paper, directed by Marshawn Bingham: September 6th, 2025
Check back here for more details about the upcoming auditions.
Questions? Please contact twincitytheatreco@gmail.com