Before rehearsals and set building begins, Upper School actors prepare for the fall play auditions. Auditions for The Madwoman of Chaillot were held this past Thursday and Friday in the Driscoll commons. The satirical fall play will tell the story of Countess Aurelia, who tries to save the world from the corrupt corporate executives of Paris. Approximately 42 Upper School students auditioned for the show. During auditions, students typically do a cold reading from the script, perform scenes and learn more about the plot and intention for the show. 

Sophomore Per Johnson said his experiences in auditions are “always a lot of fun.”

“We do fun things as a group to de-stress everyone and I’m excited to see that during auditions,” Johnson said.

Eric Severson, the director of all Upper School plays, was also excited for auditions this year.

“Auditions always make me smile,” Mr. Severson said. “I love seeing my students come in and bring the words of the author to life. Each of them brings a uniqueness to how they approach a character, and this show is full of characters with big personalities, [so] I cannot wait to see how that translates from the page to the stage with the students auditioning.”

Junior Gracie Tilney-Kaemmer has high expectations for the show.

“I think it’s going to be a good show overall. We have a lot of people auditioning this fall, [including] a lot of freshmen, […] which is good because we’ll have a lot of new talent,” she said.

Tilney-Kaemmer looks forward to acting in this year’s fall play.

“Every time I don’t do theater, I always forget how happy reading lines and being on a stage makes me, so I’m very excited to be back doing that,” she said. 

The Madwoman of Chaillot will be playing in the Huss auditorium on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23.