OpenStage Theatre & Company’s
2025-2026 SEASON AUDITIONS | August 23rd and 24th
Audition announcement for the FIRST THREE SHOWS of the 53rd Season:
“Misery” by William Goldman, Based on the novel by Stephen King
Performs November 1 – 29, 2025 | Rehearsals start the week of September 8th
“The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie
Performs January 10 – February 7, 2026 | Rehearsals start the week of November 3rd
“The Cottage” by Sandy Rustin
Performs March 21 – April 18, 2026 | Rehearsals start the week of January 26th
Callbacks/Company Auditions are located at the Backstage Arts Warehouse, 720 East Vine Drive in Fort Collins.
Please park on the East side of the building or across the street on the dirt lot.
PLEASE BE AWARE:
The annual “Tour de Fat” festival will take place on the morning of Saturday, August 23rd. Visitors should travel westbound on East Vine Dr. (from the I-25, Timberline Rd., or Lemay Ave. area) as opposed to entering from College Ave./HWY 187. Please allow extra time for travel.
OPEN AUDITIONS (if you have not worked with OpenStage previously):
Please submit your headshot, resume, and a video of your monologue (2 mins max, in the style of the shows you would like to be considered for) to auditions@openstage.com. Please send audition videos as a Google Drive video or video file attachment, resumes in PDF format, and headshots as a .jpg or .png. Include in your email which shows you would like to be considered for. All audition submissions are due by Friday, August 8th.
OPENSTAGE COMPANY & ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Company and associate members will be emailed a link to sign up for a five minute audition slot for each show they wish to audition for.
Scripts are available for perusal beginning AUGUST 1ST for all active and inactive Company and Associate Members and for individuals invited back from Open Auditions by emailing jacob@openstage.com
Auditioners called back for a show should be prepared to attend Callbacks/Company Auditions and Final Callbacks (by invitation). See Schedule Below
Audition Schedule
PLEASE read the schedule carefully.
Misery
Saturday, August 23rd: 10am – 12pm – Callbacks/Company Audition (by invitation only, sign up for a 5 minute slot)
Sunday, August 24th: 10am – 12pm – Final Callbacks (by invitation only)
The Mousetrap
Saturday, August 23rd: 1pm – 3pm – Callbacks/Company Audition (by invitation only, sign up for a 5 minute slot)
Sunday, August 24th: 1pm – 3pm – Final Callbacks (by invitation only)
The Cottage
Saturday, August 23rd: 4pm – 6pm – Callbacks/Company Audition (by invitation only, sign up for a 5 minute slot)
Sunday, August 24th: 4pm – 6pm – Final Callbacks (by invitation only)
The Merry Wives of Windsor
***Our fourth show, “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, will audition in early 2026***
Final Casting will be posted by 5pm FRIDAY AUGUST 29TH.
Director’s Notes and Character Descriptions
MISERY
By William Goldman
Based on the novel by Stephen King
Directed by Jacob Offen
DIRECTORS’ NOTES
Misery is part chilling and suspenseful psychological thriller, part horror topped with moments of dark humor. Stakes are high, and at first glance there are moments of camp. However, with deeper investigation you will find that the over-the-top situations are a result of a very real and raw ruthless pursuit of one’s desires, convictions, and obsession. There’s been a car accident and Paul is utterly dependent on Annie’s “good will”. The world is secluded and claustrophobic. Sometimes it feels as if there is something missing, as if someone disappeared and has been missing for years. It is terrifying, full of contrast, full of quick, unexpected, and violent changes. Both Paul and Annie are, in their own way, extraordinarily manipulative, clever, and tactical when it comes to getting what they want from one another. Both characters are afraid of something – the world? Each other? Loneliness? Their own mortality? – and desperate to overcome that fear by any means necessary, even if the results are fatal.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
ANNIE WILKES: (Female presenting, late 30’s – 50’s) She is a nurse and punisher, maybe even a killer. She is obsessive and lost in her own delusions. There is a charm to her and she seems full of life, but that charm crosses a line into something strange, desperate, and grotesque. The joie de vivre is a facade. There is something off and you can’t quite put your finger on it. She is Paul’s “number one fan” and she very much means it. She can change on a dime from nurturer to psychopath. There is no one in the world quite like her.
PAUL (Male presenting, 40’s – 50’s) He is a renowned author; a romance novelist with ambitions to write something more meaningful, Pulitzer worthy. He is truly charming, handsome, enigmatic and he uses it to his advantage. He is narcissistic and recently may have become aware of that. It scares him. He has a grown adult daughter who he doesn’t see as often as he should. He lives and works in NYC (without an accent) and drove a ridiculously fancy sports car during a Colorado mountain blizzard, and it went tragically wrong. He’s facing his worst nightmare; he is totally dependent on his rescuer, Annie. He is unable to walk, feed himself, or leave… and he really, REALLY needs to leave.
BUSTER (Male presenting, 40’s – 60’s) The sheriff. He is the contrast. He is folksy, competent, and persistent. He’s a minor but important presence who represents the outside world’s attempt to reach Paul. His investigation adds tension and hope, though his fate underscores the play’s stakes.
THE MOUSETRAP
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Heather Ostberg Johnson
DIRECTORS’ NOTES
“The Mousetrap,” by Agatha Christie, is a chilling classic murder mystery in which a group of strangers, stranded by a snowstorm in a guesthouse, learn that there is murder on the loose, and one of them is it! Everyone is a suspect, and everyone is a potential victim. The play has been running since 1952 and is the longest-running play EVER! Like all good Agatha Christie tales, suspense and suspicion are key elements to the atmosphere we will create. It’s a trapped group of lonely strangers picking up the pieces of their lives in the wake of war. This whodunit is about what people want, how badly they want it, and what they are willing to do to get it. Can you hear the slow click clack of footsteps drawing closer and the haunting whistle of three blind mice echoing in the dark?
Characters:
Mollie Ralston: (Female presenting – Age 20s- 30s) Mollie is the young owner of Monkswell Manor, a Victorian-era estate that has recently been converted into a guest house and the wife of Giles Ralston. She is attentive and kind, albeit a bit anxious about hosting.
Giles Ralston: (Male presenting – Age 20s- 30s) Mollie’s husband of one year, Giles is the co-host of Monkswell Manor. He is somewhat arrogant and jealous of the other guests’ attention toward Mollie.
Christopher Wren: (Male presenting – Age 20s- 30s), younger than Mollie & Miss Casewell) A flighty, obviously neurotic young man, Christopher Wren is a guest at Monkswell Manor. Wren claims to have been named after the architect of the same name by his parents.
Mrs. Boyle: (Female presenting – Age 50s-60s) Mrs. Boyle is an imposing woman in a bad temper; she complains about everything. She is disapproving of every effort that Mollie and Giles try to make her comfortable.
Major Metcalf: (Male presenting – Age 40s-60s) A typical retired British military officer, Major Metcalf is a guest at Monkswell Manor. He is friendly and very polite, and serves as a good counter to Mrs. Boyle during the play’s first act.
Miss Casewell: (Female presenting – Age 20s – 30) Miss Casewell is another guest at Monkswell Manor, and remains mysteriously aloof from the other guests. A strange, aloof, somewhat masculine woman who speaks offhandedly about the horrific experiences of her childhood.
Mr. Paravicini:(Male presenting – Age 20s – 50s) A man of unknown provenance who turns up claiming his car has overturned in a snowdrift. He appears to be affecting a foreign accent and artificially aged with make-up.
Detective Sergeant Trotter: (Male presenting – Age 20s – 30s) Detective Sergeant Trotter is a cheerful, energetic, common-place man who arrives at the guest house on skis to investigate a local murder. Detective Trotter is trying to establish a relationship between any of the guests and a murder already committed at another location.
THE COTTAGE
By Sandy Rustin
Directed by Jessica Jackson
DIRECTORS’ NOTES
The Cottage is a brilliant, sparkling British sex-farce that upends the genre’s expectations.
Style: The pacing of The Cottage is intended to be very swift. Like any classic farce, this show is very physical: doors swinging, hiding in cramped spaces, cigarette lighting, jumping over sofas, etc. Also, like classic farce, the characters maintain a truthful intention throughout.
Characters are often on separate wavelengths, experiencing the same moment in dramatically different ways. Discovering the abrupt beat changes is all part of the fun. Some are clearly marked, others are to be found as you go.
Standard British Dialect should be adhered to. The actor playing DIERDRE (DEER-DRAH) has the liberty of slowly descending into a lower-class dialect (DEER-DREE). The words Mama and Papa should be pronounced per the French pronunciation, with accent over the final “a.”
The Cottage draws heavily on Noel Coward. The characters (most of them) are educated, intelligent, sophisticated, and very much adhere to the rules of polite society – if not in their love lives, then in their manners. The “quip” (an understated thrown-away one-liner) is essential to this style. They don’t have to try to be funny or witty. They simply are. They feel big emotions, but have been conditioned from an early age to imprison them behind a polished veneer. Until they explode.
“It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” Noel Coward
CHARACTERS (all are somewhere in their 30s-40s, with the exception of Deidre who is 20s-30s)
SYLVIA*+, a lovely and rash romantic.
BEAU*, perhaps the best-looking man in Britain.
MARJORIE*, 8 months pregnant, pragmatic, unflappable, and a tad spicy.
CLARKE*, a distinguished gentleman accountant with a lover’s spirit.
DIERDRE*+, an awfully pretty, sometimes wise, nincompoop.
RICHARD*+ a murderous, yet gentle soul.
TIME: The play begins just before 9:00 AM. Monday, June 4, 1923.
PLACE: A quaint family-owned cottage in the English Countryside, about 90 minutes outside of London.
* This role requires moments of physical intimacy (kissing, intimate touch, moments of
romantic chemistry/passion when touch is not needed.)
+ This role requires moments of physical violence (falling, slapping, fainting) and
handling/use of a prop gun.
