Home Made Theater Announces Open Auditions
for a March/April production of
‘night, Mother
By Marsha Norman
Directed by Jonathan Hefter
December 12th & 13th at 6:30PM
(callbacks, if necessary, December 14th at 6:30)
At Home Made Theater’s Wilton Mall headquarters, near JCPenney
As we may be in the Wilton Mall past mall hours, please use Home Made Theater’s “back” entrance. To find
this entrance, drive around to the exterior entrance to JCPenney (the side of the mall facing BJ’s). To the right
of Penneys is a loading dock. Walk down the sidewalk of the loading dock (with the wall to Penneys on your
left) to the door at the end. Once through the door follow the hallway to Home Made Theater’s entrance on
the right. There is a sign and the door will be open.
Synopsis
On a seemingly normal evening in a small house on an isolated country road, we meet Thelma Cates (Mama),
an aging mother and widow who lives with her daughter, Jessie. Unsatisfied and depressed, Jessie struggles
with life as an unemployed epileptic. Jessie’s father is dead. Her loveless marriage ended in divorce. Her absent
son is a petty thief and ne’er-do-well. Her last job didn’t work out. In general, her life is stale and unprofitable.
As the play begins, Jessie announces nonchalantly to her mother that she plans to commit suicide that night.
Over the course of the evening, the two reveal long-hidden truths to one another, building towards a stunning
and deeply disturbing moment—a moment never to be forgotten by those who have witnessed and come to
understand Jessie’s plight. Mirrored in the intensity of the house’s living room and kitchen, the play takes place
in real time in an urgent and desperate exploration of loneliness, secrets, and honesty.
Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and nominated for the Tony
Award for Best Play. “It is sparse and concise, introspective and penetrating, powerful and uncompromising,
intense and intelligent, warm and theatrical. It is THE American tragedy.” —New England Entertainment Digest
For the Audition
Actors should prepare a brief monologue of their choice. Actors will also be provided excerpts from the script
upon arrival. Please bring a current photo (cannot be returned) and resume.
Rehearsal Schedule
Rehearsals will generally be Monday through Thursday evenings starting on Monday, January 9th. Tech week
begins on Sunday, March 19th. Rehearsal location is TBD until January 30th, after which rehearsals will be at
Home Made Theater’s Wilton Mall headquarters until the week before tech. Then rehearsals move to the
performance space at the Dee Sarno Theater in Saratoga Arts.
Performances
March 24-26 and March 31-April 2. Performances are 7:30PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00PM on
Saturdays and Sundays (Saturday is a two show day). Performances will be at the Dee Sarno Theater, in
Saratoga Arts (320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs).
Character Breakdown – Age ranges are approximate. This is a general guideline.
Roles are open to all ethnicites and gender identities.
Jessie Cates (30-40s): A divorced woman who lives with her widowed mother. She has epilepsy and has
experienced seizures most of her life. Nothing in life has worked out for this woman, including raising a son
who turned out to be a disappointing loser. She has suffered with severe chronic depression that has never
been treated. In the play, her long-standing despair has been temporarily relieved by a decision that has her
uncharacteristically peaceful and talkative. The usual grayness and unsteady physical energy of this woman
have given way to a new purpose that is expressed in productivity and detached humor.
Thelma “Mama” Cates (50-60s): A widow, she is starting to feel her age and has easily allowed her depressed
daughter to come and take care of all the details of her life. She sees life as she wants it to be, rather than how
it is. She speaks quickly and enjoys talking. She is a simple country woman who never wanted much and could
find a way to be happy with whatever she had, even if it meant lying to herself and others. She has no need for
intimacy in relationships, but is energized by social situations.
For further information visit Home Made Theater’s website, www.HomeMadeTheater.org,
or call (518)-587-4427.