Auditions for “12 Angry Jurors,” the iconic drama of American criminal justice, will be held at the Country Gate Playhouse, 114 Greenwich Street, Belvidere, New Jersey, Monday and Tuesday , March 18 and 19, at 7:30 p.m.
Those auditioning will be asked to present cold readings from the script.
Individual monologues are welcome, but not required.
The show will be presented at 8:00 p.m. on May 3 and 4, as well as, 2:00 p.m. May 5.
All seats are reserved and available online at countrygate.org
The material was originally conceived as “12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose, for a live television performance in 1954.
Soon after, it was adapted for stage and film.
The 1957 movie starred Henry Fonda and a supporting cast of accomplished actors of the era. Over the succeeding years the thematic elements of the drama have remained relevant, but social progress suggested the appropriate inclusion of a mixed gender cast, leading to the current adaptation, “12 Angry Jurors.”
The play begins as the audience hears the charge of the judge in a murder trial.
Twelve individuals are then led into a jury room to begin deliberations on the guilt or innocence of the defendant.
What begins as an open-and-shut case soon becomes a detective story that presents a succession of clues creating doubt, and a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.
All roles in “12 Angry Jurors” may be cast as either male or female, and of any ethnicity:
1st Juror, foreperson – responsible for keeping the jury organized, non-confrontational;
2nd Juror – a shy bank clerk who takes time to feel comfortable enough to participate in the discussion;
3rd Juror – a small business owner, has a bad relationship with his/her own son, with whom he/she is no longer speaking, we are led to believe that this is a contributing factor to his/her prejudice;
4th Juror – a stock broker who handles himself/herself with a very serious air, he/she deals with the facts of the case logically and concretely;
5th Juror – works in a hospital and says that he/she has lived in the slums his/her entire life;
6th Juror – a blue collar worker, he/she is happy that the case continues as it means he/she doesn’t have to go to work, a little on the slow side;
7th Juror – anxious to quickly vote and get out. He/she has a pending social engagement that he/she doesn’t want to miss… a fast talking salesperson;
8th Juror – the protagonist- the only juror who votes “not guilty” at the first vote, he/she is discontent with the way the trial was handled and wants to discuss the evidence in greater detail; 9th Juror – an old man/woman, he/she respects 8th Juror’s passion and sense of justice and quickly comes to his/her aid and becomes and advocate for the defendant;
10th Juror – one of the most fervent attackers of the defendant, tactless and fairly bigoted, he/she condemns the defendant as “one of them” right from the start;
11th Juror – a European immigrant, patriotic and talks about how much he/she loves the American justice system;
12th Juror – works for a marketing agency, to which job he/she refers to often, he/she seems constantly distracted from the case.
Country Gate Players
114 Greenwich Street , Belvidere, NJ 07823
908-475-1104
www.countrygate.org