CHRIS: (The director of the show – also plays Inspector Carter). A first-time director but a fairly decent actor if maybe a little melodramatic. Maybe he’s been in a Shakespeare play once. He tries his best to keep the show on track while gritting his teeth at the ineptness which surrounds him. Note: The actor cast in this role will need to be comfortable performing on a seven-foot-high platform with no railing.

JONATHAN: (Plays Charles Haversham, deceased). Poor guy. He’s been cast as a corpse but has trouble playing dead. Don’t worry – he actually has some lines as the play progresses. Note: The actor cast in this role will need to be comfortable performing on a seven-foot-high platform with no railing.

SANDRA: (Plays Florence, the fiancé of the deceased who is having a secret affair with his brother). She is the company’s leading lady; a bit of a diva who thinks she’s more talented than she really is. (Or maybe she’s not too bright? There’s room for interpretation.) Note: The actor cast in this role will need to be comfortable being in an enclosed box for up to 5 minutes.

MAX: (Plays Cecil, brother of the deceased who is having a secret affair with Florence – also plays Arthur the gardener in Act II). This role is fairly open to interpretation. Is he the company’s typical male ingenue? Their go-to character actor? A bit of a ham who likes applause?

ROBERT: (Plays Thomas, the deceased best friend and Florence’s brother). This is the sort of actor who always gets cast as the ‘best friend’ or ‘brother.’ Earnest and optimistic, he always believes the show is going much more smoothly than it really is. Note: The actor cast in this role will need to be comfortable performing on a seven-foot-high platform with no railing.

DENNIS [or DENISE]: (Plays Perkins the butler). Probably the worst actor of the bunch. Has difficulty pronouncing big words and has to write a cheat sheet on their sleeve. Note: The actor cast in this role will need to be comfortable performing on a seven-foot-high platform with no railing.

ANNIE: (The stage manager). Generally able to solve problems quickly. When she has to substitute as the leading lady, she goes from nervous to confident to downright competitive.

TREVOR: (The sound tech guy). Occasionally misses his cues or forgets to turn his mic off. Generally stays backstage until he too must substitute as the leading lady. (This is the least physically demanding role and is less of a time commitment.) Note: The actor cast in this role will need to be comfortable being in an enclosed box for up to 5 minutes or Dusty might be able to make a trap door.

Please choose one of the two speeches below (from Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap) and be prepared to read it in 2 different ways:

Reading #1: “Over-act” it. This could involve melodramatic or exaggerated gestures and/or vocal choices but try not to make it too ‘abstract.’

Reading #2: “Under-act” it. Your choices could be flat, stiff, nervous, etc. Enjoy being bad. (Or if you prefer, you could choose to read one speech for Reading #1, and the other for #2)

Memorization is not required but is encouraged (especially for Reading #1).

A note about accents: I would like British accents for the show. I think it would be funny for Annie to have a Cockney accent or American. The others should have an “upper crust” or attempt it.

Yes – the unexpected guest. The guest that you did not invite. The guest who just arrived – from nowhere – out of the storm. It sounds quite dramatic, does it not? Who am I? You do not know. Where do I come from? You do not know. Me, I am a mystery. (Laughs) But now I tell you this. I complete the picture. From now on there will be no more arrivals. And no departures either. By tomorrow – perhaps even already – we are cut off from civilization. No butcher, no baker, no milkman, no postman, no daily papers – nobody and nothing but ourselves. That is admirable – admirable. It could not suit me better. (Beat) Perfect. (Laughs) Perfect.

OR

I don’t believe it – I won’t believe it ... You see that? Yesterday’s paper – a London paper. And it was in his pocket. But he didn’t go to London yesterday. (Beat) Why shouldn’t he tell me? Why pretend? He didn’t know about the murder. (Beat) Or did he? Did he? ... I don’t know what the Inspector thinks. And he can make you think things about people. You ask yourself questions and you begin to doubt. You feel that somebody you know so well might be – a stranger. That’s what happens in a nightmare. You’re somewhere in the middle of friends and then suddenly they’re different people – just pretending. Perhaps you can’t trust anybody – perhaps everybody’s – a stranger.