Auditions Set for ‘Primary English Class’

Rehearsals will begin the following Wednesday and continue Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings until productions dates of March 9-11 and 16-17 (Friday and Saturday evenings and a Sunday afternoon). Auditions and performances will be held in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre located in the UW-Waukesha Fine Arts Center, 1500 N. University Drive, Waukesha. Written by Israel Horovitz, the play was produced originally at Circle-in the Square Theatre in New York City in February 1976 with Diane Keaton playing the lead role. In a classroom setting, an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teacher struggles to communicate with a group of new citizens, none of whom speaks the same language as another. Included are an excitable Italian, an over-eager Frenchman, a near-sighted German, an elderly Chinese woman, and a Japanese girl. Amid multiple misunderstandings, the teacher’s rigidity and pedagogical style melt. The audience is included in the humor by an off-stage translator.

Scripts are available in the UW-Waukesha library for overnight checkout. Actors need not be familiar with a foreign language, but it may be helpful. They may apply for academic credit for participating in the project. For additional information, contact Mark Lococo, assistant professor of communication and theater arts, at (262) 521-5209.