Washington County Theatre to host auditions for The Giver Feb. 2 and 3

The book, The Giver  is one of the most iconic books in existence. Published in the early 90s, nearly all middle school students have been tasked to read this sci-fi journey. The Washington County Theatre plans to present The Giver  later this year in April, and they will be holding auditions early next week on February 2 and 3 at 7:00 pm at the Salem Church of the Nazarene (398 N Harrison St, Salem). Director Lydia Casey provided us with a sneak peak into what the story is about, and what the roles entail.

“This is something that maybe a lot of people will recognize the name of, I'm hoping,” said Director Lydia Casey. “Lois Lowry wrote The Giver, and it was published in the early 90s. And it has won a slew of awards for being an excellent piece of literature. But, middle schoolers often study it because it does open up so many interesting questions that young people really enjoy debating and thinking about. I'm hoping that people will recognize it, but if they don't, it's this story of a dystopian world that, because of climate concerns and socioeconomic concerns, they've decided to live in sameness. Everyone lives in sameness and similar circumstances. They live in similar housing and they dress the same. In the play, this whole society will be depicted in tones of grey. And there's a committee of elders that oversees and monitors everything and everyone and has complete control. And for instance, they decide that when each kid turns 12, he or she learns what he will do or she will do professionally. They've been observed and watched so carefully all those years leading up to that point, that the Committee of Elders knows exactly what each young person should go into, and so they have no control over any aspect of their lives. And all their memories and emotions are erased. They live in sameness because they don't have any separate personalities from each other.

“One person in each community of this world gets to have the knowledge of the past: the good and the bad, and how life on the planet used to be,” Casey continued. “And that's who, in this story, is the Giver. He is tasked with passing on those memories to Jonas, who has been selected. Very early in the story, we see him be selected, and he's mystified because he doesn't even know. Nobody in the community even knows that there's a Giver, that there are memories that they don't possess. They have no knowledge. So, he starts to have these daily sessions with this person, the Giver, this old man who is passing on the memories of past civilizations and the ups and downs and the good and the bad and everything that is taking place in the world. And this quickly becomes overwhelming, as you can imagine, to Jonas. As a 12 year old boy, he has no way to grapple with all of this. But he quickly begins to see that something is really wrong with his society, and he plans his escape.”

The Giver  requires the lead role to be played by a young boy around the age of 12 years old. Casey explained that that comes with its difficulties.

“Jonas has to be played by a boy, and he'll need to be a young performer,” she said. “He'll be someone who can look or act around 12, and that's a limitation. There's no way around it in the script. A lot of theatre companies, they do age up Jonas because I'm sure it is so challenging, as I'm sure I will find out, to find the right young boy who can carry the role. Some performances have cast somebody perhaps up to the age of 15 who can convincingly act like a younger boy and display the change that he goes through. He has to be capable of portraying big emotions. The story really rests on Jonas's experience. We see everything through his eyes. The audience sees what Jonas sees. We watch him learn about things no one in his community knows even exists. From war to a real family. So, he goes from innocence of just that existence to wisdom about what everybody is missing and what everybody is not even aware of.”

Other roles include:

Jonas’s Father and Mother

“Jonas's father and mother are not his biological parents,” Casey said. “They are people who have been chosen to be in that home acting as Jonas's father and mother. They are role fillers or place keepers. They are good-natured, and they are paternal and maternal. They're just acting the parts of being a nice father and a nice mother. They are never stern and they never have to correct or punish because of the sameness that the society has achieved.”

Lily

“Lily is Jonas's seven year old sister. She's just a little girl who just prattles around and just does little girl things,” said Casey.

Asher

“Asher is Jonas's best friend, another boy about the same age, and he's into sports,” said Casey. “And he definitely doesn't catch on at all with what Jonas is undergoing. He's completely clueless.”

Fiona

“Fiona is another one of Jonas’s friends, and she’s around the same age as well. Jonas begins to realize he likes the way she looks. This is another emotion the society aims to suppress,” stated Casey. “Jonas starts to see Fiona in a special way because he likes her, but he doesn't realize that he likes her.”

Old Citizens

These are non-speaking roles – aside from one – played by older people. The old citizens, deemed no longer useful to society, are preparing for “release.”

The Chief Elder

This character is the Master of the Ceremony, and it is intended to be played by a woman.

Rosemary

“Rosemary is a young girl,” said Casey. “She is a former Receiver of memory who, like Jonas, was going through daily sessions with the Giver. But she crashes and burns. She cannot take it, and she asks to be released. She reappears in a scene where the Giver is telling Jonas about her, and it turns out that she was the Giver's daughter.”

The Giver

The Giver is an old man “about to change.” He is responsible for keeping all of the memories and emotions of the past, and he is tasked to pass all of this knowledge onto Jonas.

“This is a tremendously inspiring story,” concluded Casey. “The story is about freedom. It's about individuality. It's about learning from the past instead of erasing the past. And that's a tendency for us. When we know about horrible things, we tend to want to forget about them and try to pretend like they don't exist. But the message from Lois Lowry and her story is that we must remember everything, even the bad things. But the audience will quickly recognize that this is not a story about a utopian society, but it's a story about a dystopian society that they don't want to be in. Where everything is the same and where pain doesn't exist. That's one of the great messages of the story in that, yes, pain exists and it's part of life, but it's what is in contrast to the great things about life. So, there are a lot of really great things that are part of the story, and make you feel really good and really blessed to be in our living situation with all the ups and downs, with all the good and the bad, but yet to have the ability to feel everything the way we do and learn from our mistakes.”

If this show and these roles interest you, do not hesitate to stop by the Salem Church of the Nazarene on either February 2 or 3 at 7:00 pm to audition and join a wonderful community of actors in our very own Washington County.

For any questions and further information, please utilize the contact information below:

Washington County Community Theatre: washingtoncountytheatre@gmail.com

The Giver  Director Lydia Casey: (812) 844-2110