The Unfriendly Friends of the Acton/Agua Dulce Library
The Library’s most generous donor…an honor to die for.
When the Friends of the Acton/Agua Dulce Library host the First Anniversary Gala, two wealthy sisters vie for the title of most generous donor. The event begins cordially enough but dark secrets are revealed and the competition ends in a shocking murder.
Event Date: Saturday, September 24th, 2011 Time: 6:30 P.M. – 9:30 P.M.
Open Casting Call at the Acton/Agua Dulce Library , 33792 Crown Valley Road , Acton , Ca 93510 Saturday, August 13, 2:00 PM in the Community Room
This is a FAADL fundraising event with limited seating so all actors will be unpaid volunteers. But you will enjoy a free gourmet dinner! The play takes place in the present and actors will be expected to provide their own make-up and formal evening attire suited to their characters.
Thank you for your support,
Kat Fandino
Overview of the evening –
This is a fundraising event that will combine an actual dinner hosted by the Friends of the Acton/Agua Dulce Library to celebrate the library’s one year anniversary with the storyline described below.
The actors will be incorporated into all the evening’s activities: joining genuine dignitaries in the reception line to greet library friends, dining with patrons at the tables during dinner, etc.
The actors will involve the guests in the plot. Guests observe the interactions of the actors and overhear their conversations. As the evening progresses, the actors will go on to solicit critical remarks about their adversaries and even go so far as to implicate guests in the murder or ask them for alibis.
A carefully constructed timeline will set forth specific actions that must occur at particular times and in a preset order: quarrels, disclosures of information, the passing of secret notes, actors storming from the room, the discovery of the murder victim, accusations, rebuttals, and so on. It will be important for the actors to be spontaneous and have the ability to adlib and think on their feet to take advantage of opportunities as they occur. The goal is to create a room full of suspects.
Before the murderer is revealed, the suspects will be identified and the audience will vote for their favorite suspect by purchasing raffle tickets. Once the murderer is identified everyone who voted for that suspect will be part of a pool from which the winning raffle ticket is selected.
Here are brief sketches of the characters. Reading scripts will be provided at the casting call.
Mrs. Vi Lee Rich – Her late father made bazillions breeding dung beetles for Far Flung Dung, International. Vi Lee flaunts her money and donates liberally but only for the attention it brings her. Tonight she intends to present a check for the largest amount ever given to the library. Her husband is Phil T. Rich. Together they have one daughter, Barbie Dahl Rich.
Mrs. Prudence Humbley – Mrs. Rich’s sister has also inherited millions and gives charitably but quietly. She’s jealous of her sister and determined to finally be recognized as the most generous donor. She’s married to Coy Humbley, whom she adores in public but derides when they are alone.
Mr. Phil T. Rich – Married Vi Lee for her money. If she ever found out he was having an affair with Titsiana Boobarini, he knows the divorce would ruin him. He’s not pleased that Vi Lee is giving away so much money, nor is he happy about sharing her wealth – even with their daughter, Barbie Dahl Rich.
Mr. Coy Humbley – is a doormat. He and Vi Lee had an affair and she told him that Barbie Dahl Rich was the result so she could blackmail him. Prudence keeps Coy on a tight budget so he works for the Mayor to earn money to pay Vi Lee and keep Prudence in the dark about Barbie. Coy fears that Prudence will cut him loose if she finds out. He works with Titsiana Boobarini.
Titsiana Boobarini – Titsiana is Phil T. Rich’s mistress and second assistant to the Mayor. She dresses provocatively, is impressed by wealth and is determined to marry Phil T. Rich. She wants Vi Lee Rich out of the way before all the family money is gone or before Phil tires of the affair.
Barbie Dahl Rich – Barbie hopes to rescue her grandfather’s dung beetle company. She’s polite to her Aunt Prudence and “Uncle” Coy but she doesn’t get along with her “father”, Phil, who she thinks is running the family business into the ground. She’s good friends with Titsiana but has no idea she is dating her “father”, Phil.
Mayor I.M. Pompous – The mayor of Acton/Agua Dulce is totally in his element in front of the audience, speaking to the press, and hobnobbing with socialites. The mayor has known Vi Lee and Prudence since childhood. However, Vi Lee takes every opportunity to humiliate him for growing up poor. He would like nothing more than to avenge his bruised ego.
Mr. (or Mrs.) Howie Diddot – The Library Manager. He/she is gregarious and eager to accept the donations from Vi Lee Rich and Prudence Humbley because he/she wants to have more Hrograms for the community. He/she is willing to change the name of the library to honor the donor and can’t understand why the mayor is dead set against it. He/she is the host/hostess for the evening and supervises the timeline for the play.
Reply to: tranquilo@hughes.net
Antelope Valley Arts 