Auditions

SEEKING:

JOHN “JACK” WORTHING. Late 20s to early 30s. The play’s protagonist, Jack, leads a double life to escape his rigid country responsibilities. He poses as the respectable guardian at his country manor, but invents a rebellious mischievous brother named “Ernest,” so he can misbehave in London. He presents the tension between social duty and personal desire.

ALGERNON MONCRIEFF. Late 20s to early 30s. Jack’s best friend and the play’s witty, idle bachelor. Algernon invents a fictional, sickly friend named “Bunbury” to constantly escape dull social obligations. Here presents the unapologetic pursuit of pleasure and serves as Wilde’s mouthpiece for brilliant, satirical epigrams.

GWENDOLEN FAIRFAX. 20s to early 30s. Algernon’s cosmopolitan cousin and Jack’s love interest. She is highly sophisticated and opinionated, but she is utterly fixated on the superficial ideal of marrying a man named “Ernest,” believing the name possesses a magical, inspiring quality.

CECILY CARDEW. Late teens to mid 20s. Jack’s naïve but highly imaginative and manipulative country ward. She is equally obsessed with the name “Ernest.” Beneath her sweet, innocent demeanor, she is a shrewd romantic who actually writes in her diary about a turbulent romance she made up entirely.

LADY BRACKNELL. 50s+. Gwendolen’s formidable mother and the ultimate symbol of Victorian snobbery. She judges everyone based on wealth, social standing, and lineage rather than morality or character. Her character mercilessly satirizes the rigid, mercenary, and classist nature of the British aristocracy.

MISS PRISM. 50s+. Cecily’s traditional governess. A task master when it comes to Cecily’s studies, but is clearly smitten with Rev. Chasuble, and becomes girlish and giggly in his presence.

DR. CHASUBLE. 50s+. The local minister. On the surface appears unflappable and speaks ornately, but he is clearly attracted to Miss Prism and tends to be tongue-tied around her.

LANE, MERRIMAN. 30s+. Manservants.

THEATRE THREE accepts NO performance conflicts.