AUDITION NOTICE --SEARCHING FOR TREE BOY

Think Theatre is searching for an exceptionally talented young male actor.

Think Theatre Productions is searching for an exceptionally talented young male actor to take the lead role in Neil Coppen's (award- winning writer of Tin Bucket Drum) enchanting new two-hander Tree Boy, which he is co-directing with Libby Allen as part of the Playhouse New Stages programme in March 2009.

Tree Boy follows the estranged relationship between a father and son in 1960's South Africa. After the death of his mother, eleven year-old Benjamin and his father Arthur (a postman) are forced to relocate from their rustic property in the mountains to the boarding houses of a burgeoning mining town on the East Rand. As Arthur, crippled with grief, consoles himself with drinking, Ben seeks solace in an overgrown forest on the fringes of the industrial wasteland, which conceals an enigmatic and wise old man, Pappus Drupe.

Rehearsals will be throughout the month of February and early March 2009 with performances taking place in mid- March.

The producers are searching far and wide for a young white male actor (between the ages of ten to fifteen) to take the role of Benjamin Sprout — the play's eleven year old protagonist.

Actors wishing to audition must look between the age of 10 and 14 and be no taller than 1.55 m. All actors wishing to audition must be confident and focused young performers, with a captivating stage presence and the ability to learn a large quantity of lines.

"We are looking for a young actor who is mature beyond his years and who will be able to handle some challenging emotional scenes" says Coppen "A sensitive, natural young performer who will bring authenticity and life to the play's titular character."

About the character: Benjamin has grown up an only child in an isolated mountain town in 1960's South Africa. He is imaginative, sensitive and mature beyond his years with a love for reading and the natural world around him. His salvation is his imagination, a place which he frequently retreats to deal with the changing world around him.

The first round of auditions will take place on November 1 in Studio 5 in the UKZN Drama Department starting at 10h00. Actors must prepare a short monologue or poem of their choice and will be required to partake in improvisational activities. Applicants are also asked to please bring with them a head and shoulders photograph.

To book an audition slot call Margie Coppen on 083 251 9412. Drama teachers from schools are kindly asked to submit their top drama students who they think may best suit the role.