Soft Target
by Emily Kaczmarek
runs August 21 – September 12
auditions for most roles:* June 21 or by separate arrangement
callbacks (if necessary) June 23
*Auditions for the role of Amanda will be conducted individually during the week of June 22 (see below the character descriptions for more information).
Sign up for an audition slot by tapping the button below.
Can’t make the audition date? Don’t worry - you can let us know on the audition form. We’ll figure something out for you.
Questions about the show or the audition process? Drop us a line.
Until yesterday, nine-year-old Amanda was bright and playful. Now she can hardly get out of bed. What happened to her at school?
It’s up to Amanda’s toys to find out, and to help their beloved playmate get through it - at any cost.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
Jonah (M, 20s-40s): a stuffed penguin. He feels incredibly lucky to have been with Amanda from the very beginning - before she could talk, before she could do anything - and nobody cares about her more.
Molly (F, 20s-30s): an American Girl doll. She looks up to “First Molly,” a legendary girl who grew up on the home front during World War II while her dad, a doctor, was in Europe. What can Molly learn from her namesake’s story that might help now?
Diary (F, 30s-50s): a diary. She takes her duty of confidentiality seriously. But what if the secrets literally locked away in her pages hold the key to understanding and helping Amanda?
Bunny, a.k.a. Ugly, a.k.a. Vincent (M, 20s-40s): a weighted stuffed rabbit. He’s not really a toy - he’s a professional, designed to be therapeutic. Plus he’s a newcomer. Can he find his place in the group in time to make a difference?
Jen (F, 30s-40s): Amanda’s mom. At wit’s end. No parent should have to live her experience - and yet she’s one of the luckier ones.
Natalie (F, mid teens-early 20s): a mentor. Trauma can break you or make you wise; luckily for Amanda, trauma has made Natalie wise. It doesn’t hurt any less.
Amanda* (F, 9-12): a force, a mystery, something irreplaceable… in short, a normal child.
*Auditions for the role of Amanda will be conducted individually during the week of June 22. Because of the play’s serious themes and strong language, we require the parents of any child interested in auditioning for the role to read the script in full before signing up for an audition (email hello@catalyst.art for a copy of the script), and the parents of the child cast as Amanda will be encouraged to check in frequently during the rehearsal process. The child playing Amanda will be called to two or three rehearsals per week until the production goes into technical rehearsals one to two weeks before opening.
AUDITION INFO
Auditions will be at our theater at 513 7th Street in downtown Rapid City.
Our auditions are a friendly, low-stress environment; we start with warmups and then do cold readings from the script.