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Auditions: BEANS (a staged reading)
April 11, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Written by Matt Solomon
Directed by Matthew Philips
Friday, April 11 @7:00-10:00 p.m. &
Saturday, April 12 @2:00-5:00 p.m.
Green Space Arts Collective
While it is not required to come to both audition days, you are welcome to join us for both! First time auditions will have priority the second night.
Performance date: May 24 at Aura Coffee in Denton.
A staged reading is not a full production of a theatrical piece. Instead, it is a premiere of a new work, or a work-in-progress, for a playwright to be able to hear their script read aloud and also see how a live audience reacts.
Synopsis
After a prolonged depressive episode, a recently-fired Charlie struggles to get back on his feet with the help of his partner Bobby. Bobby struggles with dealing with things out of her control, including but not limited the neighbors who can be heard through the wall. If you’ve ever lost your job, loved anyone, or had your heart broken, then Beans is for you.
Character breakdown
Bobby (female, 27- 35 years old, casting not gender specific) is worried about Charlie, with whom they share a home and a life. Charlie has been mostly absent from their life and has retreated from life in general. Bobby feels alone. Tonight, however, Bobby will risk it all and ask Charlie to have dinner with them in hopes of reconnecting.
Charlie (male, 27-35 years old, casting not gender specific) has shut down. For months after losing their job, and they have retreated indoors and even further into themselves. Instead of aimlessly wandering around town, they aimlessly wander within four walls. But have they retreated, or has the unbearable weight of life itself buried them? Being an adult who is still learning how to live, Charlie is forced to reckon with the effects of their own shortcomings. Will their prolonged depressive episode begin to wind down? Will Charlie accept a helping hand? Or will they crawl out of that hole all on their own?
Mike (male, 30-35 years old, casting not gender specific) is a tactless man-child. The next door neighbor salesman type. Charlie and Bobby’s next door neighbor.
Pat (female, 30-35 years old, casting not gender specific) is fed up with it. Charlie and Bobby’s next door neighbor.
Steven (male, 30-35 years old, casting not gender specific) is an old friend of Mike’s. He’s in for a rude awakening once he crosses paths with him again.
Jimmy (any age, casting not gender specific) is a bartender on the other side of town. He doesn’t see too many people. The bar doesn’t get much traffic. He just goes to work, then goes home. Jimmy takes it easy. But something’s missing from Jimmy’s life. Is it something that one of our characters will be able to give him?
Narrator/Stage Directions (any age, any gender)
Cold reading sides
Click on each item to view/download
About the author
Matt Solomon, playwright
While he began writing as a child in his hometown of Mesquite, Texas, Matt Solomon started finding his voice in TAPPS literary competitions in 2004 and 2005. He performed in Dallas-based Junior Players productions those same years. In 2005, while attending Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was a reporter for the Southern University Digest. He’d come into his own by the summer of 2012, when he and a few friends founded the Denton comedy scene. His body of work touches on a range of themes and topics, from racism, poverty, and anti-capitalism to interpersonal relationships, existentialism, and pessimism. Whether it is poetry, performance art, or stand-up; comedy, drama, horror, or gonzo journalism, his work is shown to be versatile. Since coming into his own as a writer and performer, he has gone on to be a guest artist at the University of North Texas, performed at comedy festivals, written blogs for the local nonprofit Friends With Benefits, organized fundraisers for other local nonprofits, worked with Spiderweb Salon, Denton Worker, and Sundown Collaborative Theatre, and is currently an active union member of the Texas State Employees Union Local 6186. He currently lives in Denton and works as a custodian at the University of North Texas.
Matthew Phillips, director
This will be Matthew’s second project with Sundown Theatre! He’s been in theatre since middle school, but this will be his first time directing, he’s excited to try his hand at this highly respected role. He has a particular love for the lives characters have outside of the performance and how that is reflected in the performance. He hopes you all enjoy the show and looks forward to future projects!
For more information about auditions at Sundown Collaborative Theatre, click here.
Email juliabodiford@sundowntheatre.org or brandytownsend@sundowntheatre.org with any questions, comments, or concerns.
Please note: We are a volunteer-run organization, and as such do not at the moment have a budget for stipends (it is a goal we are working towards). We appreciate your willingness to share your creative energy with us!