Blithe Spirit Auditions

    Director Karen Shields is looking for cast members to knock the socks off of audiences.

    Shields is the director for Slidell Little Theatre’s first play of 2020. She will hold auditions for Noel Coward’s 1940s high-brow comedy Blithe Spirit on Nov. 17 and 18.  Auditions are 6 p.m. at Slidell Little Theatre on 2024 Nellie Drive, next to the Fremaux Town Center

  Blithe Spirit is a comedy about a novelist who inadvertently turns his life and his home upside down when he invites a local medium to his home for a séance.  The local medium accidentally summons the spirit of his late wife, whose ghost torments both himself and his new bride.

  Blithe Spirit is a British comedy but actors will not need a British accent. Instead actors should audition using a 1940s movie star speak.

  “I will be looking for fast-paced, highly articulated and heightened diction,” Shields said.

  Her examples are the Let’s Play A Game scene from Bringing Up Baby starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and the trailer for the 1939 classic The Women.

  Shields offered one additional preparation tip. One of the keys to a Noel Coward play is pacing. Actors should prepare by studying the sides found on SLT’s website or Facebook page before they audition.

  “A cold read will not serve you well,” Shields said.

  Auditions are 6 p.m. Nov. 17 and 18 at Slidell Little Theatre. Blithe Spirit opens January 10, 2020. A complete list of characters, audition preparation materials and tips are available at http://www.slidelllittletheatre.org/audition-tips