Reading and audition notice for Loft Studio premiere ‘The Cage Protects Me’.

 

THE CAGE PROTECTS ME

by Giles Allen-Bowden

DIRECTOR: Giles Allen-Bowden

PERFORMANCE DATES 14 – 18 October 

A premiere in the Loft Studio Theatre

Rehearsals: Rehearsals will start late August/early September

There will be a reading of the play on 20 May so that those interested can hear the text come off the page and then make a judgement about whether they wish to go forward to the auditions on 25 May. You do not have to attend the reading to audition for the play, but it can be helpful to know more about the play and meet the team. 

READING: Tuesday, 20 May at 7.30 p.m. at the theatre

AUDITION: Sunday 25 May at 12.00 noon at the theatre

THE PLAY

For the last nine years, Red’s daily routine has been the same: repair and fortify the church in the ghost town he calls home so he and his daughter can sleep safe at night. But now his daughter is gone too, like everyone who used to live in the town of Drylake, which is visited every night by an unrelenting pack of wolves. 

But Red isn’t strictly alone, for in this place where the living, dead and the psyche have all begun to blur, two voices in his head have come to life. They are his logical reasoning, Sense, and his paranoia Omen. Together, they work to keep Red alive as long as possible, until a woman named Élan comes crashing into their lives, and with her arrival, Drylake’s ghosts and Élan’s fears will come out to play, and determine how this horror will find its end.

The Cage Protects Me explores our reactions and relationship to horror that comes into our lives without warning or explanation. Through its various living, dead and imagined characters, it examines how our fears and coping mechanisms can be twisted into acts of self-destruction, all within a claustrophobic setting wherein the audience are made to feel just as under siege as the frayed characters. It’s a combination of ghost story, psychological drama and Western, with a drizzling of Southern Gothic and folk horror that aims to leave its audience haunted and reaching for a hand to hold in the dark.

THE CHARACTERS TO BE CAST

Red – Male, Mid to late 40s
A grieving widower who has now lost his only child after nine years, Red is a shell of a man running on autopilot, battle-hardened and driven by stubborn spite. We also see him as a younger man nine years earlier when he and his wife Grace are still alive. In these scenes, he is shown as kind, resolute and whole.

Élan – Female, Late 20s
A young career woman who has found her husband’s body after he took his own life in their living room and has driven across the US in a state of utter panic. Élan is volatile, prone to violence and will manipulate or hurt anyone she has to to get her own peace of mind.

Omen – Flexible gender, Flexible age
Born out of Red’s paranoia, instinct and self hatred, Omen is a dramatic wise-cracker who keeps their emotions on their sleeve and is determined to keep Red alive, while also trying to work out if they are capable of wanting something in life.

Sense – Flexible gender, Flexible age
Born out of Red’s logic and reasoning, Sense is a stabilizing influence on Red, determined to keep him safe at any costs. They aim to be unemotional, pragmatic and they refuse to believe they can want anything in life.

Grace – Mid to late 30s
The ghost of a sharp budding architect who moved to the deep south for a new life with her husband Red. As a ghost she is an emotionally numb wanderer, adrift, but still afraid of the place she died in. We also see Grace as a younger, living woman nine years earlier. In these scenes she is shown as forthright, supportive of Red and deeply protective of her newborn baby.

Jethro – Male, early 20s
A young man who never left the town he was raised in. He was married, had a child, did everything right and yet has had his hometown ripped to shreds and everything taken from him. When we meet him in his scenes with Red and a still-living Grace, he’s terrified, grieving and about to snap.

Thomas – Male, late 20s
The ghost of Élan’s husband, a once meek man abused his wife to the point of suicide, desperate in his final moments for her to change. Now in death, he is a vengeful spirit who has followed his wife, ready and waiting to reflect all of her rage and self loathing back at her.

Howl – Flexible age and gender
Born out of Élan’s imagination, Howl is the newly made voice and face of the wolves. Howl is cold and brutal in their hunger-driven nature, but also clever and capable of strategy as they seek for this stalemate to end and the pack to be fed its due.

AGES ARE GUIDELINES ONLY

AUDITION GUIDELINES

For the audition you will be asked to perform different parts of the text with other auditionees. Text will be provided on the day and you will be given time to read through and prepare. 

Do try to arrive on time so that you don’t miss lots of useful information about the play and being part of the production. The reading and the audition will be held at the theatre. Please come to the Stage Door at the rear of the theatre in Spencer’s Yard. There is access through the gate to the left of The Fold on Spencer Street. The Fold is the large white building with pillars. Head in the direction of the red arrow across Spencer’s Yard to the Stage Door in the corner. The words ‘Stage Door’ are painted on the wall.

 

 

To register interest, or if you are interested but can’t make the dates or for any more information, please get in touch with the director, Giles Allen-Bowden on gilesallenbowden@lofttheatrecompany.com or the Artistic Director, Sue Moore at suemoore@lofttheatrecompany.com