Auditions for The Diary of Anne Frank

Auditions for the Erie Playhouse production of  THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK   will be held on JANUARY  22 and 23 at 6:30 pm at the Erie Playhouse Rehearsal Hall at 1158 East 12th Street. 

PLEASE NOTE: All actors who are eligible for vaccinations will be required to be fully vaccinated and boosted, if eligible,  for COVID-19 to participate. You will be asked to provide your vaccination card for proof of vaccination at auditions. 

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

Book by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman

Directed by Richard Davis

Show Dates March 17, 18, 24-26, 29-Apr 2 The performance on the 29th is a daytime performance at 10 am. Anyone cast must be available for the daytime school performance.

Perusal scripts are available at the Box Office with a $10 deposit.

Read Thru January 28; Rehearsals begin February 8th

All adult roles are open. Audition requirements – a Dramatic monologue 1-2 minutes in length.

Synopsis: In Wendy Kesselman’s gripping new adaptation of the original stage play by Goodrich and Hackett, survivor accounts and newly discovered writings from the diary of Anne Frank are interwoven to create a contemporary impassioned story of those persecuted under Nazi rule. This is an adaptation for a new generation able to confront the true horrors of the Holocaust.  

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS – DIARY OF ANNE FRANK 

The Frank family, the Van Daan family and Dussel are all German Jews. 

ANNE FRANK 13 year-old girl, ages to 15, warm, witty, intelligent, charming, self-aware, sensitive, often impatient, sometimes a know-it-all, open, determined, easily hurt, spirited, hopeful, fun-loving, desperate, with all the longings, expectations and attitudes that adolescence brings. Though hiding and living in constant fear and isolation, she never gave up. She had a fraught relationship with her mother, adored her father, and lovingly envied her sister. 

MARGOT FRANK 15 year-old sister of Anne, ages to 17, pretty, quiet, obedient, demure, frail, friendly, very intelligent, overwhelmed by the trials of hiding, very close to her mother and father. Like Anne, she longed for a friend in whom she could confide. She played the role of peacemaker when Anne overstepped. She was a good girl and was admired by all. 

OTTO FRANK Father of Anne and Margot and head of the group living in his Annex, middle 40s to early 50s, upper middle class background, a wise man, fair, loyal, attentive, patient, intelligent, soft, level-headed, optimistic, genuinely liked people, decision-maker, teacher, beloved by his workers who protected him and his family as well as the other tenants of the Annex throughout the war. He was especially susceptible to Anne’s charms. He was devoted to his wife, Edith, and comforted her whenever she was depressed about their living conditions, the attitudes of the van Daans/Dussel, or her relationship with Anne. 

EDITH FRANK A lovely woman, wife and mother, mid-40s, from a wealthy German family, reticent, loving, moral, concerned, gracious, cultured, devoted to tradition, devastated by her relationship with Anne, barely able to cope with the demands of everyday life in hiding and isolation, tries very hard to accommodate the lower middle-class van Daan family whose uncouth and argumentative ways are an irritant to her and causes her to finally erupt into a seething rage. 

MRS. VAN DAAN Mid 40s, loud, egotistical, talky, often crude, suspicious, bossy, moody, self-important, overbearing, critical of others, flirtatious, manipulative, sometimes depressed, enjoys a good laugh or story, more accepting of her introverted son, delusional about her younger self’s popularity and looks, feels as if she is the Queen Bee in the group, chafes under her husband’s control, tries to run the household. A big stirrer-upper! Yet she is amazingly acceptable. 

MR VAN DAAN Mid-40s to 50s, dour, selfish, complaining, ungrateful, superficial, quarrelsome, dictatorial, highly critical of his son Peter, easily irritated, is rather withdrawn from the other occupants of the Annex. His transgression causes the great blow-up in the Annex. 

PETER VAN DAAN 17 year-old boy, ages to 19, withdrawn, unsure, awkward, immature, shy, sometimes amusing, attached to his cat, tries to stay out of everyone’s way, hates his mother and father’s constant quarrels, ages from the introverted teenager to the more mature 19 year-old who enjoys the company of the girls and who begins to be interested in all the other occupants of the Annex. 

DUSSEL Mid-40s-50, dentist, stodgy, old-fashioned, disciplined, hypercritical, selfish, horrified at Anne’s behavior, genuinely does not like people, picky, unhappy with everything, a man who has not come to terms with his situation, whiny, a perfectionist, ungrateful, and easily angered. 

MIEP 25-40, Austrian refugee living in the Netherlands, employed by Mr. Frank, entrusted by Otto Frank with provisioning the occupants of the Annex and hiding them from the outside world, collected fake ration cards, purchased all their foodstuffs, visited the library on their behalf, and generally tried to keep their spirits up. She was courageous, empathetic, compassionate, and friendly. 

Mr. KRALER 35-45, Dutch, helps Miep with the responsibilities of feeding and hiding the occupants of the Annex, is an employee of Mr. Frank’s company, a trusted colleague and friend. He is sympathetic to their plight, does what he can for them, and runs the company in Mr. Frank’s name, an honest and good man. 

3 NAZIS One is a German Nazi in uniform and the other two are Dutchmen sympathetic to the Nazi cause. They are brutal in their treatment of the Annex occupants.