upcoming auditions

Letters to Lindy by Alana Valentine

Audition Notice

"There are three things that have divided this nation right down the centre. Conscription, Whitlam and Lindy Chamberlain” 

Letters to Lindy draws on the National Library's collection of the more than 20,000 letters sent to Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton since the death of her daughter Azaria in 1980. Combining these with court testimonies and interviews with Lindy, the play tells the story of one of the most divisive chapters in Australia's history. Accused of murdering her child and claiming a dingo took her baby, Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton faced intense media attention, multiple court cases, time in jail, and persistent rumours that follow her to this day. The play offers a poignant and genuine look into one of our era’s most gripping legal and human stories, capturing the sorrow, wisdom, and resilience of a mother in her 30-year struggle for justice. For more information about Lindy’s story, visit her website here.

Audition Details: 

Each auditionee will have a 15- minute slot. Bookings will be made through Slottr. Once you have booked your audition time, the director will send through the audition pack. Questions about auditions or the production should be sent to melissamerchant@hotmail.com 

May 31st Studio 411, Murdoch 

Bookings between 10.20 and 4.20

June 1st Nexus Theatre, Murdoch 

Bookings between 10.20 and 4.20

See venue maps below.

Roles: 

Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton (female identifying or non-binary), the character ages from 32 to 68 throughout the play. The performer taking this role will only play the one character and will need to be able to portray Lindy’s resilience, fragility, and depth. 

Figure 1 (female identifying or non-binary, any age), 

Figure 2 (male identifying or non-binary, any age)

Figure 3 (male identifying or non-binary, any age) play every other character (48 in total). These will be challenging roles as each performer will need to play characters ranging from friends and family members to prisoners and prison guards, letter writers, children, lawyers, and judges. The roles will include representations of violence and there is some strong language in the script. 

Preparation: 

· Prepare a contemporary Australian monologue (up to 2 minutes) that you are comfortable with and showcases your emotional range. You do not need to learn the monologue, just make sure it is something you know well.

· Prepare a short song, to be sung acapella. It can be absolutely any style, we are looking for performers who are comfortable singing in public. This is not a musical, but the script does require each performer to sing. 

· Familiarise yourself with the audition pieces. Again, you don’t need to memorise them. 

Call Back:

Following solo auditions, we will hold call backs on June 4th and the first read through will be June 8th. The director will be away between June 11th and July 2nd. 

Rehearsals will begin July 6th. Exact days and times will be based on performers’ availabilities. All actors will be required for all rehearsals. 

Performances will be September 12th, 13th, 14th (matinee), 19th, 20th, 21st (matinee), 25th, 26th and 27th. 

Director: 

Melissa Merchant has been involved with community theatre in Perth for over twenty-five years and has had the opportunity direct with many different companies, including Banging Denmark (Harbour), Richard III (GRADS), Don’s Party (Murdoch University), Boycott: Pulaski Tennessee and the Legacy of the Ku Klux Klan (Murdoch University) , Tame (Murdoch University), Hamlet (GRADS), Coupling (Blak Yak), The Truth (Blak Yak), Popcorn(Blak Yak). Melissa is also a Senior Lecturer in English & Theatre and Associate Dean Learning & Teaching in the School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences at Murdoch University. She chose Letters to Lindy as her next project because she is keen to work with a small cast on an Australian verbatim play. Melissa is very much looking forward to seeing what we can create from this complex, moving and challenging script. 

Company:

Melville Theatre Company is a Not- for Profit community organisation and, as such, actors will not be paid for their participation in Letters to Lindy.