Character Descriptions

2017 WINTER SHOW SERIES: Cast of Characters!

It’s always good to know what parts you are auditioning for. Below are the character descriptions for all three of our Winter shows. There are over 26 Featured roles available!

PERICLES BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AS PERFORMED BY MS. GOWER’S 1st GRADE CLASS  by Jeffrey T. Bower

CHARACTERS:

MS. GOWER: Caring but stern teacher that has organized this public performance. She also plays the Narrator in the production of Pericles.

ROSS: Teacher’s pet, performs the role of Pericles. Pericles is a classic hero- always willing to enter a contest, or save the day, and always finds a way through any trouble he encounters without losing faith.

SHAY: Troubled child who is turned around by the performance, performs the roles of Cerimon & Bawd.

AMANDA: Energetic, performs the role of Thaisa. Pericles wife, who is won in a jousting contest. She is thought to have died at sea in childbirth, but is saved and becomes a priestess in Diana’s temple and eventually is reunited with Pericles.

DEBRA: Ballerina, performs the role of Marina. Marina is the daughter of Pericles & Thaisa. She is raised like royalty but is almost killed, saved by pirates! and then sold. Her virtuosity makes her famous and honored and eventually she is reunited with her father & mother.

FARRAH: Popular, performs the role of Simonides. King of Pentapolis, father of Thaisa. He tests Pericles and then marries him to his daughter.

ASHLEY C: Sneaky, performs the role of Dionyza. DIonyza is the wife of King Cleon and vows to take in Pericles newborn baby as her own. She eventually plots to kill Pericle’s daughter out of jealousy for her own daughter.

LALO: Nerdy boy, performs the role of Lysimachus. Governor of Mytilene. He disguises himself to try to steal away Marina, only to be won over by her virtue and eventually helps reunite Pericles with Marina.

STEPHANIE: Smart, performs the role of Helicanus. One of Pericles’s advisors in Tyre, and takes care of Pericles when he is down. Helicanus takes over as previsionary ruler when Pericles fails to return to Tyre. Loyal to Pericles, and believes Pericles is the true leader of Tyre.

BLAZE: Slow, performs the role of Boult. Servant to Pander and Bawd, Boult too falls under the virtuous spell of Marina and offers to help her.

ASHLEY E: Mature, performs the role of Pander. Pander is the owner of the establishment that buys Marina from the pirates.

WHITNEY: Ditzy, performs the role of 1st Fisherman. Simple, wise, and a regular person, helps Pericles.

ANGIE: Loud/Spastic class clown, performs the roles of 2nd Fisherman & Philomen. Fisherman is a regular everyday person who helps Pericles. Philomon is Cerimon’s Assistant who helps save Thaisa

MARIA: Squirmy, performs the roles of 3rd Fisherman & Lychorida. Thaisa’s & Marina’s nurse, who reveals to Pericles that Marina has died.

The action is a “play within a play” that takes place entirely in Ms. Gower’s classroom. The children attempt to perform the Shakespeare text to the best of their ability, always aware of the audience they are performing for.

SUMMARY OF PERICLES: Pericles is the King of Tyre. Pericles, an adventurer and hero at heart, hears of a princess who is being held captive by her father. Pericles goes to answer the riddle holding her hostage and begins his life journey. After successfully answering the riddle Pericles flees to Tyre, but gets waylaid to Pentapolis to win a joust for the hand of Thaisa. He wins the hand of Thaisa & they sail to Tyre. On the way to Tyre Thaisa dies in childbirth amidst a sea storm and her body is sent overboard in a trunk. Pericles continues on, and fearful of his daughter’s life leaves his daughter in the care of King Cleon & Dionyza. Pericles returns to Tyre. Marina grows up and incites the jealousy of Dionyza and narrowly escapes assassination by being saved by Pirates. Eventually Marina & Pericles discover each other & are reunited, and then they are both reunited with Thaisa. A happily ever after for the very honest and true family.

TEXT THIS

CHARACTERS:

AMY: Studious, sweet. Amy is the perfect student, honest and a bit naive. Amy has been the victim of cyberbullying, and now she is ready to take control of the situation.

JESS: A friend of Amy’s since childhood. Jess is jealous of Amy and hurt by Amy’s success.

KARA: An acquaintance of Amy’s, friend of Jess. Kara is jealous of Amy’s success.

JORDAN: Friends with Kara & Jess, Jordan is a part of the cyberbullying but has no idea the ramifications of her actions.

LES MISERABLES: SCHOOL EDITION

CHARACTERS:

JEAN VALJEAN The hero of the show. It is his life journey that we follow. Jean Valjean is supposed to be stronger than other men, and so physically should appear robust. He should resaonably carry himself as mature and paternal. Valjean’s ability to change is his greatest asset. the key to his character is his great humanity and compassion. Jean Valjean is a vocally demanding role.

JAVERT The inspector who serves as antagonist to Jean Valjean. Javert is unswerving in his belief that men cannot change for the good. “Once a thief, always a thief” is his mantra. At first glance Javert might appear to be the villain of the story, but on closer examination it is clear that he is not an evil man. He is aware that in society some people achieve control through evil and others through power of the law. He is a dedicated policeman, with a profound sense of duty. Unlike Valjean he cannot change. His attitudes are rigid and unmoveable. He is stern, forbidding and lacking in compassion. Javert should be an actor who can convincingly stand up to Jean Valjean.

CHAIN GANG The Chain Gang consists of Jean Valjean’s fellow prisoners. There are four soloists (indicated as convict 1,2,3,4.) The overall vocal range of the convicts is low and they should be able to sing in a rich baritone if possible.

CONSTABLE 1& 2 There are two Constables with solos in the show.

FARMER The Farmer has solo lines that are a bit difficult to sing. There may be additional non-singing farmers.

LABOURERS The Laborer has solo lines that are a bit difficult to sing. There may be additional non-singing laborers.

BISHOP OF DIGNE The Bishop is a good man who saves Valjean with his compassion. Don’t overlook the importance of this role. The Bishop of Digne’s compassion carefully establishes the premise of the show by literally buying Jean Valjean’s soul for God.

FANTINE Fantine is the beautiful young girl who, abandoned by her lover, is left to fend for herself and her daughter Cosette. She is rejected by society and forced through circumstances to become a prostitute. She is a brave woman defeated by life, sustained by her love for her daughter and clinging to her dignity. Sick with consumption, we witness her descent through poverty, hunger, cold, loneliness and destitution to death. She is a noble character, whose life becomes is a series of terrible events that rob her of her pride, character, and ultimately her life.

FOREMAN The Foreman begins Fantine on her downward spiral of desperation. He should be virile, commanding and a bit sleazy around the edges.

FACTORY GIRL (GIRL 5) The Shop Girl who fights with Fantine. She is mean, catty, and selfish. She also is most likely having an affair with the Foreman and jealous of Fantine.

SAILORS Three sailors begin The Docks scene. All three have solos.

BAMATOBOIS Bamatabois is the “customer” who taunts Fantine into violence. He is dressed in expensive clothes. He is a wealthy dissolute young man who thinks of himself as a gentleman. He is drunk and in a sadistic mood and chauvinistically feels it is his right to buy anything, even Fantine.  Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: D3

OLD WOMAN The Old Woman is a nice feature part. This is the character that purchases Fantine’s hair.

PIMP The Pimp controls the prostitutes at the docks. he is mean, aggressive and abusive. The Pimp has a small solo line in The Docks.

FAUCHELEVANT The victim of the cart crash. The role requires a few solo lines and some painful yelps.

JUDGE The Judge or Judges are non-singing roles.

IMPOSTER Jean VALJEAN & FAMILY These characters are also non-singing. This is the man who Javert believes to be Jean Valjean.

YOUNG COSETTE The child of Fantine. She is the ward of the Thenardiers forced into child labor and sings “Castle On A Cloud.” She is a trembling little creature, underfed, beaten by Madame Thenardier and bullied by Eponine. make sure Cosette is small and looks properly pathetic and yet warms the audience’s heart who should be sympathetic to her plight.

MADAME THENARDIER She is the wife of Thenardier, Madame Thenardier is as “one” with Thenardier. Together they con the world as partners in crime. They were made for each other, although she complains about him, she loves him deeply. She is coarse and vulgar, unhappy in her existence without knowing why. She is romantic, greedy, stupid, evil and larger than life. She is mean and nasty to Young Cosette and able to improvise in nearly any situation.

THENARDIER The true villain of Les Miserables. He is embodiment of evil. That said, he should also possess a wicked sense of humor. He delights in cheating, robbing, fraud and blackmail, relishing every aspect of them with glee. He is tough, greedy, brutal, stupid and creafty and yet irresistable. He hates society and blames it and everyone else for all his misfortune. thenardier is also the opportunist and realist of the show. He is a thief, a liar, a cheat, steals valuables from the dead with no remorse. He is also the comic relief of the production. However, his comedy is based in reality and shouldn’t be too exaggerated. He is married to Madame Thenardier and father to Eponine and Gavroche (although he has abandoned Gavroche to the streets of Paris.)

YOUNG EPONINE Little Eponine is the pampered daughter of the Thenardiers. She does little except enter the stage and taunt Little Cosette. The role requires no singing or speaking. She should be a smaller version of grown Eponine and resemble Eponine in appearance and features.

GAVROCHE Gavroche is Thenardier’s son. He is left to fend for himself and lives by his wits in the streets of Paris. His “arch enemy” is Javert the Policeman. He is brave and witty. Think a young Artful Dodger. Gavroche has a very dramatic death at the barricade.

GAVROCHE’s GANG Paris at this time would be full of orphans (due to years of wars and revolutions).

EPONINE The daughter of the Thenardiers. She is a young girl who is streetwise and tough, but also sensitive and lonely. She is in love with Marius, knowing that he will never love her. She bravely follows Marius to the Barricades in the hope that they will die there together. Once grown up, Eponine moves with her family to Paris where they fall on hard times. Now poor, living hand to mouth, she survives by helping her father break the law. Eponine is a tragic character, hopelessly in love with Marius. She sings one of the most famous numbers in the show, “On My Own,” and should therefore be an excellent singer with a contemporary edge to her voice and an excellent actress.

ENJOLRAS The student leader. He is handsome,brave and daring, although youthful. He combines his revolutionary ideals with a strong charismatic leadership. He is described by Victor Hugo as “a thinker, and a man of action”. On the barricade he physically and vocally should dominate everyone else. He should ooze with charisma, be a natural leader, be good looking, and have a very strong high baritone or a tenor voice. Remember, Enjolras must lead the students to fight and ultimately die. His death at the barricade is one of the dramatic highlights of the show.

MARIUS The handsome romantic hero of the story. He is impulsive, passionate, willful and headstrong. His moods change according to his circumstances. He is sweet and tender but also capable of great courage and compassion. In Act 1 Marius plays Romeo to Cosette’s Juliet. Marius matures after the Cafe Song as a result of his experiences on the barricade. Marius should have a lovely, lyrical voice with a contemporary edge.

COSETTE The beautiful daughter of Fantine. She is strong willed and loving. She is an intelligent, inquiring, personable girl. She is not in any sense a “soppy” romantic heroine. Once adopted by Jean Valjean, Cosette lives a comfortable, if secluded life. She is challenging to Valjean, behaving always with imagination and dignity. She falls instantly in love with Marius, changing her world and her priorities.

BRUJON Member of Thenardier’s gang of thieves. Pysically very strong. The body of a bear and a pea sized brain. A genuine gangster, he is stupid and evil.

BABET Member of Thenardier’s gang of thieves. Physically frail. He is lean and cunning. Vocal range top: E4  Vocal range bottom: C#3

CLAQUESOUS Member of Thenardier’s gang of thieves. Tough, dangerous and secretive.

MONTPARNASSE Member of Thenardier’s gang of thieves. A teenager. Handsome and dangerous. Kills with a knife. He is well dressed, strongly built and supple.

COMBEFERRE Member of the ABC Society. The philosopher and believer in peace. He is gentle, humane, strong and brave.

FEUILLY Member of the ABC Society. A worker, self-educated and an orphan. A believer in “nationality.” Affectionate, warm and poetic.

COURFEYRAC Member of the ABC Society. A student. He is youthful, passionate and fearless.

JOLY Member of the ABC Society. A medical student. Eccentric and light-hearted, although sometimes morbid. His name is derived from the English word “Jolly.”

PROUVAIRE Member of the ABC Society. A student of social studies. He is kind, softly spoken and at the right moments strong and masterful. He is also a poet.

LESGLES Member of the ABC Society. A student. Cheerful. laughing at life but unlucky. His close friend is Joly.

GRANTAIRE  Member of the ABC Society. A student. He is the opposite of Enjolars. He believes in nothing. Although he admires Enjolras, he loves to mock him. Witty and drunken, he is happy being with the group and the put up with him because of his good humor. He also keeps a watchful eye on Gavoche, the mascot of the group, and is most heartbroken when Gavroche is killed. So much so that Grantaire abandons his cynicism and rushes to die on the barricade.

Ensemble