by Diane Samuels
Directed by Karen Fleming
Produced by Teresa Gillcrist
Stage Managed by David Gorsline
Sunday, November 3 at 7:30 PM
Monday, November 4 at 7:30 PM
There are potential callbacks on Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 PM
All our shows use Open Casting, with no roles pre-selected. RLT is committed to diversity, open to non-traditional casting, and actors of all ethnicities are encouraged to audition. All roles are unpaid.
The Glenview Pump House
401 S. Horners Lane,
Rockville, MD 20850
There will be an RLT sign. Parking is plentiful.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals are generally held 3 nights a week, Monday through Thursday, with additional Saturday or Sunday afternoon rehearsals as needed.
Performances
January 31 – February 9, 2025 at the JCC Bender Theatre
6125 Montrose Rd, Rockville, MD 20852
Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm.
Six (6) shows total during a two-week run.
IMPORTANT: All actors must be available on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 for a performance at Richard Montgomery High School. This is RLT’s Page to Stage production for the schools. It will also serve as a brush-up rehearsal for the second weekend of shows.
What to Prepare
This is an open call with no sign ups. Below is the link to the audition packet with includes the audition form and conflict calendar.
Please arrive no later than 7:30 pm with completed audition form, conflict calendar, and your headshot and resume if you have.
There will be cold readings from the script. Please note that the characters have accents, some multiple as indicated in the descriptions in the packet. Accents are challenging, and no one is expecting you to have a perfect accent at your audition. However, you are strongly encouraged to give it your best shot!
For questions or more information, please contact producer Teresa Gillcrist at kinder@rlt-online.org.
What to Bring
Those who audition must submit a “Kindertransport” Audition Form and Conflict Calendar on the night of your audition. Headshots and resumes are welcome.
Please come with your Audition Form and Conflict Calendar already filled out.
About the Play
Kindertransport is set in the mid-1980s in the attic of Evelyn’s home in the suburbs of outer London. The play jumps between pre-war Hamburg, wartime Germany, wartime Manchester and modern London and concerns the impact of choices that three mothers make for the protection of their child. In 1939 a nine-year-old Jewish girl, Eva, is sent by her parents from Hamburg, Germany, to safety in Britain via the Kindertransport. Her English foster mother, Lil, hosts Eva through her formative years and even though she helps Eva to get employment for her parents, Lil can’t help but treat Eva as her own child. Eva’s parents fail to escape war-torn Germany and in turn, Eva loses sight of hope and direction. Eva grows up in Manchester with Lil and over time changes her name to Evelyn and begins the process of denying her roots. When Evelyn’s own daughter, Faith, discovers evidence of her mother’s former life in their attic, Evelyn is forced to confront the past which is haunted by the Ratcatcher – a nightmare figure from her childhood storybook.
Characters
Female Identifying – 5 (plus 2 understudies)
Male Identifying – 1
| Eva Schlesinger | A young German girl who starts as a 9-year-old and finishes as a 17-year-old at the end of the play. She speaks with German accent at the beginning, and an English accent later in the play. |
| Evelyn | A middle-class English woman in her 50s. |
| Faith | Evelyn’s only child, 20 years old. |
| Lil Miller | Working-class, no-nonsense English woman from Manchester. Ages throughout play from around early 30s through to her 80s |
| Helga Schlesinger | Mother of Eva, German Jewish woman. At the start of the play she is in her 30s, by the end around 40. |
| The Ratcatcher | A nightmarish fantasy figure from a childhood storybook who haunts Eva/Evelyn’s thoughts throughout her life (the same actor plays a Nazi border guard, an English organizer, an English postman and an English stationmaster). |
Additional Rehearsal Information
Rehearsals are generally held 3 nights a week, Monday through Thursday evenings. Saturday or Sunday afternoon rehearsals are added as needed. Participating in an RLT show is a serious commitment and rehearsal attendance is very important. However, we understand that you are volunteering your time and we will do our best to accommodate your schedule. Please make sure to list all known conflicts on your audition form. You will only be called to rehearsal when you are needed.
Tech Week
January 25-30, 2025
Tech week is the final week of the rehearsal process where all of the technical elements of the show are put in place. No actor may miss a rehearsal during tech week.