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Auditions open as Sault Theatre Workshop prepares to return to the stage

Auditions for 'Miracle on South Division Street' will be held September 30 and October 1
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After being off the stage for almost two years, The Sault Theatre Workshop is finally back in action, and director George Houston is excited to announce upcoming auditions for the play Miracle on South Division Street. 

The auditions will be held on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Sault Theatre Workshop’s Studio Theatre at 121 Pittsburgh Ave., from 7 to 9 p.m. The play will be staged at the same location from Dec. 1-11 of this year. 

“We are very excited about being able to hold a production in person again. It’s been a long time,” Houston said. “We’re excited, but we’re also wanting to get this just right, so we have to be safe as well.”

Miracle on South Division Street was written by American playwright Tom Dudzick, and tells the story of the Nowak family who lives in Buffalo, N.Y. The story focuses on their family heirloom – a 20-foot statue of the Blessed Mother. The play features Clara and her three grown children, Beverly, Ruth, and Jimmy. 

“It’s a comedy, it’s very very funny,” Houston said. “There’s lots of snappy dialogue in it. It should be a treat to do.”

For the auditions, Houston is looking for a woman in her 60s to play Clara, two women in their 30s to play Beverly and Ruth, and a man in his 30s to play Jimmy. 

You don’t have to be a highly trained actor to audition for the play. Houston says that anyone who wants to join is welcome. 

“It would be great for anyone who wants to come out and read and see what the world of theatre is all about,” he said. 

Houston misses being able to perform and gather in person, and spoke of the struggles that the theatre community faced during the provincial-wide lockdown. 

“There's something about performing in front of a live audience and being able to get together and share an experience such as theatre,” he said. 

“We had a show that was set to go in September of last year, when things were starting to get bad. We had the set built, I had my lines learned and everything, but unfortunately it went down. There wasn’t much to do. You can read plays, you can do a Zoom play reading but it’s not quite the same. You don’t get that live interaction. So basically we just spent all our time reading,” he said. 

Houston has been involved in theatre since he was 15 years old, and has 50 years of experience in the industry. “I spent about 10 years as a professional actor in and around Toronto and on stages throughout Canada. Now in my retirement, I’m working with the workshop,” he said.

“I did another play with Tom Dudzick called Over the Tavern in the Sault a number of years ago and it was a terrific hit. Everybody loved it. It was a favourite for the audiences,” Houston said. “That’s one of the reasons I chose this play, because it’s got that same sort of flavour.”

Regarding a back-up plan in case the workshop won’t be able to hold the play in person anymore, Houston says they are taking careful measures.

“What we’re doing is moving very carefully. Anybody who auditions must be fully vaccinated, anybody who takes part in the process must be fully vaccinated, so we’re going slowly and safely all the way,” he said. “It would be great if anybody who’s interested would come on out and support their local theatre.”


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Zaafina Naqvi, Community Cares team

About the Author: Zaafina Naqvi, Community Cares team

Zaafina Naqvi is a writer and editor at SooToday.
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