Calendar Girls
Auditions for all roles in Calendar Girls will take place on SUNDAY 18th MAY 2025 from 2pm
at ST IGNATIUS PRIMARY SCHOOL, Storrs Hill Road, Ossett. WF5 0DQ
at ST IGNATIUS PRIMARY SCHOOL, Storrs Hill Road, Ossett. WF5 0DQ
DOWNLOAD AUDITION INFORMATION PACK
REGISTER HERE FOR YOUR AUDITION
DOWNLOAD AUDITION MATERIALS
Characters
Please note ages indicated are stage “playing” ages rather than actual age of performer.
All roles will be played with Yorkshire accents unless otherwise specified.
We support diverse casting and welcome performers of all genders, ethnic backgrounds and body type to audition for ALL roles.
A note on nudity:
Everyone will most likely be aware that the naked calendar shoot is the best-known aspect of the Calendar Girls’ story. It is essential that the audience see nothing that we do not wish them to see in this scene so therefore it will be carefully choreographed to ensure that we protect the modest of all actors. However, if you are uncomfortable about nudity (and this is live theatre so there may be a possibility of things going wrong!) do not audition for the roles of Chris, Annie, Cora, Jessie, Celia or Ruth.
PRINCIPAL ROLES
CHRIS (40 – 60)
You want Chris at your party. She will talk to people she doesn’t know, find things to say to fill silences and generate laughter. Part of this is because Chris is at home in crowds, holding court, being the centre of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun. The two of them are like naughty schoolgirls. Ideal car – who cares, as long as it’s a cabriolet. Ideal holiday – Algarve.
ANNIE (40 – 60)
Annie will join in mischief but is at the heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. After Chris has put a waiter’s back up in the restaurant, Annie will go in and pour calm. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet. Ideal car – who cares, as long as it’s reliable. Ideal holiday – walking in English countryside.
Together these two are greater than the sum of their parts. The relationship between the roles of Chris and Annie is of particular importance.
CORA (30 – 50)
Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. This caused a techtonic shift with her more parochial parents. She came back to them pregnant and tail between-legs, but Cora has too much native resilience to be downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack, but never really plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. It raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself. Her relationship with her daughter is more akin to that between Chris and Annie. Cora doesn’t need to sing like a diva but must be able to sing well enough to start the show with Jerusalem and sing the snatches of other songs required. The piano keyboard can be marked to enable her to play basic chords should she not be a player. Ideal car – who cares, as long as the sound system is loud. Ideal holiday – New York.
JESSIE (50 – 70)
Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics – her elixir of life is bravery. Jessie goes on roller coasters. Her husband has been with her a long time and is rarely surprised by her actions. Jessie bothers about grammar and will correct stallholders regarding their abuse of the apostrophe “s”. Ideal car – strange-looking European thing which is no longer manufactured. Ideal holiday – walking in Switzerland or Angkor Wat.
CELIA (30 – 60)
The fact that Celia is in the WI is the greatest justification of its existence. A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. Which she has. She is particularly enamoured of Jessie, and despite the fact Jessie has very little time for most Celias of this world, there is a rebelliousness in Celia to which Jessie responds. It is what sets Celia apart from the vapid materialism of her peer group and what makes her defect. Ideal car – Porsche, which she has. Ideal holiday – Maldives, where she goes often.
RUTH (40 – 60)
Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self-confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll, and despite being Marie’s right-hand woman she is desperate to be the cartilage in the spine of the WI and keep everyone happy. She has a spine herself – if she was too wet, no one would want her around. But they do, and they feel protective of her because they sense there is something better in Ruth than her life is letting out. They are proved right. Ideal car – at the start, whatever Eddie wants; at the end, whatever she wants. Ideal holiday – at the start wherever Eddie is, at the end, wherever he isn’t.
MARIE (40 – 70)
Marie has gradually built the current ‘Marie’ around herself over the years as a defence mechanism. She went to her Oz, Cheshire, and found Oz didn’t want her. She came back scorched. The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar. Ideal car – something German and well-valeted. Ideal holiday – a quasi-academic tour of somewhere in Persia advertised in a Sunday Supplement which she could then interminably bang on about.
SUPPORTING ROLES
JOHN (40 – 60)
Annie’s Husband. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.
ROD (40 – 60)
Chris’s husband. You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris and Rod loves it. He can give back when he gets, and has a deadpan humour which has always made Chris laugh. He drinks a lot but never so much as to have a problem. He would work every hour to make his shop a success. And John was his mate, even though the relationship was originally channelled through their wives.
LAWRENCE (20 – 30, but any age suitable)
Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo.
SMALLER / CAMEO ROLES
LADY CRAVENSHIRE (50 – 70, but any age suitable)
Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing, but the WI girls seem from another world, the world of her estate workers. Dress: when she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance. She wears largely white or cream to outplay the others, with a bigger hat than Marie. She is not a tweed wearer. She must glide in like a galleon.
ELAINE: (Any age)
Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronising. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her Gran.
LIAM (Any age)
Liam would like to be directing other things than photo shoots for washing powders. He’s not so unprofessional as to let it show, but we can sense a slight weariness at having to deal with these women. There’s a resigned patience to his actions and each smile he makes we feel is professional. For Liam, this photo shoot is a job, and not the job he wanted.
BRENDA HULSE (40 – 60)
Brenda is a woman committed to tedious subjects. In the previous year she spoke to the group on “The History of the Tea Towel”. This year it is “The Fascinating World of Broccoli”. She soldiers on seriously while her audience dissolves sniggering. Brenda is a bore.
All roles will be played with Yorkshire accents unless otherwise specified.
We support diverse casting and welcome performers of all genders, ethnic backgrounds and body type to audition for ALL roles.
A note on nudity:
Everyone will most likely be aware that the naked calendar shoot is the best-known aspect of the Calendar Girls’ story. It is essential that the audience see nothing that we do not wish them to see in this scene so therefore it will be carefully choreographed to ensure that we protect the modest of all actors. However, if you are uncomfortable about nudity (and this is live theatre so there may be a possibility of things going wrong!) do not audition for the roles of Chris, Annie, Cora, Jessie, Celia or Ruth.
PRINCIPAL ROLES
CHRIS (40 – 60)
You want Chris at your party. She will talk to people she doesn’t know, find things to say to fill silences and generate laughter. Part of this is because Chris is at home in crowds, holding court, being the centre of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun. The two of them are like naughty schoolgirls. Ideal car – who cares, as long as it’s a cabriolet. Ideal holiday – Algarve.
ANNIE (40 – 60)
Annie will join in mischief but is at the heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. After Chris has put a waiter’s back up in the restaurant, Annie will go in and pour calm. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet. Ideal car – who cares, as long as it’s reliable. Ideal holiday – walking in English countryside.
Together these two are greater than the sum of their parts. The relationship between the roles of Chris and Annie is of particular importance.
CORA (30 – 50)
Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. This caused a techtonic shift with her more parochial parents. She came back to them pregnant and tail between-legs, but Cora has too much native resilience to be downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack, but never really plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. It raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself. Her relationship with her daughter is more akin to that between Chris and Annie. Cora doesn’t need to sing like a diva but must be able to sing well enough to start the show with Jerusalem and sing the snatches of other songs required. The piano keyboard can be marked to enable her to play basic chords should she not be a player. Ideal car – who cares, as long as the sound system is loud. Ideal holiday – New York.
JESSIE (50 – 70)
Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics – her elixir of life is bravery. Jessie goes on roller coasters. Her husband has been with her a long time and is rarely surprised by her actions. Jessie bothers about grammar and will correct stallholders regarding their abuse of the apostrophe “s”. Ideal car – strange-looking European thing which is no longer manufactured. Ideal holiday – walking in Switzerland or Angkor Wat.
CELIA (30 – 60)
The fact that Celia is in the WI is the greatest justification of its existence. A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. Which she has. She is particularly enamoured of Jessie, and despite the fact Jessie has very little time for most Celias of this world, there is a rebelliousness in Celia to which Jessie responds. It is what sets Celia apart from the vapid materialism of her peer group and what makes her defect. Ideal car – Porsche, which she has. Ideal holiday – Maldives, where she goes often.
RUTH (40 – 60)
Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self-confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll, and despite being Marie’s right-hand woman she is desperate to be the cartilage in the spine of the WI and keep everyone happy. She has a spine herself – if she was too wet, no one would want her around. But they do, and they feel protective of her because they sense there is something better in Ruth than her life is letting out. They are proved right. Ideal car – at the start, whatever Eddie wants; at the end, whatever she wants. Ideal holiday – at the start wherever Eddie is, at the end, wherever he isn’t.
MARIE (40 – 70)
Marie has gradually built the current ‘Marie’ around herself over the years as a defence mechanism. She went to her Oz, Cheshire, and found Oz didn’t want her. She came back scorched. The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar. Ideal car – something German and well-valeted. Ideal holiday – a quasi-academic tour of somewhere in Persia advertised in a Sunday Supplement which she could then interminably bang on about.
SUPPORTING ROLES
JOHN (40 – 60)
Annie’s Husband. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.
ROD (40 – 60)
Chris’s husband. You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris and Rod loves it. He can give back when he gets, and has a deadpan humour which has always made Chris laugh. He drinks a lot but never so much as to have a problem. He would work every hour to make his shop a success. And John was his mate, even though the relationship was originally channelled through their wives.
LAWRENCE (20 – 30, but any age suitable)
Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo.
SMALLER / CAMEO ROLES
LADY CRAVENSHIRE (50 – 70, but any age suitable)
Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing, but the WI girls seem from another world, the world of her estate workers. Dress: when she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance. She wears largely white or cream to outplay the others, with a bigger hat than Marie. She is not a tweed wearer. She must glide in like a galleon.
ELAINE: (Any age)
Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronising. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her Gran.
LIAM (Any age)
Liam would like to be directing other things than photo shoots for washing powders. He’s not so unprofessional as to let it show, but we can sense a slight weariness at having to deal with these women. There’s a resigned patience to his actions and each smile he makes we feel is professional. For Liam, this photo shoot is a job, and not the job he wanted.
BRENDA HULSE (40 – 60)
Brenda is a woman committed to tedious subjects. In the previous year she spoke to the group on “The History of the Tea Towel”. This year it is “The Fascinating World of Broccoli”. She soldiers on seriously while her audience dissolves sniggering. Brenda is a bore.
Elf: The Musical
Auditions for all ensemble / dance team roles in Elf The Musical will take place on WEDNESDAY 21st MAY 2025 from 7pm
at ST IGNATIUS PRIMARY SCHOOL, Storrs Hill Road, Ossett. WF5 0DQ
Please note that all principal and featured roles within the show have already been cast with the exception of Greenway / Ensemble / Dance Team
at ST IGNATIUS PRIMARY SCHOOL, Storrs Hill Road, Ossett. WF5 0DQ
Please note that all principal and featured roles within the show have already been cast with the exception of Greenway / Ensemble / Dance Team
DOWNLOAD AUDITION INFORMATION PACK
REGISTER HERE FOR YOUR AUDITION
DOWNLOAD AUDITION MATERIALS
Characters
All roles will be played with an American accent (New York) unless otherwise specified.
FEATURED ROLES
GREENWAY – Male or Female 45 - 60
Walter's boss. He is what Walter will become if he continues down the path he is on. A tyrannical, workaholic who cares nothing about the people around him or who work for him. Buddy eventually wins him around.
Please note ages indicated are stage “playing” ages rather than actual age of performer.
ENSEMBLE ROLES / DANCE TEAM
There are lots of cameo and ensemble parts to be allocated. Many have small pieces of dialogue and solo singing parts. These include:
CHARLIE
SHAWANDA
SALESWOMAN
SANTA’S HELPER
FAKE SANTAS
ELVES
CHARLOTTE DENNON
SECURITY GUARD
SARA, SAM, JIM (Named office workers)
...and many more!
We also require a strong dance team.
FEATURED ROLES
GREENWAY – Male or Female 45 - 60
Walter's boss. He is what Walter will become if he continues down the path he is on. A tyrannical, workaholic who cares nothing about the people around him or who work for him. Buddy eventually wins him around.
Please note ages indicated are stage “playing” ages rather than actual age of performer.
ENSEMBLE ROLES / DANCE TEAM
There are lots of cameo and ensemble parts to be allocated. Many have small pieces of dialogue and solo singing parts. These include:
CHARLIE
SHAWANDA
SALESWOMAN
SANTA’S HELPER
FAKE SANTAS
ELVES
CHARLOTTE DENNON
SECURITY GUARD
SARA, SAM, JIM (Named office workers)
...and many more!
We also require a strong dance team.
