Theater … for a change announces auditions for The Taming of the Shrew - Sunday & Monday, April 15 & 16 @ 7pm in Grand View College’s Viking Theatre, 2811 E 14th St, Des Moines (Directions).

Roles are available for 13+ men and women (age 14+). (no monologue required, will be cold reading from the script - if you wish to perform a Shakespearean monologue for the audition, we’re happy to see it)

Roles available (expect some roles may be doubled-up):

• Baptista Minola (a rich gentleman of Padua)
• Katherine (the Shrew, eldest daughter of Baptista)
• Bianca (youngest daughter of Baptista)
• Petruchio (a gentleman of Verona, suitor to Katherine)
• Gremio (suitor to Bianca)
• Hortensio (suitor to Bianca)
• Lucentio (suitor to Bianca)
• Vincentio (Lucentio’s father)
• Tranio (servant to Lucentio)
• Biondello (servant to Lucentio)
• Grumio (servant to Petruchio)
• Curtis (servant to Petruchio)
• Merchant (later disguised as Vincentio)
• Widow
• Various other supporting roles (Tailor, Haberdasher, Servants)

All actors performing at Grand View College’s Viking Theatre for the Shakespeare Repetoire will be paid a stipend. NOTE: 3 performance evenings of The Taming of the Shrew will be performed in Pella. Cast will carpool to Pella and return each of the 3 evenings.

A quick summary of The Taming of the Shrew (courtesy of www.william-shakespeare.info):

The beautiful and gentle Bianca has no shortage of admirers (Lucentio, Gremio and Hortensio) but her father insists that she will not marry until her shrewish sister, Katherine, is betrothed. Bianca’s suitors persuade fortune-seeker Petruchio to court her. The suitors pay for any costs involved and there is also the goal of Katherine’s dowry.

Sparks fly between Katherine and Petruchio and they enter into various slanging matches but not to be put off Petruchio marries Katherine. His behaviour following the wedding is intolerable and he carries Katherine off to his country house with his servant Grumio. Petruchio intends to browbeat Katherine into submission and he craftily denies her food and sleep, whilst continuously singing her praises. He also finds fault with her new clothes and she is forced to wear old ones. This is the final straw and Katherine starts agreeing and pleasing her husband - she has been tamed.

On their return to Padua Lucentio has won Bianca and Hortensio has married a widow. At a banquet they wager on who has the most obedient wife. Each wife is issued with commands but only Katherine obeys and promptly lectures everyone on the importance of wifely submission!

The theme of the play is a farcical comedy but the question is did Shakespeare really believe that a woman was in no way equal to a man or was this play tongue in cheek and was he portraying how men would simply like things to be!