If you want a chance to perform in a play at Millbrook’s 4th Line Theatre this summer, the outdoor theatre company is looking for volunteer actors of all ages for the world premiere of Jim Watts: Girl Reporter.
4th Line Theatre will be holding auditions and interviews at its box office and administrative centre at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 28th. People will be seen in order of arrival.
Previous acting experience is not required. 4th Line Theatre, which is committed to diverse and inclusive casting, encourages those of all abilities and backgrounds to apply.
“Volunteers have been the cornerstone of 4th Line Theatre’s creative activities for 31 years since its inception in 1992,” says managing artistic director Kim Blackwell in a media release. “This is where the community and art meet. This is a real opportunity to express yourself, learn and grow, and join our team.”
Written by award-winning playwright Beverley Cooper and directed by Blackwell, Jim Watts: Girl Reporter will run Mondays to Saturdays from July 30 to August 24 at the Winslow Farm. Its described as a fascinating exploration of the experience of trailblazing Canadian youth who illegally flocked to Spain in the mid-1930s to fight fascism, attempting to stop its march across Europe. The play focuses on journalist Jean ‘Jim’ Watts, the only woman to join the volunteer Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion, which began fighting in 1938 for the Republican side during the three-year Spanish Civil War that erupted after fascist Francisco Franco’s failed coup d’état in July 1936.
Taking the audience from Toronto to Madrid, from political rallies to the battlefields of Spain, the play also tells the story of Peterborough union organizer and hero Harry James “Jim” Higgins. While fighting in the Spanish Civil War, Higgins jumped into a river during a battle to save a wounded Spanish child. That child, Manual Alvarez, later moved to Canada and recorded his memories of his search for Higgins in the book The Tall Soldier.
“As someone trying to get into acting for the first time, 4th Line Theatre was an incredible experience,” says Zach Newnham, who performed in the 2023 production of The Cavan Blazers. “Everyone there was very accommodating and helpful, and it was a great environment to be in as a whole. It further sparked my interest into the many forms of entertainment industry, be it acting, writing, or producing. Overall, it turned my otherwise bland summer of lazing around into an unforgettable one, and it’s something I can wholeheartedly say I would be a part of again.”
If you prefer working behind the scenes, 4th Line Theatre is also looking for volunteers to assist front-of-house staff for greeting and seating the audience and to help backstage with makeup and hair, costumes, set and prop painting, running crew, and other production tasks.
To apply as a non-acting volunteer, you can come to the January 28th auditions, call 705-932-4505, visit 4th Line’s box office and administrative centre during business hours, or email artistic administrator Emma Hale at emma@4thlinetheatre.on.ca.
