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Audition: The Importance of Being Earnest

AUDITION

The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde

Directed by Christina Scott Sayer

Show Dates:
February 28th - March 16th, 2025
Audition Dates:
  • Sunday, December 1st at 6PM
  • Monday, December 2nd at 6PM

A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. Responsible, mild-mannered Jack Worthing is harboring a couple of secrets. First, he is in love with his friend Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen. And second, they both think his name is Ernest. In fact, Ernest is Jack’s imaginary alter ego – a troubled younger brother he created so that he could do whatever he liked in London and no one would ever think to judge him. But when Algernon catches on to the scheme, he decides to be Ernest himself in order to woo Jack’s lovely young ward, Cecily. Confusion and hilarity reign, as the ladies try to disentangle the stories of their respective Ernests and jump the seemingly impossible hurdles to marry the Ernest they each love.

Audition Requirements

  • No monologue is necessary. The audition will consist of cold readings from the script.
  • A headshot and resume are recommended but not required.
  • Please bring a detailed list of conflicts for mid January-mid March.

Roles

Available roles: 5 male; 4 female (All roles require British accents)

All roles require British accents.

  • John Worthing: His friends in the city know him only as Ernest, but in the country John Worthing goes by Jack, which he believes is his real name. He does not know his personal history, only that he was discovered as a baby in a handbag in Victoria Station. He is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax and is the legal guardian of Cecily Cardew.
  • Algernon Moncrieff: Living in the city, Algernon Moncrieff is a good friend of Jack. At the beginning of the play he thinks that Jack’s name is Ernest. Algernon lives in a flat in a prestigious part of London. He is the nephew of Lady Bracknell and in love with Cecily Cardew.
  • Lady Bracknell: The aunt of Algernon and the mother of Gwendolen, Lady Bracknell is a respected member of the English aristocracy. She refuses to allow her daughter to marry Jack because he does not have a suitable family history.
  • Gwendolen Fairfax: The daughter of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax is in love with Jack but believes that she could not love him if he were named anything other than Ernest.
  • Cecily Cardew: Jack’s niece and ward, Cecily Cardew falls in love with Algernon when he visits her under the assumed name of Ernest, and she tells him that she could never love a man named anything but Ernest.
  • Dr. Chasuble: The rector of the Manor House, Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism flirt with one another throughout Act 2 and 3, and he is asked by both Jack and Algernon to re-christen them as Ernest.
  • Miss Prism: Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism is a woman with a mysterious past involving former employment at Lady Bracknell’s house, a missing novel, and a lost baby. She spends much of her time flirting with Dr. Chasuble.
  • Lane: Algernon’s manservant.
  • Merriman: The butler at the Manor House.

This project is being supported in whole or in part, by federal award number 21.027 awarded to the City of Knoxville by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance