Announcing: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

 

South Stream's next endeavor will be a staged reading of an original new script. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work by Brook North.

ONE NIGHT ONLY - Tuesday, September 9. 7:00 PM at Raleigh Brewing Company. 

This event is FREE but tickets are limited. Please get your ticket at Eventbrite here. 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work is a dark (very dark) comedy. Montana and Eunice are working in dead end jobs in a third rate care home. Seemingly trapped in an endless cycle of trying to make ends meet and never getting ahead. Montana comes up with an audacious plan of how to break free, but does it go too far? Teamwork Makes the Dream Work is a story about how capitalism can push good(ish) people to make some questionable choices in order to survive, and the consequences that can ensue.

Directed by Amelia Lumpkin, the cast and crew includes:

Montana - Danielle Santos

Eunice - Tina Morris Anderson

Mr. Mayhew - John Honeycutt

Pete - Matthew Salas

Brady/Angie - Davi Cunningham

Stage Directions - Kelly Lumpkin

SM/Assist - Adrienne Lumpkin

Ringing in the New Year with Shakespeare

 

Benjamin Tarleton as Hal, George Labusohr as Falstaff
photo credit Elizabeth Johnson @elizjphotos

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025. We had the pleasure of welcoming in the new year with Elsewhere Shakespeare's one night production of Henry IV (a very condensed version of both 1&2). The production featured two actors who will be treading the boards as part of our production of Lear: Benjamin Tarleton (who will be playing Edgar) and George Labusohr (who will be playing Albany and fight directing). And the photo you see above was taken by Elizabeth Johnson, who will be playing Edmund! 

The production was just the kind of thing we like to see. A small cast of dedicated actors ACTING with each other. Listening, reacting. As you can see, there are no fancy props, costumes or lights. The story has to come from the words and the performances. And the audience is very much in the room with you. Actors sat with the audience, pulled them up, stole props from them, and generally INCLUDED them in the story. Lear will certainly have a bit more in the way of production values behind it, but this is very much the spirit and ethos of what you should expect from a South Stream production of Shakespeare. 

Congratulations to George, Benjamin, and the whole cast for a fun evening. On to the New Year!

Announcing the Cast of King Lear!

Citizens of Earth, South Stream Productions is proud to present it's cast for King Lear!

King Lear - Julie Oliver

Goneril - Maggie Lea

Regan - Barrett

Cordelia/Fool - Chloe Oliver

Gloucester - John Honeycutt

Edgar - Benjamin Tarlton

Edmund - Elizabeth Johnson

Kent - Rebecca Bossen

Cornwall - Olivia Griego

Albany - George Labusohr

Ensemble 1 (Duke of Burgundy, Servant, Gentleman) - Emma Droste

Ensemble 2 (King of France, Oswald, Herald) - Miranda Curtis

Ensemble 3 (Lear's Knight(s), Curran, Old Man, Captain) - Atticus Blum

This is an incredible cast. I'm so honored that this talented group of artists will be working with South Stream on our next show. 

King Lear will open May 2, 2025 and will run through May 18th.

Open Auditions tonight.

 Just posting a map of the venue for where to park and where to go once you're there.

The address is 2011 Ridge Road, Raleigh.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Introducing...

Photo Credit Jennifer Sanderson

Ever since we announced King Lear, people have been asking me privately, online and in person - who is going to play King Lear? Well, now you know.

The cast will also feature:
Chloe Oliver - Cordelia/The Fool

John Honeycutt - Gloucester

Barrett - Regan

Does this sound exciting? There's time to audition to be a part of this merry (well not so merry) adventure! We're holding auditions for the rest of the cast, more information here!

I'm incredibly pleased to be working with Julie. Julie was in South Stream's second production (and the first play I directed) Seascape. She has also appeared more recently in this doesn't end well and Twelfth Night. I am honored to be bringing her Lear to the stage this Spring. 

In addition to working with Julie as part of South Stream, she and I have worked together on many projects with other area theatres. And it was because of that, surprisingly, that this production came about (at least in part). While we were back stage as part of the cast of a reading for the Carolina Playwrights Lab, Julie told me a conversation she had had with her daughter Chloe, where they were (probably half jokingly) talking about being in King Lear together, and my name had come up as someone who might produce it. Little did she know - I was actually looking for an idea for a show to produce in the Spring. 

I had talked with The Ridge not too long before. They were very pleased with our production of Twelfth Night, and were interested in our producing there again. I was very pleased with that production as well, but producing requires a LOT of work, and stress, and time, so when I do produce a show- it has to be something I am excited about doing and think is worth the effort (thus the rather intermittent production schedule for South Stream). I never produce a show just to fill a time slot. I agreed on a general time which would fit the schedule of both The Ridge and South Stream, but I did tell them that I didn't have a show yet, and I wasn't sure if I would. 

But this idea! Well I love working with Julie both as an actor and as a person. The idea of her playing Lear - it is a demanding part but she absolutely had that in her, and the idea of her taking on that challenge was exciting to me both as an artist and as an audience member. I'd pay to see that! And the idea of her actual daughter playing Cordelia... well that brought it to a whole new level. Chloe is a fantastic actor in her own right, and the dynamic of the two of them working together was something I wanted to explore. 

There was one thing I was very interested in as a director though. The characters of Cordelia and The Fool are never on stage together, and it is often stated in material about the play that the two roles may have been double cast originally (both The Friendly Shakespeare and the introduction of my copy of the New Cambridge edition of King Lear suggest the possibility). But I had never seen this done in performance. The possibility of the doubling intrigued me. Both Cordelia and The Fool are characters who speak the truth to Lear. What if Cordelia stayed in Lear's mind, taunting him, nagging him, confronting him with his folly; as symptom and cause of his further descent into madness? And then, the storm passes, the Fool vanishes from the play - replaced again by his returning daughter. I knew if I was going to direct Lear, this is something I'd want to attempt. And Chloe is an artist with the deftness of craft and range to be able to pull it off. 

So - that's the story so far. Our cast also includes my co-producer John Honeycutt as Gloucester and long time South Stream veteran Barrett as Regan. 

Does this sound exciting? Come join us!

Auditions for Lear

Dimitri Tavadze, 1970, used under Creative Commons license

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE  - See Below!

South Stream Productions announces open auditions for it's May production of King Lear. 

South Stream Productions typically does not hold open auditions. Our productions and casts are usually small, and we (as a company) know so many actors in the area that we enjoy working with, we typically just hold an invited audition. This is mostly because there are so SO many wonderfully talented people in the area and really I hate disappointing people. Honestly, it's the worst thing about auditions, knowing there are so many great people who all could play the roles differently, but equally well, and having to choose. 

Our next project, however, will be Lear - which is a significantly larger undertaking than we've ever attempted in terms of cast. The cast will not be large per se - probably 12 or 13 - but large for us. Therefore, this time we will be having an open call in addition to our audition process. 

What to prepare: 
A one minute (about) monologue [UPDATE - a monologue in verse is great, but any monologue will be fine. you DO NOT need to have experience with Shakespeare to audition]. 

It doesn't have to be exactly 1 minute, but keep it under 2 if you can. 

How to audition:
We have two options.

Self-tape. We will happily accept self-taped auditions.

Please record yourself performing your monologue. Please shoot in landscape. Do your best to ensure we can hear and see you clearly. 

Please upload your tape to YouTube (or other video platform) and send a link to:

Southstreamproductions@gmail.com

YouTube has an option to make your video non-public. That's probably best. If you choose "Private" be sure to remember to send the password required to access the video.

If you submit a self tape, please also include (either in your email or a separate document) a description of your acting experience and the role(s) for which you would like to be considered. Also please note any important/known conflicts with the production calendar.

In person. We will also have an in-person audition date for those who either are not able to self-tape or who prefer to audition in person. 

In-person auditions will be held Tuesday, November 19th, from 7-10 at The Ridge 2011 Ridge Road, Raleigh. Please sign up for a 5 minute audition slot here.

Call Backs:

Call backs will be Friday, November 22 from 7-10, and Sunday November 24 from 4-7. 

(people called back will only need to attend one of these times). 

Call backs will also be at 2011 Ridge Road, Raleigh.

Roles available:

The roles of Lear, Cordelia, Fool, Gloucester, and Regan have been cast. 

Goneril - Eldest of Lear's Daughters

Edgar - Son of Gloucester

Edmund - Son of Gloucester

Kent - a loyal knight to Lear

Cornwall - Husband of Reagan

Albany - Husband of Goneril

2-3 Players - These people will play everybody else in the play (Oswald, Burgundy, France, Old Man, First Servant etc...). One or more of these people may be asked to understudy some of the above.

Understudy/Swing - TBD

The script, of course, uses gendered pronouns. We will not be changing the words of the script or gender of the characters, but that does not mean those are requirements of the actors. 

The script does require Edmund and Goneril share stage intimacy (a kiss) and lots of roles will involve a good deal of physicality, and several require stage combat, so let us know about any limitations and/or experience you may have (in stage combat... we don't need to know your kissing experience).

Additional information:

Performance dates - May 2-4, 9-11, 16-18.

Rehearsal dates - Rehearsals will begin on or around March 3 (not before). Generally Tues-Saturdays, but cast will be called depending on work being done. Expect more calls as we get closer to performance.
Rehearsal/Performance location - All rehearsals and performances will be at The Ridge (same location as the audition)

Pay - I'm not going to lie, it's mostly for the love of the game. South Stream shares it's profits (but not losses) among the cast and crew. Last production I was ecstatic that we were able to pay everyone more than $200. However, with a larger cast, and the same size performance space, I would NOT expect that much. Also, theatre attendance and sales can be unpredictable. I will do my dead level best to control costs and turn a profit for everyone to share, but I would guess we're talking $100 each if things go well, and $0 if things don't. 

Our Next Project - Lear

Actor Cavendish Morton as Lear, Art of Theatrical Stage Makeup 1909

Citizens of Earth - South Stream Productions is proud to announce that it's next full production will be King Lear. 
King Lear will run May 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18, 2025. All performances will be at The Ridge (the same place we performed 12th Night).

Audition details coming soon.