CONTRIBUTED IMAGE “As Bees in Honey Drown” is a satirical comedy written by Douglas Carter Beane. Rick Gooding will be directing the Marshalltown Community Theatre (MCT) production of the show, and is hosting auditions at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday at the Miller Middle School auditorium.

TIMES-REPUBLICAN

Auditions for the Marshalltown Community Theatre’s (MCT’s) production of “As Bees in Honey Drown” will be held just days after the final performance of its most recent shows, “Variable Ex” and “Tim and George + Carla.”

“As Bees in Honey Drown” was written by Douglas Carter Beane and follows Alexa Vere de Vere, a con artist who has a tendency to target people on the brink of fame. In this play, her mark is Evan Wyler, a young budding writer from New York, and in return for Wyler writing a play of her life, Vere de Vere promises fame and fortune — something she has no intention of delivering.

Auditions for this satirical comedy are scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Miller Middle School Auditorium, and Rick Gooding — an MCT board member, the owner of Lowes Flowers and the director of the upcoming full-length play — said he is looking for six actors.

“It’ll be three women and three men,” Gooding said. “The female lead should be somebody in their 40’s to 50’s, if possible. The young guy should be 20’s to 30’s, I mean, look like that, and the rest can be any age.”

The remaining four actors will be playing a myriad of characters, with each person playing three roles. Various characters in the play are people who were previously scammed by Vere de Vere, among other background characters.

Gooding saw a production of this play in Des Moines many years ago at Stage West Theatre and he always thought it would be interesting to produce. Since MCT had been looking for small shows to produce, he submitted this play to the board of directors for approval.

“I’ve always wanted to do it, so (the MCT board) agreed to let me do it,” Gooding said. “They’re just very interesting characters — an older woman trying to get a younger guy, who’s a writer, to write the screenplay of her life, which is all made up.”

Because MCT doesn’t have access to their home stage at 709 S. Center St. due to damages caused by the derecho in 2020, productions have been stripped down, which is why Gooding anticipates the set and costumes for “As Bees in Honey Drown” looking pretty basic.

“We’re not going to have a set, really. We’re going to have four playing areas, and I think, right now in my mind, we’re going to have all of the supporting cast just in black, adding a scarf or something to designate who they are and what they’re doing. Then the two leads will be in regular clothes,” he said.

Six weeks of Monday through Thursday rehearsals will lead up to the show. Opening night will be on Thursday, Apr. 21, with subsequent performances going through Sunday, Apr. 24.

To audition, visit Miller Middle School auditorium on Thursday or Friday at 6 p.m. Scripts are available at Lowes Flowers.

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or smeyer@timesrepublican.com.