AUDITIONS:
How the light gets in
Written by e.m. lewis
Directed by richard perloff
NEW PLAYWRIGHT FOR OUR AUDIENCES! A travel writer who never travels. A Japanese architect who can’t figure out how to build a simple tea house. A gifted tattoo artist who resists the power of his talents. And a homeless girl who lives under a weeping willow tree in the Japanese Garden. Four lonely people, their stories written on paper, earth and skin, find each other when one of them falls apart. Together they realize the heart is as strong as it is fragile, and that the safety of home might be found in the most fearsome explorations. A beautiful, haunting and richly human play.
PERFORMANCES:
April 5-26, 2025
Thursday at 7 pm (followed by Q & A)
Friday at 8 pm
Saturdays at 2 pm (select dates)
Saturday at 8 pm
Sundays at 2 pm
Torrance Theatre Company at 1316
1316 Cabrillo Ave Torrance, CA 90501
PRODUCTION CALENDAR:
Please review the calendar HERE, and list all potential conflicts on your submission form below.
AUDITIONS:
Monday, February 3rd from 6:30-8:30 pm
Call-backs by invitation on Wednesday, February 5th.
PREPARE:
Brief monologue from a drama, mystery or thriller.
All those cast will be required to register as a volunteer for the City of Torrance.
This is a non-union, non-paid gig. No participation fees are required.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
GRACE (F, mid-40s): A travel writer who’s never visited the destinations she writes about. Grace volunteers as a docent at the Japanese Garden, which turns out to be the source of the relationships that will see her through a significant personal crisis. The play describes Grace’s journey through a breast cancer diagnosis (and subsequent treatment), her acknowledgement of her essential aloneness… and a new willingness to accept support from a number of unlikely sources. Important: there is no nudity required for this role, but there are scenes where a certain amount of exposure is implied, and will be accomplished through staging and costuming.
HARUKI (M, early 50s, East Asian to play Japanese): A world-famous architect who has been commissioned to design a simple Teahouse for the Japanese Garden. Haruki struggles with what he thought was an easy design project, until he realizes that he has closed himself off to many of the feelings that once fueled his work. Through his association with Grace, he learns to live and love and risk again.
TOMMY Z: (M, late 30s): A tattoo artist with a particular talent for helping struggling individuals discover what sort of designs they want on their bodies. Tommy’s great empathy is initially hidden beneath an intimidating exterior. The nature of his art requires that he open himself to others’ pain and suffering, in addition to coping with his own.
KAT (F, to play 17): A runaway, currently living/hiding beneath the weeping willow tree in the Japanese Garden. A victim of sexual abuse at home, Kat has attempted suicide more than once. Fearful and isolated, Kat slowly reaches out to Grace, Haruki, and Tommy Z, and finds in them the acceptance and sense of community she has lacked. Important: the actor of this role will appear briefly in her underwear, in a scene where she tries on clothes in a fitting room.
NOTE: The actors playing Kat and Tommy Z also act as our “narrators” in the play, and will appear as several other characters as needed to facilitate the story