Auditions

The Foreigner
By Larry Shue

Directed by Julie Bray

On stage 25, 26, 31 October, 1, 2, 7, 8 November 2025

Rehearsals: Starting Sunday 3 August
Mondays & Thursdays 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Sundays 1:30 – 5pm

 

Audition date: Thursday 24 July
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: Windsor School of Arts
381 Lutwyche Rd, Windsor

Callbacks: Sunday 27 July, 1:30pm

How to Audition

  1. Download the Audition pack PDF (contains character descriptions, rehearsal schedule))
  2. Fill out the Audition registration form
  3. Prepare an audition piece: A comic monologue of your choice. There will be some cold reads of the script as well.
  4. Email a headshot and acting CV to the Directors at

Membership fees: If you are cast for a role, you are required to become a 2025 financial member of Growl Theatre, which is $30 per calendar year (expires December 2025)

Other Costs: Growl Theatre will provide the vast majority of your costume. Depending on the role, the cast may be expected to purchase smaller items such as socks, stockings, gloves etc. Cast will be required to bring their own makeup basics (including foundation, eyeliner etc).

Characters (description & ages)

  • Charlie Baker: (male, 30-early 50s) A painfully shy, dull proofreader from England. He is deposited at a fishing lodge in rural Georgia by his good friend Froggy. Due to his current marital situation and his fear of conversation, Froggy tells everyone that Charlie is a foreigner who speaks no English. During the course of his three-day visit, Charlie not only discovers that he does have a personality, but endears himself to all in the process. MUST do a British accent and the have the ability to come up with a “fake” foreign accent.
  • Froggy LeSueur: (male, 30-early 50s) A demolitions expert from the British Army. A frequent visitor to the armed forces in the U.S., Froggy has formed a relationship with the owner of the fishing lodge, Betty Meeks. Froggy has brought Charlie along with him for what he feels should be some good old R&R, but Charlie’s fear of conversation coupled with Betty’s depression about her current situation creates the idea of leaving a foreigner in her lodge. MUST be able to do a cockney accent.
  • Betty Meeks: (female, 60s+) A widow and owner of the fishing lodge. Betty has dreamed of traveling outside her Georgia home, but never has. Struggling to keep her inn from outside forces, the foreigner’s arrival is a welcome distraction that gives Betty renewed spirit. With her heavy southern accent, Betty’s idea of communicating with “the foreigner” is shouting.
  • Rev. David Marshall Lee: (male, mid 20s-30s) Good looking, sincere, charming and confident. Engaged to Catherine. Must appear to be a genuinely decent person. However, David is one of the villains in the play, as he uses his position and the people around him to orchestrate a plot to take over Betty’s lodge for nefarious purposes. Should speak with a smooth southern drawl.
  • Catherine Simms: (female, 20s-30s) A former debutante, Catherine is living at the lodge with her younger brother, Ellard. Engaged to the Reverend Lee and the heiress to a fortune, she is bored with life, restless, and uncertain of what she wants when confronted with an unplanned-for surprise. At first viewed as spoiled and somewhat unpleasant, Catherine transforms as she pours her heart out to Charlie (who, she assumes, understands nothing she says) and finds him a kind and wonderful friend. Should speak with a southern drawl.
  • Ellard Simms: (male, mid 20s) The younger brother of Catherine. Considered by most to be naive, he is a sweet, overgrown, backward, socially awkward youth who we see blossom with Charlie’s help.
    MUST be able to use a thick southern accent.
  • Owen Musser: (male, mid 20s-50s) A local redneck, and the other villain in the play. Owen has gotten himself into a position of power as the property inspector for the county. In cahoots with the Reverend Lee, Owen is a threat to Betty’s livelihood. Owen is a textbook bigot, prejudiced against any and all who don’t fit his idea of White, Christian, America. MUST do heavy southern accent.NOTE: An accent coach will be employed to help actors with their accents.

 

About the Play

Shy Englishman Charlie Baker arrives at a rural fishing lodge in Georgia (USA) looking for peace and quiet. To avoid awkward conversations, his friend “Froggy” claims Charlie doesn’t speak a word of English. The plan works—until the lodge’s quirky residents start spilling secrets and hatching shady schemes right in front of him.

As Charlie gets caught in a whirlwind of deception, drama, and unexpected friendships, his silence might be the key to saving the day. Larry Shue’s The Foreigner is a fast-paced comedy full of laughter, heart, and the hilarious consequences of pretending to be someone you’re not.

Please note: While this play has a great message about tolerance and love, there are intolerant and racist characters and attitudes depicted.