The Roles (please click the “Character Details” tab for more information):
- Three women, aged thirties to sixties.
- Two men, aged thirties and late forties
Audition piece: Please prepare a 3-5 minute dramatic monologue that reflects the role you are seeking. Script in hand is acceptable.
The action of the play takes place in Saskatoon, Canada in the early 1980’s. The Martinoff family is very traditional, and religion plays a large role in their lives. The play starts with the death of the family matriarch.
- Hector Martinoff is in his late 40’s and has been labelled as having an intellectual disability. In today’s world, he would be on the autism spectrum and his disability would have only played a small part in his life. Growing up in the 1940s and ’50s and being kept from school and segregated from his community has meant he has a very limited view of the world around him. Most noticeable is his lack of empathy. The director would encourage neurodivergent actors to audition. It is a major role in the play and requires the actor to engage in some violence.
- Joyce Martinoff, in her early sixties, moved from the family home at an early age after clashing with her parents. She was rebellious in her youth and that spirit drove her to become successful in business. However, she remained estranged from the family. She is brought back into the family with the death of her mother. She has had to keep deep secrets about the family.
- Dallas Nelson is a man in his late twenties to mid thirties who rents the “carriage house” on the property. He helps around the yard in exchange for reduced rent. He is friendly with Hector, perhaps his only friend. He has completed his law degree but is somewhat unmotivated to find work.
- Helena Carova, in her fifties or sixties is a senior social worker with the Department of Social Services. Her reputation is that of a “hard-nosed, by the book” manager, but the as the play progresses, a softer and more compassionate side emerges.
- Evelyn Desjarlais, late twenties to mid thirties, is a junior level social worker who has worked in several areas. Before supporting Hector, she worked, somewhat unsuccessfully, in child protection. She tends to become emotionally involved with the people she supports.
Clint’s play “HECTOR” is, at its core, a play about judgement and forgiveness. It is the story of a family, torn apart by the past, suddenly brought back together following the death of the family matriarch, Mrs. Martinson.
Will Hector Martinson, who is challenged by a disability, survive without her support? Will her estranged daughter be able to put the past behind her and be the support Hector needs or will the past be too hard for either to face? As the family history is revealed, will the helping professionals, — ever-present in a person with a disability’s life — rush to judge, or provide support?
As more and more of the story is told, the questions of who needs support, who needs forgivenes, and who needs condemnation become jumbled. Each time we feel secure in our answers, the play takes a new turn.