| Date: | December 15, 2022 - December 18, 2022 |
| Time: | By appointment only: Dec 15 @ 7pm & Dec18 @ 1:00 pm |
| Location: | The Guildhall 45530 Spadina Avenue, Chilliwack BC |
| Price: | Adults: Students and Seniors: |
| Tickets: | info@playersguild.ca |
The Chilliwack Players Guild is pleased to announce their Spring 2023 production, “The Book of Will” by Lauren Gunderson. The Book of Will is a celebration of the famed playwright’s brilliant works of theatre and poetry. It is an historical look at the years following Shakespeare’s death and the true story of how his acting troupe, The King’s Men, following the tragic death of one of their members, realizes it is up to them to preserve his plays for future generations and to protect them from the horrible reproductions proliferating at the time. In 1623, Shakespeare’s “First Folio” was published. This play is the story of how that famous book came to be. The production is being Directed by Clint Hames, who has directed many successful shows for the Guild, most recently “Calendar Girls” which played to sold out audiences last spring. “The Book of Will is a wonderful, warm, witty and funny play that will have you alternate between tears of laughter and sorrow”, says Hames. The play will appeal well beyond Shakespeare lovers and is written in modern language. Of interest, the Book of Will or more correctly, Shakespeare’s “First Folio”, was recently displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery as a part of a world tour.
Auditions for the production will be held on December 15th from 7:00 PM and December 18th
from 1:00 PM, both at the Guildhall, by the Landing Sports Centre on Spadina Avenue. The
Guild is looking for up to 15 adult actors of various ages. For more audition information, please
contact info@playersguild.ca and watch for more notices on the Chilliwack Players Guild social
media sites.
Role Age Range and Description
Henry Condell age 40 + Lead role – Feisty, hopeful friend and actor in the King’s Men (Shakespeare’s acting troupe)
John Heminges age 50+ Lead role – Reasonable friend and King’s Men financial manager, owner of the Globe Tap House
Richard Burbage age 50+ Feature role – “star” of the King’s Men. Seasoned lion of the stage, famous across England, loud and proud
Alice Heminges age 30+ Lead role – John’s daughter and server in the alehouse. Doubles Shakespeare’s daughter Suzanna
Ben Johnson age 50+ Feature role – Poet Laureate of England. Friend and rival of Shakespeare.
Elizabeth Condell age 40+ Medium role – Henry’s wife. Doubles as Emilia and minor roles
Boy Hamlet age 20’s Feature Role – boy actor
Rebecca Heminges age 50+ Medium role – John’s wife. Doubles Anne Hathaway
Ed Knight Any age King’s Men stage manager. Doubles publisher’s son Isaac Jaggard
Ralph Crane age 40 + King’s Men Scrivener (Scribe)
William Jaggard age 50+ Medium Role. Shady publisher
Marcus age 20 Printers apprentice
Compositor young
Emilia Bassano Lanier age 50+ Feature role – Feminist and Poet. Lover of life and of Shakespeare
Anne Hathaway age 60+ Feature role – Shakespeare’s ailing wife.
Suzanna Shakespeare age 30+ Shakespeare’s daughter
Various Bar staff, news“boys”, and small parts ages 20 – 60 Will be doubled from the cast.
Lead Role – A character with a lead role will have significant stage time and will be required at most rehearsals.
Feature Role – A character with a feature role means the character has a significant role in the
story of the play but may have fewer lines and stage time. Most feature roles
will be doubled with minor characters.
Medium Role – A character with a medium role will have a medium amount of stage time and
lines to learn. Most medium roles also double
For insurance reasons, all cast must become members of the Chilliwack Players Guild (Adult
membership is $15 a year)
Rehearsals will be 3 times per week with the possibility of two – 3 hour sessions on the Sunday.
Production dates are the last two weeks in April. The Book of Will is also the Guild’s entry in the Fraser Valley Zone Theatre Festival in late May.