Audition call from NIC Theatre Department

NIC Theatre Department is looking for talented individuals to audition for their virtual spring plays.

“I’m excited to work with actors to tell a story,” said Quinn Gilchrist, 22, an NIC theater student and director for the play “A Permanent Image.”

The department will put on two plays directed by students and written by Samuel Hunter, a playwright from Moscow, Idaho. Joe Jacoby, theater professor, said he chose these plays because the students told him they were interested in them.

“I thought, well maybe that would be a fun project for them to direct because they really seem to relate to them,” Jacoby said.

“The Few” will be directed by 19-year-old theater student David Fisher.

“Participating in plays gave me something to look forward to and put my heart into,” Fisher said. “I met a lot of wonderful people who supported me and helped me get through things.”

Fisher said this is his first time directing a play after acting and working as a stagehand, and he looks forward to participating in theater in a new way.

“I like directing because the director is the person who interprets what the play is about and what it’s trying to say, and then decides how to communicate that to the audience,” Fisher said. “Of course, every person in the production process is equally important, but the function of theater in our society is to serve as a way to communicate with each other, so it feels like an especially important job.”

Both of the plays are set in Idaho and Fisher said he thinks it has some interesting things to say about the place and people living there.

“A Permanent Image” and “The Few,” which will be live-streamed by NIC Theatre department in April, are both plays written by playwright Samuel Hunter from Moscow, Idaho, and are set in Idaho.

“‘The Few’ is an impactful play to me personally because of the emotional connection I have to its themes and characters, but my favorite thing about it is that it has a universal message that anyone can understand and relate to,” Fisher said. “I think it addresses an important issue that everyone goes through and has something meaningful to say about the human experience in general.”

Gilchrist said she chose “A Permanent Image” because it deals with difficult, but important, topics like differing opinions in politics between family members and what it means to live a full life.

“I really love the collaborative aspects of theatre,” Gilchrist said. “It really feels like a strong supportive community, and I really like that we can put on shows that also shares that message.”

To audition, send a one-minute monologue to Jacoby at joe.jacoby@nic.edu. There are also scripts available for borrowing. Auditions are open to the community as well as NIC students and faculty. There will be three performers cast for “The Few” and four in “A Permanent Image.”

Rehearsals will take place over Zoom until spring break after which they will continue with each performer in separate classrooms. The play will also be live-streamed with each actor in separate classrooms for social distancing purposes.

“I’ve extremely excited and nervous, and very grateful to Joe for letting me do this,” Fisher said.

Tentative dates for performance are April 15, 16 and 17 for “A Permanent Image” and the 22, 23 and 24 for “The Few.”