The theatre department is having open spring auditions for the plays Tartuffe and Noises Off today at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Theatre in the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Registration for the auditions begins at 6 p.m. in the Movement Studio in Doudna.

Tartuffe, a play by Moliere, is a comedy about a man who pretends to be a pious figure and takes advantage of his benefactor as comedic antics ensue.

Noises Off, by Michael Frayn, is also a comedy and is about a play within a play.

Chris Mitchell will be the director of Tartuffe and Jeff Tangeman, an assistant professor within the theatre arts department, is directing Noises Off.

Participants are required to memorize two one-minute comedic monologues for the audition.

One monologue must be of a contemporary nature and the other must be classical.

Alex Truccano, a freshman theatre arts major, said he chose his monologues based on the humor involved in them since both plays are comedies.

“Picking a monologue that portrays a character that is similar to the one you want to be in the play that is chosen is probably one of the hardest things to prepare for auditions and memorization is very important,” Truccano said.

Ryan McCain, a sophomore theatre arts major, said he usually researches a play before he begins preparing for the audition.

“I make sure that I familiarize myself with the show by reading it a couple of times and I tend to watch a recording of the show just once so I don’t familiarize myself too much with the mannerisms of the characters,” McCain said.

There is more preparation than strictly memorization for the audition.

“I memorize my monologues first and then I go back through and re-work them whether I need to put in actions, movements or different voices,” McCain said.

Auditions are open to anyone and one does not need to be a theatre arts major to audition for the plays.

Taylor Davis, a sophomore communication studies major, said he usually performs in musicals rather than plays.

“This is the first time I’ve auditioned strictly on acting skills without having any singing involved since I was in eighth grade,” Davis said.

Besides theatrical preparation, auditions also involve mental preparation.

“It’s always kind of a nervous thing to audition because when you audition you have butterflies in your stomach but it’s exciting too at the same time,” Davis said.

Truccano agreed.

“The worst part is when you are waiting in line to get up on stage and you start second guessing yourself if you have everything memorized or if the judges will think you are funny or not, but once I get up there and have the first couple of words passed, I’m totally fine,” Truccano said.

It is recommended to bring a resume of performance and technical work along with a headshot.

Photos to potentially be used in the play programs will be taken in the Movement Studio before the audition.

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or rjrodgers@eiu.edu