| Show | Hedda Gabler |
| Company | Modern Classics Theatre |
| Notes | This play contains sensitive topics including death by suicide and alcoholism. Throughout the rehearsal process, we will delve into the meaning of these themes as they relate to the characters in the play and how they relate to other characters as well as the norms of the day. The use of firearms occurs several times throughout the play. We encourage all potential actors to consider these themes and their sensitivity to any and all of them prior to auditioning as we will explore them in depth through the rehearsal process and their collective effect on the production. |
| Instructions | Sides will provided at auditions |
| Rehearsal Dates | TBD |
| Questions | 516-318-2450 |
| Show Info | Hedda Gabler focuses on the frustrated existence of its title character, exploring core issues of power, control, and social expectation. Bored and restricted by her middle-class environment, Hedda plays out her own fantasies and psychological games with those nearest to her to an ultimately costly end. The play opens as Hedda and her academic husband, Georges Tesman, return from honeymoon and immediately it is clear that Hedda is neither happy nor satisfied in her new role as Tesman’s wife. She is, however, pregnant. Soon after their return, Hedda is reacquainted with an old school friend, Mrs. Elvsted, and the brilliant but wayward writer Eilert Lovborg. It becomes clear that Hedda has personal history with Lovborg and it is at this point that her machinations begin. Hedda finds pleasure in manipulating Lovborg into drinking again and thus ruining both his career and his relationship with Mrs. Elvsted. Ultimately she persuades the conflicted writer to take his own life. However, Hedda finds herself under the control of their imposing friend, Judge Brack, who makes it clear that he knows she gave Lovborg the gun. He has the power to socially destroy her if he so wished. Trapped under his control, Hedda retreats into the adjacent room and shoots herself. |
| Type | Location | Date | Time |
| Open | Twin Oaks Theater Arts Building 458 Babylon Turnpike Freeport | Feb 02 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
| Open | Twin Oaks Theater Arts Building 458 Babylon Turnpike Freeport | Feb 04 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
| Call Back | Twin Oaks Theater Arts Building 458 Babylon Turnpike Freeport | Feb 09 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
Roles
| Role | M/F | Age | Description | Hedda Gabler | F | 33 | A conflicted individual, Hedda is the progeny of a well respected successful General Gabler. A self- absorbed ,controlling woman who feels stuck in her new marriage to George Tesman, Hedda feels frustrated by the constraints of her new life and “boring” husband. She longs for a more elegant and aristocratic life, the one to which she was formerly accustomed. Her devious, manipulating nature forms the backbone of the play as she tries to manipulate nearly everyone who comes in contact with her. In the end, her fears of never getting out from under are realized when the prospect of being manipulated herself through blackmail become too much for her to take she and chooses to take her own life instead. | George Tesman | M | 35 | Recently back from his honeymoon with his new wife, George struggles to make a home for her with his limited finances. A perennial scholar seeking a professorship, by burying himself in his work he becomes naïve to the fact that even he is being manipulated by Hedda. Though he is thoughtful and well-meaning, his life is given over to his work more than his new bride. | Aunt Julia | F | 65 | (Tesman’s aunt) Having raised George, Aunt Julia is a generous and caring person with a rather conventional slant. She does her level best to befriend Hedda, but Hedda chooses to keep her at arm’s length as a way to maintain stature and control. Julia’s doting over George often leads to overstepping, and could be considered an affront to the couple’s individuality and even privacy, imposing her own views on starting a family and insisting on lending money to them. | Judge Brack | M | 40-50 | A longtime friend of both Hedda’s and George’s, Brack is a cynical older bachelor who is not so secretly in lust with Hedda, and is her verbal sparring partner in the play. He frequently visits them to spend time with Hedda and to inform George of his prospects for his desired professorship. He seeks to influence Hedda by blackmailing her with his knowledge that it was her pistol that killed Lovborg. | Berte | M/F | 40-55 | The household help. Berte was the former servant of Aunt Julia and her sister, Rina. In the new household, Berte strives to please Hedda but from the start realizes that with Hedda’s personality this will be a nearly impossible task. | Eilert Lovborg | M | 35-45 | Hedda’s adolescent love interest, Eilert is a brilliant academic, who is a recovering alcoholic. An academic rival of Tesman’s, he has drafted a new manuscript which may greatly influence the arc of his academic future and returns to the town where the Tesman’s live, only to fall into Hedda’s trap and become the focus of local scandal. | Thea Elvsted | F | 30-40 | An early romance of Tesman, Thea is a passionate, caring, somewhat conventional woman who courageously leaves her husband to pursue Lovborg. Initially employed as a governess of the household, she went on to marry the Sheriff and employed Lovborg as a tutor to his children. Thea has since fallen for Lovborg and collaborated with him on his manuscript. |