Nightmare at the Sweet Dreams Inn, a Totally 90s Murder Mystery Dinner Auditions

January 22nd 2022 (audition slots from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

Written and Directed by Courtney Wick.

Springfield Theatre Centre is looking to cast 10 people in the upcoming production of Nightmare at the Sweet Dreams Inn. Auditionees will need to sign up for one 30 minute group audition slot. If needed, callbacks will occur in the afternoon on the same day. Auditionees are not required to prepare anything; however, copy of selected scenes that will be used can be found below..

Production Details

Show dates are March 18-19, 25-26, and April 1-2, 2022. Rehearsals will begin January 26th. A tentative rehearsal schedule can be found here.

Auditionees are asked to disclose all known evening/weekend conflicts between then and the run of the show on audition forms. Additional questions may be directed towards springfieldtheatrecentre@gmail.com.

Health and Safety Notice for Auditionees (Please read Thoroughly)

STC will be requiring staff, cast, other show volunteers, and contractors to be vaccinated, no exceptions. Auditonees will be asked to bring their proof of vaccination to auditions. All individuals involved in STC productions will be expected to follow our current health and safety protocols and comply with any changes as necessary. If you have any questions, please email stcsafety21@gmail.com. Note that Springfield Theatre Centre will use extreme care when collecting and storing vaccination information to ensure privacy of this information. Only the show’s producers, director, and any other approved STC officials will have access to this information.

Springfield Theatre Centre will be following guidance from the CDC, IDPH, Hoogland Center for the Arts, and other resources to craft our COVID Health and Safety Production Procedures. These procedures will be distributed to all individuals involved in the production at the initial cast and staff meeting and whenever procedural changes have been made to reflect the current climate.

Face mask notice: Following the State of Illinois’s indoor mask mandate and the CDC and IDPH guidance, until further notice, all those involved in or auditioning for this production, will be required to wear a face mask while at auditions or rehearsals. Please plan to bring a facemask to auditions, or use one that will be provided to you at auditions.

Audition Registration

Those that are interested in Auditioning must sign-up for a group audition time-slot: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4CAFAC2FABF9CE9-nightmare.

All auditionees must also fill out the audition form prior to audition day.

Please make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before the audition time slot.

Show Synopsis:

The Sweet Dreams Inn is a zany romp of a show that takes place on a dark and stormy night of September 1996 inside a southern roadside motel (by the same) nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. All three acts are set inside the lobby of the motel with 4 motel room doors exposed above. There’s a door to the outside and a curtain behind the lobby counter that leads to a back room. Onstage there’s a couch in the middle and off to one side an old 1990’s computer station. There’s also an alcohol beverage tray between two blow-up furniture chairs. Everything here is suited to the time; including the landline telephone, the CD player with a CD storage rack, blockbuster video tapes on the counter, stenciled/ wallpapered walls, sponge painting, folding screen, fake plants, sun and moon art, Ansel Adams photo, MC Escher print, a set of Encyclopedia Britannica’s, and colorful 90’s rug. Lavinia Lovespell is the motels owner after her parent’s recent death in a methamphetamine’s explosion. She lives at the motel with her adopted brother, Kenneth, who was found as an orphan in the Appalachian hills as a small boy. Kenneth serves as the motel grounds/housekeeper and has his own made-up language (from spending the first few years of his life in the woods). Jason Waterfalls is Lavinia’s frenemy and the town’s local mechanic. He helped Lavinia’s Father work on the motel before his untimely death. The guests visiting the motel are Gabby Kline, Dr. Chaz Katz, Antoine Macarena, Annette S. Ericcson, Mrs. Heather Pleater, and Seattle Plaid. They each represent a variety of 1990’s tropes and stereotypes. The phone lines are cut, three people are murdered, and everyone is a suspect. Detective Carmen Sandiego shows up to solve the unsolvable case.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS (5 WOMEN, 5 MEN)

*18+ yr. old auditionees only. All characters of The Sweet Dreams Inn are zany, comedic, and over the top. This show is campy, occasionally breaks the fourth wall, and pokes fun at murder mysteries and 90’s culture. When considering how to portray these people, don’t hold back.

LAVINIA LOVESPELL (Female, Can Play Age 27-77, Role Type: LEAD)

Lavinia is from the deep south Appalachia. She inherited the roadside motel, The Sweet Dreams Inn from her parents after their untimely death in a methamphetamine explosion. She is a true Southern woman who is occasionally cruel, brassy, and brazen. She doesn’t much care for Kenneth, an orphaned child whom her parents took in as a small boy. She’s onstage for most of the show and has a mental break down somewhere along the line; strong comedic and Southern accent acting skills needed. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Reba McEntire, Delta Burke, Octavia Spencer in most roles she plays, The Entire Cast of Designing Women, Florida Evans in Good Times, & Peg Bundy.

GABBY KLINE (Female, Can Play Age 20-47, Role Type: LEAD)

Gabby is sweet and mysterious, but often blunt and funny. She’s a reclusive woman from The Midwest whose car breaks down on a stormy night outside The Sweet Dreams Inn. Gabby goes through multiple transformations (both in looks and personality) over the course of the show, so the actor must have a wide range of skills. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Moesha, Blossom, Daria, Angela Chase from My So-Called Life, and Phoebe & Ursula (twin from Friends).

DR. CHAZ KATZ (Male, Can Play Age 27-77, Role Type: LEAD)

Dr. Chaz Katz is a successful psychologist vacationing at The Sweet Dreams Inn with his younger lover, Antoine Macarena. Chaz is rich, well-educated, flamboyant, and funny. He’s at this tawdry place because he’s also married (to a woman) with two children at home. Chaz is well put together, fashionable, and charming but suffers from an “intimacy addiction” that gets him into trouble. This actor needs to be skilled at physical comedy. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Carlton Banks & Dr. Frasier Crane.

JASON WATERFALLS/ COP 1 (Male, Can Play Age 27-77, Role Type: SUPPORTING)

Jason worked for Lavinia’s father and is the town’s local mechanic/ drunk. He is currently one of Lavinia’s frenemies. He’s handsome, sweet, and loves a party. Jason must be skilled at physical comedy and be able to portray a Southern accent. This actor also comes back in the third act as a cop with ONE line who sings the theme song from Cops. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Slater in Saved by The Bell, & Freddie Prinze Jr.

ANTOINE MACARENA (Male, Can Play Age 20-35, Role Type: LEAD)

Antoine is a gender-nonconforming male vacationing at The Sweet Dreams Inn with Chaz, who is his older lover he met when his family brought him in for sexual conversion therapy. Antoine has a lot of one-liners and will likely be an audience favorite. He’s playful, a makeup and hair artist, and loves everyone. This actor must be comedy gold. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Bill Hader’s CLUB KID skit from SNL, Prince, Wilson Cruz from My So Called Life, Jack from Will and Grace, and RuPaul.

ANNETTE S. ERICCSON (Female, Can Play Age 25-65, Role Type: LEAD)

Annette is the Vice President of a Cellular Phone Company, Cellular One. She’s at The Sweet Dreams Inn on business. Annette doesn’t want to be at the Inn, and she makes that known. Annette is professional, mean, ballsy, and quick-witted. Her personality changes flirtatiously when she takes her sleeping pills, which can get her into some unlikely situations. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Murphy Brown, Lisa from SBTB, Karen from Will & Grace, Laura Winslow from Family Matters (especially in her treatment of Kenneth/Urkle).

DETECTIVE CARMEN SANDIEGO (Female, Age 25-100, Role Type: SUPPORTING)

Carmen serves as the detective and host of the plays 3rd act. This actor will need to have quality comedic and improvisational skills as they will interact with the audience during the accusation scene. Carmen is a tough as nails detective who pays homage to the original character with a lot of 90’s computer game references. Her characterization changes based on if she’s speaking with the suspects or the audience. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Detective Nina Moreno from New York Undercover, The Chief from Carmen Sandiego, Olivia Benson on SVU, Dana Scully from The X-Files.

SEATTLE PLAID/ CHI-CHI’S DELIVERY/ COP 2 (Male, Age 18-40, Role Type: FEATURE)

Seattle is the hot playboy, lead singer of a popular grunge band, Garbage Log. He’s come to the Sweet Dreams Inn with his main groupie, Heather Pleather. He’s only in one scene and speaks entirely in 90’s slang terms. The actor must be funny and memorable even with a short amount of stage time. This actor will double as the Chi-Chi’s Delivery Man and Cop 2 in Act 3. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Kurt Cobain, Jared Leto in the 90’s, Brendan Frasier.

MRS. HEATHER PLEATHER (Female, Age 18-30, Role type: LEAD)

Heather is the main groupie girlfriend of Seattle Plaid. She’s beautiful, ditzy, and doesn’t give AF anything happening at The Sweet Dreams Inn, unless it involves Garbage Log. Heather speaks in 90’s valley–talk and interprets for Seattle. She’s also secretly married to an 85-year-old man who’s rumored to be a millionaire drug lord. Heather thinks everyone else is lame. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Dionne and Cher from Clueless, Cordelia Chase, Buffy, Mean Girls.

KENNETH (Male, Can Play Age 20-70, Role Type: LEAD)

Kenneth was found abandoned, living in the Appalachian Hills as a boy by Lavinia’s parents. They raised him as her brother, but he’d already developed his own language and a penchant for befriending animals. Now that Lavinia’s parents are dead, Kenneth lives in the shed at the motel and serves as the house and groundskeeper. Kenneth is a total weirdo. This actor must have amazing comedic timing, be able to portray a made-up language in an Appalachian-esque accent and break out into song a few times. 90’s ROLE MODELS TO PULL FROM FOR THIS CHARACTER: Kramer from Seinfeld, Steve Urkle, and Slingblade.