Audition for a show
Department of theatre
Auditions for Devil Boys From Beyond
by Buddy Thomas and Kenneth Elliot
Based on an original script by Buddy Thomas
Click here to sign up for an audition slot!
Digital audition form coming soon!
Learn the Song “Sensitive Girl”
Monday, April 13, 2026
12:00-1:15pm (community workshop)
Williams Theatre 113
More information below under Characters.
Audition
Monday, April 20, 2026
6:30-8:30pm (individually scheduled time slots)
Williams Theatre 113
Callbacks
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
6:30-8:30pm (group workshop—just show up!)
Williams Theatre 113
Audition Format
Present a 60–90 second contemporary comedic monologue. Monologues that feature camp, satire, melodrama, drag aesthetics, and heightened theatricality are strongly encouraged. Explore bold character choices, playful mannerisms, and intentional superficiality rather than realism.
Callbacks will consist of cold readings from the script. Sides/scenes will be provided at callbacks.
To be considered for the role of Matilda Van Buren, a 16-bar cut (30-45 seconds) of her song is required for the audition. All genders are encouraged to audition if they can sustain the vocal demands of the song. More information below under Characters.
Definitions
Camp
Camp embraces exaggeration, artifice, irony, and pleasure in performance itself. Performances may be knowingly superficial, flamboyant, and self-aware. Actors are encouraged to wink at the audience, expose theatrical construction, and delight in excess, contradiction, and surface.
Melodrama
Melodrama heightens emotion and stakes beyond realism. Feelings are big, demonstrative, and theatricalized, often tipping into excess or parody.
Satire
Satire exaggerates behavior, identity, and power to reveal their absurdity. Performances may openly acknowledge the joke and the theatrical frame.
Characters
- Florence Wexler – A little Southern woman with a big secret.
- Gilbert Watts – A tough New York City newspaper editor.
- Gregory Graham – Burnt out ace photographer and booze hound.
- Matilda Van Buren – Star reporter, and legend in her own mind.
- Lucinda Marsh – A headline chasing Grande dame with a nose for news.
- Dotty Primrose – Ancient proprietress of the Evening Primrose Motor Lodge.
- Harry Wexler – Florence’s husband… or is he?
- Jack Primrose – Sheriff of Lizard Lick & Dotty’s husband… we think.
To be considered for the role of Matilda Van Buren, a 16-bar cut (30-45 seconds) of her song is required for the audition. All genders are encouraged to audition if they can sustain the vocal demands of the song.
Song: “Sensitive Girl” — a classic mega-musical parody requiring dramatic flair
Vocal Range: B2-A4 or B3-A5 depending on voice type
Learn the Song: Join us with Dr. Matthew Giallongo on Monday, April 13 from 12:00-1:15pm in Williams Theatre 113 to learn the music for the song and leave with a rehearsal track to practice with before performing a cut in your scheduled audition.
About the Play
Set during one hot summer in 1957, Devil Boys from Beyond spans across New York City, Lizard Lick, Florida, and beyond. It is an outrageous sci‑fi comedy packed with flying saucers, an alien invasion, backstabbing divas, and unapologetic camp excess all to playfully expose rigid social structures, gender norms, and power dynamics.
Drag in this production is a visible, joyful construction. We will openly acknowledge theatrical artifice, wink at the audience, play with superficiality, exaggeration, and persona, and revel in the surprise of comedy itself.
The production may explore stylized vocal choices inspired by the mid‑century, including Transatlantic or Old Hollywood affectations and exaggerated regional dialects. These vocal styles are understood as theatrical constructions. They could be part of the camp, drag‑inflected language of the play.
Rehearsal & Performance Schedule
First Rehearsal
Monday, August 24, 2026
7:00–10:00pm
Williams Theatre (WT) 113
Typical Rehearsal Schedule
Monday–Friday
7:00–10:00pm
Tech Rehearsal
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Beginning at 10:00am
Dress Rehearsals
September 21–24, 2026
6:30pm–11:30pm
Performance Dates
September 25–26, 2026 at 8:00pm (6:30pm call time)
September 27, 2026 at 2:00pm (12:30pm call time)
October 1–3, 2026 at 8:00pm (6:30pm call time)
If you audition and are offered/accept a role, you commit to the rehearsal, tech, dress, and performance schedule listed above. This is a fully staged production, and all performers will be fully memorized and off‑book for performances.
Casting
Casting is open to all:
- PFW students
- IUFW students
- Fort Wayne community members
This production embraces flexible and exaggerated drag personification. Performers may be cast across gender identity, including performers playing characters in drag with heightened, stylized interpretation.
Content Rating & Considerations
Rating: R
- Strong language
- Exaggerated sexual commentary
- Stylized and comedic sexual situations
- Camp, drag, and heightened caricature
Suggested Reference Titles (Optional)
These examples are not required viewing, but may help clarify the tone and aesthetic of the play:
- Mars Attacks! (1996 film)
- Earth Girls Are Easy (1988 film)
- The Twilight Zone (1959-1964 television series)
- The Birdcage (1996 film)
- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995 film)
- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994 film)
Script Access
A perusal script may be checked out from the Williams Theatre Office (WT 128) through the Department Secretary, Joanne Schultz. This script is not in the public domain and cannot be shared electronically. Actors will not have access to audition sides in advance. You may also purchase a copy of the text from Concord Theatricals.
Contact Information
If you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to reach out. I would be happy to provide more context or guidance.
Austin M. Rausch, Director