Life as Joby – Auditions Sept 10 & 12

Description

Synopsis:

A journey into the mind of a young alcoholic. The audience experiences how the actors playing Joby’s consciences work in his mind and ask the question “to drink or not to drink?”. Joby, as do most of us, have several influences in their mind.  These influences are our consciousness.  This story has all of them; from whatever to evil and they all play a part in every single decision.  Joby’s sister, Sentry, and her friends tell their stories, and they become interwoven into his uncontrollable life. This is a cautionary tale of such destruction that if we don’t help ourselves then perhaps there will be no one around us left to help. 

Character Descriptions: Teens (2 M, 4 F and 10 either)

Joby – Young adult (preferably older than the other characters):  An alcoholic obviously trying to make his life feel better than it is.  Indications are not specific, yet he clearly has had to look after his younger sister Sentry for quite some time and perhaps has taken a toll on him.  He loves her with the deepest part of his soul but feels the need to be numb for most of it…. Whether it be from his upbringing, the loss of his own childhood or the constant pressure to be the parent for her, in doing so lost himself in the process. 

Sentry –(High school age maybe sophomore)  Is sweet, she still has a zest for life with friends and ambitions.  She is also easily broken by rejection but will always protect her brother.  With parents that are constantly absent, she feels that her and Joby are a team and can work through any adversity, except she keeps herself naive to his problems with alcohol.  She is defensive and denies that there is a rip in their lives.

Morto – (Same age as Sentry)  Is a life long friend of Joby and Sentry, they grew up next door to each other.  He is wise to Joby’s situation but tries to use humor to alleviate the tension.  He has secretly had a crush on Sentry for some time but has not found a way to tell her that afraid that it would ruin the relationship with him and Joby.

Michelle –  (Sentry’s best friend)  Sentry does not tell her much about the home life she has with Joby but Michelle knows that there is a rift and something is wrong.  She is a big support to Sentry and tries to be an ear and desperately wants her to be safe and happy. 

Ana, Tara, Dina (Friends they all are of Sentry’s age; all in the same school and dance class)  They care for Sentry deeply.  They can relate to secretly taking drinks or partying when they knew it was wrong, however, they are witness to what can happen when done in excess.  They can understand the repercussions when the party stops and things go sideways.  They are a great support for Sentry even when she doesn’t want it.

THE CONSCIOUSNESS:  These players are always on stage with Joby.  They should always be in character whether they have lines or not.  They should purvey their influence on him through action.

Sensible –  This character is all about logic; can be stoic and matter of fact about situations.

Whatever – No cares in the world; just moving as the situation leads them.

Goody – Always looking on the bright side of things and seeing no bad in any choice.

Evil – Feeds the dark side; Loves and needs to be heard.  This character will always influence any decision.

Angry – This character is just that!  Angry does not care who they hurt in their rage.

Truth – Will speak facts; will be scientific and logical but far too often is ignored.

Sympathetic – Cares and is loving but overlooks the bigger issue.

Wishy Wash – Will always do and say whatever the other person says or does… never having their own opinion or stance. Low self esteem.

Moralistic – Tries so hard to get him to choose the right path and help him recognize what he is doing wrong.

Anxiety – Scared, paranoid and always unsure of what is happening and what should be happening with no clue as to what to do.