Emerging Artists live up to their name!

Charlie Chaplin

Emerging Artists’ Fall New Work is well under way!

Playwrights have begun working on the 2012 Emerging Artists’ New Work about Charlie Chaplin.  Already in their fifth week of research and creation, they’ve begun turning out the first scenes of the brand new, original play that will see its world premiere on the Wayside Theatre main stage!  Here are some important facts for you to know:

All Emerging Artists’ productions are cast via open auditions!  This means that anyone who comes to try out for the play will have a chance to be in it.

Auditions will take place on August 29, 30, and 31 from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.

Performances are on November 9 and 10. 

And here’s a little bit of information about the man himself:

Charlie Chaplin?  He was a seriously cool character!  He was born in London in 1889, and both of his parents were music hall performers.  His father left when he was very young, and after his mother, Hannah, lost her voice she was unable to find work as a performer.  She took to sewing for sweatshops to make ends meet.  Eventually, Hannah was unable to make enough money to care for herself and her children.  After that, Charlie and his brother, Sydney, were in and out of work houses.  When Charlie was 14 years old, his mother had a mental breakdown, and he had to take her to the asylum.  She never fully recovered, and he had to fend for himself until Sydney returned from his most recent job as a steward on a ship at sea.  The brothers decided they would go on the stage, and within a year Charlie was gainfully employed playing the pageboy in Sherlock Holmes.  It was the first step in one of the most extraordinary rags-to-riches stories in modern history.

By the age of 30, Charlie Chaplin had made his way into one of the best burlesque/vaudeville acts in England, then to America and into film to become one of the highest paid people in the world.  He had also revolutionized the filmmaking industry by founding (with a group of fellow artists) the first independent movie distributor.

Want to know more?  Come out for auditions on August 29, 30, and 31, or join us for the performances on November 9 and 10!

Charlie Chaplin as The Tramp with child actor Jackie Coogan in The Kid.