Anyone who would like to pretend to be Sun Ra, a musician in his Arkestra, his manager, a judge, a bartender, a NASA official or a space alien needs to head to St. Louis Community College-Forest Park.
Those are some of the roles in “Discipline 27-II,” a new unpublished play about the legendary experiential jazz musician Sun Ra (1914-1993) by Bob Mielke. The college will audition for its original production of “Discipline 27-II” from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 18, and Thursday, February 19, in the Mildred Bastian Theatre on the STLCC-Forest Park campus, 5600 Oakland Ave.
“There are about 10 roles for African-American men; some of these are small roles and can be double-cast,” said Mary E. Hurley, professor and coordinator of Mass Communication at STLCC-Forest Park. “There are several roles for Caucasian men – a judge, a bartender and a NASA official.”
And then there are the space aliens – Sun Ra was an Afrofuturist who claimed to have been teleported to Saturn when a college student – and for the space alien roles, Hurley said, “age, race and gender don’t matter.”
African-American dancers and drummers also are needed for the production.
The production, to be staged on the Forest Park campus April 16-19, will be the premiere of the play by Mielke, a professor of English at Truman State University and longtime fan of the Sun Ra Arkestra.
“We will be rehearsing in the theatre on campus,” Hurley said. “I will develop the rehearsal schedule based on cast members’ availability, but it will require a lot of time and dedication in order to pull this off.”
Students as well as members of the community are invited to audition. Actors will read brief scenes from the script.
“Just come out and read,” Hurley said. “Don’t worry about being ‘prepared.’ This show is very unique.”
For more information, contact Hurley at mhurley@stlcc.edu or 314-644-9232.
