Sign up by May 16 to Audition for Tartuffe

Sign up by May 16 to audition for a new verse version of Moliere's "Tartuffe" by Constance Congdon from a literal prose translation by Virginia Scott.

Auditions for Tartuffe will take place Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Mainstage of the Performing Arts Center. There will be no callbacks.

Directed by Evan Mueller.

Moliere's "Tartuffe," first performed in 1664, is a biting satire of religious hypocrisy, and a timeless classic of comic theatre, translated into rhyming verse by Constance Congdon. Tartuffe is a religious conman who infiltrates the household of a gullible man and his exasperated family.

“Constance Congdon slips into Molière’s tricky shoes and the fit is Cinderella-perfect. Congdon’s quicksilver wit and breathless urgency coax the dark heart of Tartuffe into glowing with a twenty-first-century heat.” -John Guare

Character Breakdown

• Madame Pernelle, mother of Orgon - She’s a demanding, mean & uptight old lady – everything has to be done her way!
• Orgon, husband of Elmire - He is so naïve and gullible, and - like a child - he overreacts and is prone to fits of rage. But really, he loves and adores his family. He’s trying to be a good person. He’s really trying…
• Elmire, wife of Orgon - There’s a bit of ‘real housewives’ about her, but in a good way. She’s smart, classy, and in control - it’s fun to watch her maneuver, such as when she is ‘playing a role’ to trick Tartuffe.
• Damis, son of Orgon - Like his dad, he’s a bit hot under the collar…
• Mariane, daughter of Orgon, in love with Valère - Charming and sweet, likes to make other people do things for her, a bit of a princess, but not at all a cream puff.
• Valère, in love with Mariane - Earnest, loyal, steadfast, maybe he is a bit of a creampuff. But he’s so sweet and charming!
• Cléante, Orgon’s brother-in-law - Reasonable, calm, circumspect, level-headed, charming. The complete opposite of Orgon.
• Tartuffe, falsely devout - A con man, a swindler, a charlatan. Posing as a priest to take advantage of Orgon’s naivete. He’s like a shapeshifter – pious at one moment, creepy at the next. Totally shameless in his attempts to manipulate.
• Dorine, Mariane’s suivante - The household servant, she’s smart, sassy, fearless. She’s our hero. It’s a wonder she doesn’t get fired for how brazenly she talks to her employers, but she’s so good at what she does, and she loves the family, and she’s so much fun to be around.
• Monsieur Loyal, bailiff, or sheriff’s officer - Yuck, slimy. He’s the repo-man, come to take their house away.
• The Exempt, an officer of the police - Noble, ethical, an ambassador of righteousness and the goodwill of the king!
• Flipote, servant of Madame Pernelle - Overtired! Overworked! Hangin’ on by a thread! You would be too if you worked for Madame Pernelle. Note: this actor will probably also play The Exempt

Preparation for the audition

From the audition material provided, please choose a speech from whichever character you are most drawn to, and prepare to present the speech at your audition. In addition, please be familiar with at least one other speech from the material provided.

It is not required for the speeches to be memorized, but please note: the roles will likely go to the actor who is most prepared! We’d like to see actors who can make sense of this poetic text, and who can approach it with strength and a sense of humor. Have fun with it!

• We will possibly (likely) surprise you by asking you to read a second (or even a third!) speech.
• Please read the character descriptions and sides provided!
• Please choose from among these speeches.

Content Disclosures

"Tartuffe" deals with religious hypocrisy, deceit, abuse of authority, and in a comic and satirical light shows Tartuffe’s despicable behavior, including sexual harassment and an aggressively attempted seduction. Intimacy coordination will be provided for our process. 

GPA Policy

In order to work on Department of Theatre and Dance, productions you must maintain a minimum 2.8 GPA. See GPA Requirement document for details.

Audition Form

Questions on this form include opportunities to share information about your identity, including gender, race and cultural background. Your answers help WWU prioritize authentic, appropriate casting as called for in each script. Please share only what you feel comfortable sharing.

Our department is committed to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices in all areas, including casting. Our goal is to create a casting process that is welcoming, absent of intimidation, and serves those auditioning as well as the creative team in the full exploration of the material in an environment of mutual trust.

In reference to the character descriptions – these are descriptions of the characters as identified in the script and in collaboration with the creative team. They are not meant to be exhaustive of who should play these roles and we seek to cast expansively and intentionally. We are striving to make our production and audition practices inclusive of performers of all races, ethnicities, national origins, gender expressions, body types, and abilities. We also recognize that these characters are written on the binary (use he/him or she/her pronouns) and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to submit for any roles they identify with.  We also welcome performers of all abilities and are prepared to provide any reasonable accommodations and resources needed in order to cast performers with disabilities.  (Thanks to the Actors Theatre of Louisville for their language and inspiration in this statement.)

Some questions on this form involve disclosing what you are comfortable with as a performer. Show-specific questions are below and you may also be given a longer, more detailed disclosure form to fill out the morning of auditions. You will be asked to return this form by the end of Audition Day.

Additionally, there are some resources made available here to inform you of Western Washington University’s procedures and protocols for moments of intimacy in our productions.

Audition Resources

Below are links to very useful Word documents which are resources to inform you of Western Washington University’s procedures and protocols for moments of intimacy in our productions.

• Production incident report
• WWU Actor Consent Form
• WWU Audition Disclosure Form
• WWU Intimacy and Instructional Touch Policy
• WWU Intimacy Protocols

Sign up to Audition by Friday, May 16 at 3 p.m.