AUDITION NOTICE: Drowning Ophelia - Centenary Theatre Group

Title: Drowning Ophelia

Presented By: Centenary Theatre Group

Genre: Dark Comedy

Synopsis: Jane doesn’t know what to do with the literary character who has taken up residence in her bathtub. Ophelia delights in singing songs about death and valentines, interrupting Jane’s carefully planned fantasy dates with an actor named Edmund, and bringing up memories of a brother Jane would rather forget.

As Jane’s past intrudes dangerously on her present, it becomes clear that Ophelia is not simply a character from Hamlet, but a long-forgotten messenger with a question from Jane’s own troubled mind: How do you move on when reconciliation is not an option?

A dark comedy from new writer Rachel Strayer (USA, 2023).

Audition Date: Sunday April 12th, 2026

Audition Time: From 10AM

Audition Location and Address: Chelmer Community Centre, 15 Queenscroft Street, Chelmer

Audition Requirements: Cold reads from the script plus a prepared reading of a Shakespearean sonnet

Audition Registration: Contact director for enquiries

Performance Dates: 11 July – 2 August 2026

Performance Times: Friday and Saturday evenings, with matinees on some Saturday and Sunday afternoons

Performance Location and Address: Chelmer Community Centre, 15 Queenscroft Street, Chelmer

Warnings: Themes of mental health, grief, and dark humour

Performer Age: 18+

Creative Team: 

• Director - Rhyll Bucknell

Production Website: Centenary Theatre Group - Drowning Ophelia

Other Information: 

• Opportunity available for a Stage Manager (experience welcome; training provided).

• Enquiries: enquiry@centenarytheatre.com.au or via Facebook Messenger.

• Please do not audition if you cannot commit to the performance dates.

Available Roles/Character Breakdown:

• Ophelia - Straight out of Hamlet; childlike and purposeful; sings a cappella

• Jane - Female, 30–40; obsessive and emotionally on edge

• Adam - Jane’s elder brother; devastatingly likeable

• Edmund - Actor; equal parts charm and awkwardness

• Electronic voice & female nurse voice