Black Box Auditions

Every Brilliant Thing

By Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe

Sunday, June 15 at 7pm

Monday, June 16 at 7pm

Director: Christine Crawfis

Stage Manager: Christine McCarthy

Producer: CENTERstage Productions

Performance Dates: September 14 - 16, 2025, Friday and Saturday at 8PM, Sunday at 3PM in the Black Box downstairs at The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck

About the play:

When life reaches rock bottom, we grasp for hope. For a child, that hope can be as simple as listing the things worth living for every day: Ice cream. Water fights. Kung Fu movies!

An uplifting play about depression, Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing has become a global phenomenon since its Edinburgh fringe debut 10 years ago. It has been performed in 63 countries in hundreds of productions.

The play’s conceit is simple. In response to his mother’s suicide attempt, a young child makes a list of all the things worth living for – like water-fights, ice-cream and “things with stripes”. As he gets older the list keeps growing. The magic lies in the way the audience is invited to participate. They are assigned lines and even roles in the story. Almost everyone contributes and a community is created.

Ultimately, Donahoe attributes the success of the play to its form. “We ask a group of people to involve themselves in a show about how to deal with the hardest things we ever deal with – depression and loss and grief – and these are all things you can’t do alone.”

About the role:

This is a one-person show. The title “narrator” is provided by the playwright for “ease of reading,” but it is never used in the play. The Narrator is grounded, authentic, and a truthful storyteller. He/she will be present in real time and space in the room in which the play takes place. He/she must be compassionate and smart. He/she brings a spontaneous sense of play and discovery to the storytelling, playing with the people and objects found in the room at any given performance.

We will be looking for someone who is comfortable with audience interaction, experienced at improvisation, skillful at reading the room, and highly emotionally intelligent.

The performance requires stamina, as the one performer does not leave the stage for the duration of the 70+ minute show, and there is no intermission. Interaction with the audience members is required and a significant part of the play. The subject matter is intense, and while this is a comedy/drama, the material may be difficult or triggering for some performers, and this should be considered prior to auditions. It is strongly suggested that performers review the script prior to auditioning. The performer can be female/male/nonbinary.

We are looking for a performer between the ages of 30 and 60, who is bright and buoyant, inviting and approachable, sincere and affable, cheeky-charming, comedy bone is ESSENTIAL, helpful if a little inscrutable or mysterious. Comedy/improv skills a major plus. Also, a major plus if this person can play piano.

 To Prepare for the Audition:

In the audition, you will meet and get to know some of the kind-hearted members of the EBT production team. We ask that you come prepared to tell us a story that is 3-5 minutes long (time flexible). This story could be a true story from your life. It could be a story from someone else’s life. We ask that you incorporate some sort of audience participation in the telling of this story. Think about how you can include the audience into your story so that you can’t tell the story without them. The audience participation could be a million different things and there is no right or wrong way to do it. It could look like:

•  Asking the audience for a suggestion on how to deliver the story (on a rollercoaster, while tying your shoe…)

•  Having an audience member read or tell part of the story as a character in the story

•  Arranging the audience in a particular way to enhance the experience of telling the story

The possibilities are endless! We just want to see that you are thinking about how to bring your audience into the storytelling experience.

There will also be sides available OR you can come prepared with a monologue. (If you want to prepare a monologue, choose one that features direct address to the audience.)

HERE is a link to a digital copy of the script if you would like to familiarize yourself with the material. Sides will be available in person at the audition if you wish to read from the script.

If you have any questions about the audition, please contact Director Christine Crawfis at ccrawfis@hvc.rr.com