In the Lyons Den: Screenplay and Auditions

Posted by Dan Stasiewski on Sep 1, 2006 in Random | 0 comments

Part One It’s 11:55 a.m., five minutes before auditions begin, and John C. Lyons is talking to a pair of women at a registration table behind the locked doors of the Erie Playhouse Rehearsal Hall, 919 State Street. Outside, where I’m at, 15 or so hopefuls have been waiting, some since 11:30 a.m., to get their shot at a role in Lyons’ first feature film Schism. Dancers. Kids. Older men. Young adults. The crowd is diverse enough, but it’ll get bigger before the day is through. When I leave after watching five auditions, there are 25 people waiting outside the 2nd floor audition space. More actors are downstairs registering and having their photo taken as I exit the building. The auditions will go long with nearly 75 aspiring actors, young and old, auditioning until 6 p.m., long past the...