IMPORTANT DATES

Informational Meeting: Wednesday, April 16th, 6 pm-7 pm, in the Auditorium.

Auditions: Friday, May 9th, 5:30 pm-9 pm, in the Auditorium.

Cast Meeting: Tuesday, May 13th, 6 pm-8 pm, in the Auditorium.

Performance Dates: September 18-21, 2025

SIGN UP FOR AUDITION SLOT HERE

ABOUT THE SHOW

It is opening night of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s production of the 1920s murder mystery The Murder at Haversham Manor. The thespians have seen success with previous plays, and the time has come to present this show––a play similar to Agatha Christie’s’ The Mousetrap––to you, the audience, whether they’re ready or not. 

Excitedly, Director Chris Bean welcomes the audience while the company is frantically making last minute changes to the set. They don’t have time to finish, but the play must go on! 

Character Charles Haversham is killed, and the murder mystery plot begins to progress, but not very smoothly. Enter Jonathan, who outright trips on his entrance. Thomas and Perkins try to enter, finding the door to be stuck shut. 

A plethora of calamities ensue, including disappearing props, missing actors, collapsing sets, forgotten and entirely flubbed lines, breaking character, and more. Throughout the mishaps and chaos on- and backstage, Inspector Carter tries to conduct an investigation on the death of Charles. 

The first act ends as the characters realize the murderer must still be in the manor. During the play intermission, the director tries to assure the cast that this isn’t the worst play in the history of ever––and they press forward to Act II. 

But the more the play progresses, the worse the acting gets. What will be the big climax: the reveal of the murderer or how this acting troupe survives this performance?

CHARACTERS

CHRIS: Head of the drama society and plays Inspector Carter in “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” High status clown. Rigid, uptight, everything really matters; he is the director of the show and this is the biggest day of his life; everything is riding on this; it is a nerve wracking and exciting night; his pain is evident and every time someone laughs the pain deepens; he has equal amounts of contempt for his fellow actors and the audience watching the play; British accent. 

ROBERT: Plays Thomas Colleymoore in “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” Wants to be like Richard Burton as evidenced by his declamatory style; he is, however, not a parody of a bad actor; he is unaware of others around him; he does not feel badly when things go wrong and never learns from his mistakes; there is a power struggle between Robert and Chris to be president of the Cornley Poly Drama Society (a position that matters a great deal to Robert); British accent. 

MAX: Plays Cecil Haversham in “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” He has never been on stage before. He learned his lines and does exactly what he’s told to do. He has zero connection with any of the other actors, but when he gets a laugh, he breaks the fourth wall and engages with the audience. Childlike and naïve. His mistakes are fundamental. He doesn’t think anything through, just looks for approval. British accent. 

DENNIS: Plays the butler, Perkins, in “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” He has no real desire to be involved in the theater; he just wants to make friends (of which he has none). He believes if he does well in the show, he will be more successful socially. Laughter from the audience is agony for him. He may be slightly oblivious but understands when he gets things wrong. The laughter is a personal tragedy/failure; British accent. 

TREVOR:The play’s lighting and sound operator; He simply wants to get on with the show; curmudgeonly and doesn’t care for actors; He is easily distracted and does many things he shouldn’t, including engaging with the audience; when things go really sideways, he is forced to act in the play; he hates acting; American accent. 

JONATHAN: Plays Charles Haversham in “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” A bit bland but sees himself as a James Bond type. Excited and having fun, but not naïve. He technically must drive the show. He cares about the play, but not to the same extent as the others. Very physical role. British accent. 

SANDRA: Plays Florence Colleymoore “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” She is vain and possesses a huge ego. Wants to be loved. Has ambitions to go to Hollywood and will hurt anyone standing in the way of what she wants but is smart enough to stay on the good side of someone who can help her. The stakes are high for her. Very physical role. British accent. 

ANNIE: The stage manager; she has the biggest journey of any of the characters; when Sandra is indisposed Annie, who cannot bear to be on stage, must step in; initially terrified by acting, she is willing to kill for it by the end of the play; her initial terror turns to joy, and then to fury; she starts small, but grows and grows; American accent.

STAGE CREW ENSEMBLE: Members of the Cornley Drama Society stage crew. Physical roles. Seen throughout the play. These are “acting” stage crew members and will not be on the actual stage crew of the show.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a physically demanding show. Most roles will require varying amounts of crawling, climbing, lifting, running, and/or falling. There is also a sword fight and some hand-to-hand combat. British accents are required for all characters except Annie and Trevor.

Any questions? Please contact the Director, Mr. Tyler Smith at tsmith@mths.us