Coachella Valley Repertory will hold auditions later this month in Cathedral City for high school students willing to participate in a one-act play about the dangers of bullying, with the play set to premiere in October during National Bullying Prevention Awareness month.
The performing arts theatre will hold auditions from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 26 and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 29 at 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive.
Organizers said actors should prepare a short monologue or be prepared to read from the script that will be provided at the audition.
“Power Play” was written by Canadian playwright Lindsay Price and will be directed by Howard Shangraw, who is the director of conservatory and youth programs at the theatre.
Five high school students are being sought to play five characters: Bitter, Belly, Brawn, Beauty and Breaker. The play will portray “graphic and intense” scenes regarding the violence of bullying.
“Violence is all about power, so is high school,” Price said. “The message hits hard — bullying, verbal abuse and the horror of a school shooting. School violence is real and happens every day.”
The free play for students will take place at 10:30 a.m. from Oct.7-10 at 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive.
Free bus transportation will be provided for students who attend to and from their schools.
Each performance will follow-up with a Q&A from the cast, crew, CV Repertory Artistic Director Adam Karsten and Shangraw.
“At least one in five kids is bullied and 13% of today’s tweens — nine to 12-year-olds — have reported bullying in school or online,” Shangraw said. “Bullying is responsible for youth suicides and school shootings. With such compelling and honest storytelling as in `Power Play,’ the participation of high school students from the Coachella Valley and support from our schools and bullying-prevention organizations, we can make progress.”