Website URL Clayton Community Theatre
Clayton Community Theatre announces open auditions for Terms of Endearment, by Dan Gordon, directed by Jessica Johns Kelly.
Auditions: Thursday May 7, 2026, 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday May 9, 2026, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Callbacks if needed: May 11, 2026, 6:30 p.m.
First rehearsal to be scheduled in mid-May.
Performances: July 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, August 1 and 2: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:00.
Audition requirements: you must sign up for a time slot in advance; see https://placeseveryone.org/auditions for details.
The auditions will consist of cold readings from the script (sides available on the web site and at the auditions), and will be held at the theatre: Washington University South Campus Theatre (the old CBC High School building), 6501 Clayton Rd, Clayton MO 63117. (Park in the lot to the west of the building off Clayton Road; enter at the glass doors.) Auditioners are encouraged to download the audition form from http://placeseveryone.org/ and fill it out in advance.
Synopsis: Aurora, a widowed and controlling mother, and Emma, her feisty and independent daughter, have a close but often strained relationship, connected by frequent phone calls and strong opinions. Emma marries Flap Horton, a young college professor, who turns out to be a philandering husband. Meanwhile, Aurora develops a relationship with her next-door neighbor, Garrett, a retired astronaut. The play explores the complex relationship between the mother and daughter as they navigate life’s challenges including love, marriage, family, and loss with humor and heart.
Characters:
Aurora – Female – Any ethnicity – Age Range: 50 – 70
Mother of Emma with whom she has a complex, strong, yet caring relationship. She’s completely involved in her daughter’s family problems. Smart, “hard-to–please,” she is passionate in life and love. Attractive, boldly direct, Aurora has us laughing in her most controlling moments.
Emma – Female – Any ethnicity – Age Range: 20 – 35
Realistic, feisty when she needs to be, sees the good in life. As smart as her Mom, she has the heart of a lioness and is deeply committed to her husband, her children, and her mother. She navigates the tempestuous waters of family relationships with perceptive understanding and humor.
Garrett – Male – Any ethnicity – Age Range: 50 – 70
Next-door neighbor to Aurora. A retired astronaut. A womanizing alcoholic who has let himself go. Develops a tenuous and surprising relationship with Aurora. Despite his incorrigible behavior he certainly has his charming and endearing moments and has Aurora’s back in the end.
Flap – Male – Any ethnicity – Age Range: 20 – 40
Emma’s high school sweetheart and now wayward husband. Inattentive to Emma, except for spontaneous sex. Trying to find his own path he accepts a position of a college professor in Des Moines, Iowa, separating the family hundreds of miles from Emma’s meddlesome mother. Tries to step up for Emma in the end.
Patsy – Female – Any ethnicity – Age Range: 20-35
Emma’s best girlfriend who goes to college, eventually becoming successful in New York City. Also smart, full of life, a dedicated friend, she is always there for Emma.
Doctor Maise – Male – Any ethnicity – Age Range: 40 – 70
Emma’s doctor, impatient, clinical, brusque, and not very forthcoming at first.
Additional Roles:
Nurse – Female – 18-55
Doris (young date of Garrett) – Female – 18-30
Young Aurora – Female – 18-25
*These three parts could be played by one actor
Visit our website to access the audition form and audition sides: placeseveryone.org
Bonus – everyone who auditions will receive a complimentary ticket to any CCT production this season!