November 16, 1998

Rocky Mount, NC -- Auditions for the Wesleyan Theatre production "A Shayna Maidel" will be held in Powers Recital Hall, Monday, November 30, and Tuesday, December 1. The production will be staged in late March and will be directed by Dr. Dick Stafford. Designer for the drama will be Michael Burnett. Ella Burnett is the costume designer. The trio recently worked together on the Wesleyan production, "Godspell."

Roles in "A Shayna Maidel" include two women in their twenties, a man near seventy, a man in his late twenties or early thirties, a woman in her forties, and four additional characters of either sex and of any age.

"A Shayna Maidel" was written by Barbara Lebow in 1985 and has been produced off-Broadway in New York. The play was first produced as a "play in progress" in 1984 and was funded in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts. The story centers on a Jewish family that immigrates to New York in 1946, following the atrocities during World War II in Europe. "The New York Times" reported on the first production, "A powerful haunting and deeply affecting portrait of a family, which conveys the aftermath of the Holocaust through a poignant and imaginatively conceived examination of one familys experience."

Rose Weiss, in her early 20s, is the central character in the play. She came to the United States from Poland at age four but is now completely Americanized. Everyone else in the play speaks with a heavy Yiddish/Polish accent. Other characters include Mordechai Weiss, Roses father, who is almost 70 and very aristocratic. Lusia Weiss Pechenik, who is Roses older sister, is in her late 20s and younger in some "memory" scenes. David Pechenik, Lusias husband, is 30 years old, but also younger in "memory" scenes. Hanna is a childhood friend of Rose. Momma, who is Rose and Lusias mother, appears in the play at various ages during her life.

Persons interested in a role in "A Shayna Maidel" may attend either night of the scheduled auditions. Auditions are from 7-9 p.m. in the recital hall in the Dunn Center. For more information concerning the play please call (252) 985-5167.