Following the debuts of The Diary of Anne Frank and Les Miserables last year, both theatric works with heavy undertones, WJ S*T*A*G*E is determined to lighten the mood with the comedy Noises Off this fall.
Auditions took place during the second week of school, and saw close to 60 students come to try out for nine roles. Callbacks were the day after initial auditions and the final cast list was posted the weekend of Sept. 8-9. Thirteen people in total were cast; four of those roles were double-cast.
Senior Felice Amsellem has played leading characters in four of her five previous WJ productions, most recently the role of Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank, and Cosette in Les Miserables. This will be her sixth show at WJ. Although throughout her years of experience with S*T*A*G*E and performing Amsellem has become accustomed to the audition process, she said these auditions were a little different, partially due to the magnitude of people who auditioned. But Amsellem also felt the pressure of getting another lead role in Noises Off.