LEXINGTON, Va., Aug. 29, 2024—The VMI Community Theatre will hold auditions for its fall show, “The Real Inspector Hound,” Monday, Sept. 9; Tuesday, Sept. 10; Wednesday, Sept. 11; and Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7:45 p.m. in Gillis Theater located in Marshall Hall on post. Cadets and community members may audition any of the four evenings. Seven adult male and three adult female roles will be cast. Those interested in auditioning should come prepared to cold-read from the provided script. Stage crew members are also needed. No experience is necessary for either actors or stage crew. 

The one-act, written by Tom Stoppard, is a parody of the stereotypical parlor mystery in the style of Agatha Christie’s, “The Mousetrap,” and is a play within a play. Two drama critics arrive to the theater to watch the performance of a new detective play, however the private lives of the critics become inextricably mixed with those of the play’s characters, blurring the boundary between fiction and reality. While the story is set in a theater, the play within the play is set in Muldoon Manor, a lavish manor surrounded by desolate marshes and treacherous swamps, and opens with a body lying on an otherwise empty stage. The maid, Mrs. Drudge, gravitates to the radio, oblivious to the corpse, and turns it on just in time for an overly expository message explaining that police are searching for an escaped madman in the swamps surrounding the manor. Eventually Inspector Hound from the police force arrives on the scene, apparently searching for the madman, and the company finally notices the body. 

Performances of “The Real Inspector Hound” are scheduled for VMI’s Family Weekend, Friday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 20. Rehearsals will be held Monday through Thursday evenings 7:45 through 9:00, beginning Sept. 16. Specific nights will be determined after casting. For additional information, email the director, Tim Price at timprice17@gmail.com.  

-VMI-