Saugus theater group gearing up for Martin play

SAUGUS – Auditions for the next Theatre Company of Saugus production – “The Underpants” – will be held Sunday, Dec. 7 and Monday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the East Saugus United Methodist Church on Chestnut Street.The play is a farce by comic Steve Martin that he adapted into a farce from the original play by Charles Sternheim in 1910.Performances will be Feb. 27-28 and March 1, 6, 7 and 8 at the East Saugus church.Auditions are open, but those who wish can make appointments for a specific time by writing to [email protected] play is a farce whose setting is Dusseldorf, Germany, where a puritanical bureaucrat fears a scandal because his wife dropped her bloomers while watching a parade for the king.As the “scandal” turns into a spectacle, the characters reflect upon a number of things, including society’s fascination with fame, ideas about gender roles and its love of all things naughty.The play contains a lot of word play, off-beat humor and banter.Call-back auditions will be on Tuesday, Dec. 9 starting at 7 p.m.Rehearsals will be on a few dates during the holiday season, starting on Dec. 16, and then will occur on a full schedule through January and February on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting at 7 and on Sundays starting usually at 3 p.m.Directing will be Larry Segel, who is a veteran of the TCS. He’s directed several shows for the company, including “Cherry Orchard,” “Iphegenia in Aulis,” “Midsummer Nights Dream,” “Dancing With Demons-Alcohol” and “Little Women.” He co-directed “The Wizard of Oz” and “Auntie Mame.”Segal has acted in many other company shows over the past 20 years and also directed four shows for the Winthrop Playmakers.Stage managing will be Wesley Toma-Lee.All roles are available. There are roles for two women and five men, all ranging in age from 20s through 60s.Auditions will include cold readings from the script. All those auditioning are also welcomed to prepare a monologue, either comic or serious, but it is not required.For complete details, including directions, role descriptions and contact information, please visit the Auditions page on the Theatre Company of Saugus website at http://tcsaugus.org.