Davidson Community Players will host an audition workshop for actors age 14 and up on Saturday, Feb. 27, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. at the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson. This free workshop, supported by an N.C. Arts Council grant, is designed to help actors prepare for summer auditions in the area. Also in this column, a preview of the March production of “Violet,” a reminder about the college’s “Nine Parts of Desire,” and other theater news.

AUDITION WORKSHOP

The Feb. 27 audition workshop will feature actors from the company’s upcoming production of “Violet,” including local actor/director Dennis Delamar, musical director John Smith, director Melissa Ohlman-Roberge, and choreographer Felicia Davis.

Actors will have a chance to work their own monologues and songs (which they should prepare ahead of time and bring with them) as well as learn a simple dance combination similar to what they may encounter at other auditions. They will also hear working professionals speak about what directors and casting agents look for in auditions and ask any questions they may have about the auditioning process.

This workshop can provide an invaluable experience to actors pursuing amateur and/or professional work, especially to those actors unfamiliar with the auditioning process and atmosphere. No registration is required and the workshop is free.

Davidson Community Players hopes the actors attending this workshop will also attend their summer auditions for the musical “Oklahoma!” on March 15-16 (possible callback March 17) and the comedy “Noises Off” on March 29-30 (possible callback on the 31st).

SPRING BREAK & SUMMER CAMPS

Davidson Community Players’ youth theater group The Connie Co. will host a School’s Out Drama Camp for young actors to have fun and learn about basic acting and production techniques during Spring Break, April 5-9.

The camp’s theme will be “Theatre Play and Improvisation.” A morning session from 9-noon each day will be offered for children ages 5-7; an afternoon session from 1-4 p.m. will accommodate actors ages 8-10.

The camp will offer 15 hours of instruction in an authentic theatre environment at the Armour Street Theatre, 307 Armour St. The week will culminate in a sharing for family and friends.

Camp fee is $80 per student; campers should bring a snack and a water bottle each day. Scholarships are available.

DCP is also currently registering for summer camps for children ages 4 thru 12, grouped by age. This year’s summer theme is The Connie Company: Wild Wooly & Wonderful. Each camp includes 15 hours of instruction in an authentic theater environment with snack included. Each camp culminates in a sharing for family and friends.

Register online at Davidson Parks & Rec, www.d-recs.org. For scholarship information, contact Davidson Community Players at 704-892-7953.

‘NINE PARTS OF DESIRE’

Davidson College’s theater department continues its run of “Nine Parts of Desire” by Heather Raffo through Sunday at Barber Theater in Cunningham Theatre Center on the Davidson campus.

The play, directed by Sharon Green, uses a series of interwoven monologues to explore the struggles, triumphs, and passions of a cross section of Iraqi women.

Remaining performances are Friday, Feb. 19, and Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are: $8 general admission, Faculty/Staff/Seniors: $5, Students: $4. For ticket information visit the college arts ticket website.

‘VIOLET’ COMING IN MARCH

Davidson Community Players will produce 15 performances of the award-winning musical “Violet” March 11-28 at Armour Street Theater.

With a score that includes bluegrass, gospel, the Memphis blues, and other familiar styles, “this powerful musical swells with a truly Southern spirit and soul,” according to Davidson Community Players. Both heart-breaking and hopeful in its message, “Violet” shows us the need to look beneath the surface to find the true beauty within us all.

Based on the short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Statesville author Doris Betts, the musical follows the journey of Violet, a 25-year-old whose face has been horribly scarred by a childhood accident. As she journeys from Spruce Pine, N.C., to Tulsa, Okla., seeking the aid of a televangelist faith-healer to remove the scar, she befriends two soldiers, Flick and Monty. The pair have their own experiences with prejudice and unfair judgment based on appearance. She also communicates with her late father, the man responsible for the scar-inducing accident, as she begins to understand the difference between love and beauty. By the time she reaches Tulsa, Violet has gained far more than the outward beauty she so desperately sought.

Dennis Delamar joins the cast in a reprisal of his highly-praised performance as the father at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte a few years ago. Cassandra Wood of Mooresville will portray Violet, while Timothy Thomas of Charlotte and Jack Stevenson of Rock Hill play the two young soldiers Flick and Monty, respectively. Young Violet will be played by Hannah Roberge.

A large ensemble and choir of local favorites and new faces fill out the cast. Director Melissa Ohlman-Roberge and Musical Director John Smith team up again after their award-winning collaboration on “West Side Story” last summer.

“Violet” will be performed at the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson, NC on March 11-13, 18-20, and 25-27 at 8 p.m., with additional performances on March 14 and 21 at 7 p.m. Matinees will be March 14, 21, 27, and 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15-$18. For reservations, call 704-892-7918 or go to www.carolinatix.org. Recommended for ages 12 and up

LEGEND OF MICHEL NEY

Lee Street Theatre in Salisbury will produce “Nay! Ney (Double Ney),” a comedy written and directed by Catawba College Professor Emeritus James Epperson about the legend of the mysterious and fascinating Marshal Michel Ney.

The show runs Feb. 17-20 at 7:30 p.m. at Looking Glass Artists Collective, 404 N. Lee St., Salisbury. Tickets are $10 general admission, $8 senior citizens.

“Nay! Ney (Double Ney)” is based on the true story and legend of a North Carolina school teacher who claimed while dying to be Marshal Michel Ney, Napoleon’s most famous general, supposedly executed in France.

On a November night in 1846, three rising stars of the American stage, Joseph Jefferson, Charles Burke, and Margaret Burke, are gathered around an isolated North Carolina campfire rehearsing a play they plan to present in Philadelphia. Having been forced by bad weather from their preferred means of travel, via riverboat, they are making the best of their inland trek when a drunken old man in a military style coat and waving a broken sword comes roaring out of the surrounding woods and challenges them to “do battle.”

The night-long struggle that ensues brings to the surface numerous events out of the old man’s past…or does it? As the actors join in the old man’s quest to find a personal peace, the mystery of his true identity plagues them as the characters become entangled in numerous real -life, as well as theatrical, role playing actions.

Ney has a Davidson College connection. A resident of the Davidson area and an erudite schoolteacher, he was approached by Davidson College trustees to design a new seal for the college in 1840.

More information: Robert Jones, 704-636-6612 or leestreettheatre@gmail.com or www.leestreet.org.