Jack The Ripper. David Berkowitzthe Son of Sam. The Hillside Strangler. The Zodiac Killer. The name Herman Mudgett doesn't often come to mind along with names of the worlds most infamous serial killers, but the most prolific killers in history have very mundane names like Luis GaravitoColombia's “monster of the Andes,” and Dr. Harold ShipmanEngland's “Dr. Death.” With a possible 100 or more victims. (Some estimate somewhere around 350.) Mudgett is likely to be one of the most prolific killers in modern times. Mudgett was a man who set-up shop as a pharmacist during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Mudgett built a bizarre castle there with winding stairways to nowhere and doors that opened into brick walls. There were trap doors to basement acid pits. Mudgett was a monster far more prolific and arguably far worse than his more infamous counterparts, but aside from bring the subject of Erik Larson's 2003 novel The Devil In The White City, Mudgett's life has rarely been explored in fiction. This coming October Aaron Kopec and the Alchemist Theatre present Murder Castle--a new drama based on the life of Mudgett Kopec has been working on the script for quite some time. Next month, the Alchemist Theatre will be holding open auditions for the show.
Auditions will be hald at the Alchemist Theatre from 1 – 5pm on Sunday, May 16th for male actors, from 6pm -10pm on Thursday, May 20th for female actors and 1 – 5pm on the 23rd for anyone who can't make the other two nights. Those making appointments to audition will be given priority over walk-ins.
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Those auditioning will have two minutes to audition. Two minutes. Do whatever you can to make an impression. I'm not sure what they're going for here, but it sounds interesting.
Rehearsals begin (tentatively) on August 30th. The show runs October 7th – 30th.
This is the Alchemist's third Halloween show and it sounds even a bit more ambitious than the other two, which featured Jack the Ripper (in'08) and Dracula (in '09.) This sounds like fun. It'll be an interesting opportunity for any actor.
