Big Dawg Theatre Company
Presents
The Explorers Club
Directed by Holli Saperstein
About the play:
London, 1879 — and the prestigious Explorers Club is in absolute chaos. Their fearless acting president has just proposed the unthinkable: admitting a woman into their all‑male society. And to make matters worse, their bartender is so catastrophically bad that even the gin is afraid of him.
Enter Phyllida — brilliant, dazzling, and fresh off the discovery of a legendary Lost City. She’s everything an explorer should be… except, of course, for being a woman, which apparently might topple the entire British Empire. No pressure. What follows is a whirlwind of scientific guinea pigs, venomous cobras, furious Irishmen, questionable cocktails, and the occasional airship zooming overhead. It’s a madcap Victorian adventure where decorum goes out the window and hilarity storms in. Nell Benjamin’s riotous 19th‑century farce cements her place among today’s most exciting playwrights — and this world of chaos, charm, and absurdity is just waiting to explode onstage.
Audition Notes:
Auditions are being held at 432 Landmark Dr STE 1
Date(s) - Saturday June 20 @ 3PM
- Sunday June 21 @ 3PM
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. No preparation is necessary.
Available roles include 8 men (ages 25-70+) and 1 woman (25-55)
- Lucius Fretway - Botanist and acting president of The Explorers Club
- Phyllida Spotte-Hume - Explorer and anthropologist seeking club membership
- Harry Percy - Daring adventurer and celebrated explorer
- Luigi - A member of a lost tribe with a talent for physical comedy
- Professor Cope - Eccentric Herpetologist
- Professor Sloane - Traditionalist scolar and Phyllida's chief opponent
- Professor Walling - Zoologist and Club member
- Sir Bernard Humphries - Private secretary to Queen Victoria
- Beebe - Explorer (also doubles as an Irish assassin)
- Countess Glamorgan - Phyllida's twin sister (same actress that plays Phyllida)
Performance dates are August 13-16 and August 20-23, 2026
For questions contact Steve Vernon, Artistic Director-Big Dawg Theatre Company, at svernonadbigdawg@gmail.com.
Big Dawg Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.