{"id":3854,"date":"2015-07-20T10:47:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T15:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/?p=3854"},"modified":"2019-06-04T16:21:06","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T21:21:06","slug":"auditions-for-harry-and-walter-aug-1-and-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/2015\/07\/20\/auditions-for-harry-and-walter-aug-1-and-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Auditions for ‘Harry and Walter’ Aug. 1 and 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/a><\/a>Missouri Western State University will hold Equity principal auditions and non-Equity auditions in Kansas City Aug. 1 and St. Joseph Aug. 2 for actors to play the part of former President Harry Truman in a new multi-media play titled \u201cHarry and Walter: Missouri\u2019s Native Sons.\u201d The play will premiere on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 in conjunction with the dedication of the third phase of the Walter Cronkite Memorial on the Missouri Western campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parallels between Harry Truman and Walter Cronkite fascinate me,\u201d said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western\u2019s president and author of the play. \u201cThey were both native Missourians who knew many of the same people; in fact, Cronkite\u2019s father served in Truman\u2019s battalion in World War I. They both rose to national prominence at about the same time, and both were noted for their honesty and integrity. This play gives us a chance to spotlight these famous Missourians while exploring the historic times in which they lived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry and Walter\u201d will be the second live multimedia performance associated with the Walter Cronkite Memorial. \u201cCronkite\u201d premiered last Nov. 4, on what would have been the legendary newsman\u2019s 98th<\/sup> birthday. Noted Kansas City actor Jim Korinke portrays Cronkite as he is interviewed by Larry King one year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, reflecting not just on that tragedy but on other historic moments he covered during his career. The show has been warmly received by audiences at its public performances, and was entered in the 2015 Pulitzer Prize competition by several scholars and journalists (including Cronkite\u2019s son, Walter Cronkite III) who believed the show deserved broader recognition. Korinke will reprise his role as Cronkite for \u201cHarry and Walter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Individuals auditioning for the role of Truman should resemble and be able to recreate the voice of the former president. This is a continuing performance opportunity that occurs on an irregular schedule that coincides with special events and group tours of the Walter Cronkite Memorial. The rehearsal schedule is flexible based on the performers\u2019 schedule. Salary will match AEA\/SAG-AFTRA scales for rehearsals and performances.<\/p>\n

Auditions must be scheduled in advance online at griff.vn\/auditions. Auditions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 1 at Musical Theatre Heritage in Kansas City\u2019s Crown Center, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2 in the Kemper Recital Hall, inside Spratt Hall on the Missouri Western campus in St. Joseph. Actors with questions may contact Dr. Bob Willenbrink, founding dean of the School of Fine Arts at Missouri Western, by phone at 816-271-4515 or email at rwillenbrink@missouriwestern.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Walter Cronkite Memorial was dedicated on Nov. 4, 2013, as a fitting tribute to the St. Joseph native who anchored the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981. The memorial has attracted approximately 4,600 visitors from 41 states and five foreign countries. The 5,000 square-foot memorial in the atrium of Spratt Hall includes images, videos and memorabilia of Cronkite\u2019s life and the many events he covered as a journalist.<\/p>\n

The premiere of \u201cHarry and Walter\u201d on Nov. 2 will coincide with the dedication of the third phase of the memorial, which includes a replica of the CBS studio from which Cronkite broadcast the CBS Evening News in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe studio will include equipment, memorabilia and signage that is as historically accurate as possible,\u201d said Dr. Gordon Mapley, dean of the Western Institute. \u201cPeople who remember that era will immediately recognize the rounded desk, the logos, the maps, the vintage cameras and pedestals. Those who are younger will have a better sense of how the news was delivered during Cronkite\u2019s era.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visitors to the studio will be able to have their picture taken sitting behind the anchor desk and printed on-site or posted to social media.<\/p>\n

The Walter Cronkite Memorial received the Missouri Division of Tourism\u2019s Spotlight Award at the 2014 Missouri Governor\u2019s Conference on Tourism. It is open daily except Christmas, New Year\u2019s Day and Easter, and admission is always free. Learn more at www.waltercronkitememorial.org.<\/p>\n

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit <\/em>www.missouriwestern.edu<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Missouri Western State University will hold Equity principal auditions and non-Equity auditions in Kansas City Aug. 1 and St. Joseph Aug. 2 for actors to play the part of former President Harry Truman in a new multi-media play titled \u201cHarry and Walter: Missouri\u2019s Native Sons.\u201d The play will premiere on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48],"tags":[145,416,780],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8065,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854\/revisions\/8065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}