“I’m not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

Little Women is a wonderful depiction of family, womanhood and growing up. It follows the March family as they navigate the Civil War years and the years after, this time saw a divided America (not something we are unfamiliar with) and through this the March family deal with day to day life. The four March sisters; Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy grow before our eyes and we see them change from teenagers to grown up. Sometimes in times of trouble we want escapism and sometimes we need advice, Little Women delivers the best of both worlds and we hope this production will bring some comfort and joy while we wait for the theatre to reopen fully.

PTC will be releasing Little Women as an audio drama, it will be a four episode adaptation of the famous novel. Airing dates are still TBC but we are aiming for sometime in March, releasing one episode a week for a month. It will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and from the Putney Arts Theatre website. We are so excited to offer a large scale project ideal for production during stricter lockdown rules. It’s a story with many layered and well known roles, which we hope performers will be interested in getting involved in. See below for all the character and audition details.

Character Breakdown (cast of 14 - 9f / 5m)

We haven’t included any age guides for these roles, as it will all be determined by how you sound. All roles will need a mid atlantic, American accent, the story is set in Massachusetts during the mid 1800s, so although American, nothing too harsh.

Louisa May Alcott

The author and our narrator. This role requires a good storyteller who is confident with setting the scene for all our characters.

Josephine March

The protagonist of the novel, and the second-oldest March sister. Jo, who wants to be a writer has a temper and a quick tongue but she is also headstrong, confident and ambitious.

Meg March

The oldest March sister. Responsible and kind with a small weakness for luxury and leisure, but the greater part of her is mature and loving.

Beth March

The third March daughter. Beth is shy, kind and virtuous. She adores music and plays the piano very well.

Amy March

The youngest March girl. Amy is an artist who adores visual beauty and has a weakness for pretty possessions. She can be spoilt but she is the most honest of her sisters.

Laurie Laurence

The rich boy who lives next door to the Marches. Laurence becomes like a son and brother to the Marches. He is charming, a little conceited but with a good heart.

Mrs March (Marmee)

The mother. Marmee is calm, warm hearted and noble. She counsels the March girls through all of their problems and works hard to hold her family together while Mr March is at war.

Mr. March 

The father and Marmee’s husband. He serves in the Union army as a chaplain. When he returns home, he continues acting as a minister to a nearby parish. He is kind, thoughtful and proud.

Mr. Brooke

Laurie’s tutor and then Meg’s husband. Mr. Brooke is very similar to Mr March, he is virtuous and kind, he wants nothing more than happiness for his wife.

Mr. Laurence

Laurie’s grandfather and the Marches’ next-door neighbor. Mr. Laurence seems gruff, but he is loving and kind.

Aunt March

A rich widow and one of the March girls’ aunts. Although crotchety and difficult, Aunt March loves her nieces and wants the best for them.

Hannah (and others)

Hannah is the March’s housekeeper. The performer of this role will also play other smaller roles, so would suit someone who would be comfortable performing different voices and different characters.

Sallie Gardiner (and others)

Meg’s rich friend. Sallie represents the good life to Meg, and Meg often covets Sallie’s possessions. The performer of this role will also play other smaller roles, so would suit someone who would be comfortable performing different voices and different characters.

Frederick Bhaer (and others)

A respected professor in Germany who becomes an impoverished language instructor in America. Mr. Bhaer lives in New York, where he meets Jo and eventually becomes her husband. The performer of this role will also play other smaller roles, so would suit someone who would be comfortable performing different voices and different characters.

Auditions - 22nd & 23rd November at 7.30pm

For an audition slot please email zoe.thomaswebb@gmail.comwith your preferred audition day and which roles you are interested in auditioning for. You will then be sent a audition time slot, the zoom details and a piece to perform.

Rehearsals - through November and December

We will rehearse as a group via zoom through November and December. The roles of Jo and Louisa will need to be at most rehearsals, all other roles wouldn’t be needed at every rehearsal.

Recording - through January

We will record individually during January so each actor will need to devote one or two sessions in January.

Editing - through February

In February we will edit the episodes together, add music, sound effects and layer the performances. There will be no time commitment from the acting cast during this time, which means that all actors would be available to audition for other PTC projects.

Airing - Dates in March TBC

In March the episodes will air! We will be airing one episode a week which will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the Putney Theatre Website

Backstage Roles

We are also looking for the following roles to join the production team;

Editors - Anyone who are interested in helping with the editing process, you will receive guidance on how to use the editing software. It would be useful to be confident using tech.

Artist - We would love to get some artwork made up for Little Women, as this would be the only visual element of the production, it would be great to get something original.