I Got My First Acting Gig as Audrey in Ken Ludwig’s “Leading Ladies”! – Opening This Week!

Ashlee Craft dressed as Audrey for Ken Ludwig's play Leading Ladies

Backstage Selfie of my “Tango Costume”

I am totally thrilled to announce that I was cast in Richey Suncoast Theatre’s production of Ken Ludwig’s farce “Leading Ladies” as Audrey! The play opens Thursday, & runs for a total of ten days over the last three weekends in October. You can see the full performance schedule here. If you’d like to come see it & you live in the Tampa Bay Area, get your tickets now!

This all started a little more than two months ago, when I started thinking about doing something big, something new. Something which would really pull me out of my comfort zone, & remove me from the rut I was starting to feel like I was in. I remembered there was a theatre in my area & read on their website about upcoming auditions. I decided to audition, & on the second day of auditions, I was cast as Audrey, the character that I’d hoped to be able to play. I was absolutely thrilled. It has been an amazing experience, to say the least, & definitely one of the most fun + rewarding things that I have done.

The plot centers around two broke Shakespearean actors named Leo & Jack, who have just gotten booed off the stage of their latest production. They hear about a dying woman who can’t find her sisters’ children, whom Leo & Jack assume are her nephews, based on their names. They plan how they can dress up & pretend to be her nephews to get her money when she dies. Unfortunately, a wrench is thrown into their idea when they learn the relatives are nieces, not nephews. The men decide to carry out their plan anyways, & arrive at the woman’s house dressed as girls. Action & hilarity ensues. Leo falls in love with the elderly’s woman’s niece, Meg, who is engaged to a stick-in-the-mud minister, & Jack falls in love with Audrey, who unsuspectingly gave the men information that allowed them to carry out their plan in the first place. You can read more about the plot here.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing one or two more posts on the topic of theatre acting & reflections on this experience. All I can say though is that acting is something which has definitely enriched my life significantly, & I look forward to doing it more in the future!