Elaine Jost thought the role of Marion suited her. Age was a big thing for the part, and she "wants to enjoy what's left of life," her character description said, so Jost was auditioning for the part.
Director Catalina Smith sounded like a broken record as Jost left the stage.
"Very good, Elaine. One of us will call you either way," Smith said, seated at the table in front of the stage at Immanuel United Methodist Church in Annandale. To some, Smith's monotone statement hinted at rejection, but not to Jost.
"If they don't pick you, that doesn't mean you're not good. You may not be the right person," she said.
Ruth Witty from Alexandria, was eyeing the part of Sally, described as the "hostess with the mostest," on the synopsis. Sally was supposed to be between 40 and 60 years old, a wide range, but right for Witty.
"She's the great connector of people, which I am," she said.
Witty and Jost were at Springfield Community Theater auditions on a whim. Witty had no acting experience but did have the desire and a good attitude. It was something she'd always wanted.
"If not now, then when?" she said.
Age was a factor for Jost, also.
"Roles are limited for my age," Jost said.
Springfield Community Theater's production of "Later Life" addresses a major mid-life crisis. Set in a penthouse overlooking the Boston harbor, it focuses on a middle-aged man who gets reintroduced to an old flame he met while stationed in Italy. All the hopefuls at the audition had age on their minds as well.
Washington, D.C., resident Natt Seelig traveled in on a whim. He read about the auditions on the Web. He was trying for the part of Duane, a 40-ish computer geek.
"It's a little older than my age range," he said, but he welcomed the challenge.
"I like the opportunity to give the community some exposure to the arts. I just did a show at Dominion Stage," he said, as he prepared to leave after auditioning.
"I was pleased with how it went," he said.
The evening wore on with script reading in the lobby, stand-ins on stage, and Smith going from line to line, watching each performance with the director’s eye.
"LATER LIFE" is the Springfield Community Theater's spring production. Opening in April, it is one of the shows the community theater does throughout the year at the Immanuel United Methodist Church in Annandale. The group's non-Springfield locale is not by choice, according to theater manager Anita Gardiner, who’s lived in Springfield since 1966.
"We've been looking everywhere in Springfield," she said.
The group used to perform out of St. Christopher's in Springfield until 1999, when the church was renovated. Since then, the group has been a wandering nomadic troupe, performing at various locations.
Area schools charged too much for the low-budget group, and other than that, there wasn't much choice around Springfield. The group has been looking for a permanent home and is eyeing locations such as the old Hechinger on Backlick Road, the Mars Music store or the old Circuit City building on Old Keene Mill Road, but everything seemed to come down to money.
"We can't afford schools," Gardiner said. "The Circuit City building has been empty forever."
A majority of Springfield Community Theater's shows are at Immanuel, and some are at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, which will soon begin charging for everything that the public schools charge for — janitors, heating, lighting, and a teacher on duty.
Immanuel isn't exactly the Kennedy Center, either. There are only 96 seats, and the parking sometimes extends out to the Giant Food parking lot next door, where cars have been towed in the past.
"We really want to be in Springfield," Gardiner said.