Don’t be late for this very important date. Do you think it’s time for tea yet? Well, around here, it’s always tea time. We continue our tenth anniversary season…or is it our un-anniversary season?…with a silly sojourn into Wonderland. You won’t need a rabbit hole or looking glass to join us and your favorite characters from Alice to the Mad Hatter to the Queen of Hearts for a raucous romp and a mystery only the mad can tell. You can join us for auditions for this hilarious family-friendly adventure we’re calling Malice in Wonderland!

AUDITIONS

Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, 2025 

4 to 6 p.m. at Red Rock Books

206 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.

Ridgecrest, CA

Malice in Wonderland is the wacky brainchild of MMP Hall of Fame Artists Daniel Stallings, Devanne Fredette, and Janis Kunz. The show was first pitched for our fifth anniversary, but it is now reaching its peak form for 2025. Combining the classic Wonderland cast with the mystery genre, keeping intact lots of wordplay, puns, and wisecracks, has been a joy for our writing team. Janis last saw playwrighting success with her play, How to Solve a Murder, in 2023. Daniel just closed the fifth revival of his play, Murder at the Red Fez. Devanne makes her playwrighting debut with MMP with Malice. Reuniting with our favorite independent bookstore, Red Rock Books, for an awe-inspiring seventh production, we are transforming the store into a storybook Wonderland with larger-than-life books, flowers, and personalities. This magical world will be the mainstage to our mystery. Directed by Devanne Fredette in her directorial debut, Malice in Wonderland will have tons of opportunities for theatre magic to be made from elaborate costumes, makeup, puppets, and colorful scenery. You don’t have to have any theatrical experience to take part. People interested in doing tech backstage can also sign up at auditions.

Actors need to be age 9 and older to audition. Those under 18 will need a parent/guardian signature on a permission slip AND a parent/guardian MUST attend any and all rehearsals their child attends. There are nine roles to fill. This is a fantasy show, so the roles are all considered gender-neutral and can be played by anyone.

The show performs July 18, 19, 25, and 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at Red Rock Books (206 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.).

During auditions, everyone will fill out an audition form which will ask for basics such as name, email, experience, availability, etc. These are just basics to give us an understanding on who the performer is as well as contact information. Then we pair up performers for cold readings of selected scenes from the original script by Janis Kunz and Devanne Fredette. Rehearsal schedule will be finalized after auditions based on actor availability. After auditions, casting emails will be sent out to actors.

If you are unable to attend the posted audition dates, but are still interested in trying out, message us on Facebook or email us at mastermysteryproductions@hotmail.com to schedule an outside audition.

SYNOPSIS

After an excellent game of chess, Alice is to be promoted to queen as she has successfully maneuvered to the eighth rank on the Looking-Glass chessboard. A mad tea party has been prepared in her honor to celebrate her coronation. Or is it her trial? You see, the jam tarts baked especially for her coronation have been stolen! And Alice is in a real jam when she’s caught literally red-handed! Accused of high treason for the crime of spoiling her dinner, Alice must stand trial in a wacky courtroom filled with even wackier witnesses from her Wonderland days. With the audience as her jury, Alice must plead her innocence before the judge rules a sentence before the verdict. Is it off with her head, or will she go off her head? In a magical, storybook location where the clock is always at tea time, the rules are better read backwards, and the characters are more than a little mad, Malice in Wonderland will keep you on your toes and constantly guessing as accusations, confessions, and heads fly. With games to play and enchanted places to explore, by the end of the night, you just might believe six impossible things before breakfast.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Alice, The Almost Queen — A young English woman whisked to Wonderland through both rabbit holes and looking glasses. With faint remarks of “curiouser and curiouser,” Alice has difficulty ascribing any sort of sanity or structure to Wonderland. After a game of chess, she is to be promoted to Queen, but the trial for the stolen tarts throws her completely off. She begs for rationality in a world where reasonable behavior is seen as lunacy.

The Queen of Hearts — The tyrannical ruler over the Kingdom of Playing Cards, whose philosophy of “sentence before verdict” governs her land. Quick to anger and not the least bit impartial, her cries of “Off with their heads!” echo around Wonderland, but while she threatens decapitation often, it is never carried out. Despite her tendency to fly into a rage, Wonderland law dictates that only a queen can judge a fellow queen.

The Red Queen — The rival queen captured by Alice playing the pawn in Looking Glass chess. Hot-tempered, virulent, and totally in support of executing Alice, the Red Queen despises her sister, The White Queen, and views anyone in support of her to be performing an act of unforgivable treason against the Red Kingdom. She is a bold liar and is willing to turn evidence in her favor by any means necessary.

The White Queen — The queen on the side Alice was playing in chess. She is the definition of calm, cool, and collected and generally fights for justice and fairness. She is the perfect foil opposite the hot-headed Red Queen with her more balanced demeanor. However, this doesn’t mean she believes Alice is innocent; She just wants Alice to have a fair trial.

White Rabbit — The Queen of Hearts’ right-hand rabbit who acts as everything from town crier to bailiff at the Queen’s trials. Perpetually running late and agitated beyond belief, the White Rabbit has a particular grudge against Alice for destroying his home. But he still believes Alice is his wayward maid Marianne.

The Mad Hatter — The eccentric, excitable Hatter is fond of ever-lasting tea parties and making general nonsense. He’s not at all distressed to be considered mad, always answering with a cheerful “We’re all mad here!”

March Hare — The Hatter’s perennial tea-time companion. Equally tea-obsessed and equally mad, the March Hare isn’t quite the yang to the Hatter’s yin. Will these two wrongs make a right? Or will these two rights make a left?

The Dormouse — The sleepy mouse who lives in the teapot during all the mad tea parties hosted by the Hare and the Hatter.

The Cheshire Cat — The riddle-speaking, wisecracking, near spectral feline who vanishes and reappears wherever and however he pleases. You can trust him. Sure. Or not. Probably not.

Malice in Wonderland will prove to be a fun, colorful twist on our favorite genre and give us an opportunity to empower new and growing voices in theatre, which has always been our mission. We welcome anyone who is interested to audition. No theatrical experience is necessary. We are happy to take and develop new talent all the time. Anyone interested in taking part in tech should also come to auditions to sign up. If you have questions or concerns or want to schedule an outside audition, email us at mastermysteryproductions@hotmail.com or message Master Mystery Productions on Facebook.

We’ll see you at auditions! Don’t be late! Now where did that rabbit go with my pocket watch…?

–Master Mystery Productions