Below you will find a summary and list of characters for this spring's production of Anne of Green Gables. Included for each are the character's gender and preferred age range, as well as a brief description of their personality and different character traits. For this play, we are seeking actors as young as age 8 through adults of all ages. With questions or for more information, send an email to clearviewtheatre@clearviewbc.org.
Auditions are Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 2:00 PM in the Hub.
Auditions are Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 2:00 PM in the Hub.
Plot Summary
At the turn of the century on Prince Edward Island, 60-year-old Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla decide to adopt an orphan boy to help take care of their farm, Green Gables. But they get an unexpected jolt when they're mistakenly sent a girl instead: Anne Shirley. Anne's a dreamer with an unusual point of view, far removed from Marilla's pragmatic ways, and it's only on trial that Marilla agrees to keep Anne...if Anne can keep out of trouble. Turning her community on its head, Anne falls into a series of scrapes (and off a roof), makes a bosom friend, searches for (and finds) several kindred spirits, and blossoms into an intelligent, vibrant young woman. Along the way, Matthew and Marilla discover that their lives have also become a great deal richer, now that Anne is at Green Gables.
Character Descriptions
ANNE SHIRLEY: (female, teens) – An intelligent, self-sufficient orphan whose bravery and kind heart bring a fresh outlook and bright light to those around her. She is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert who live on their family farm, Green Gables. Anne is stubborn, passionate, loyal, and intelligent. She loves beauty and fantasy, and wants to be a good person but has a short temper. Talkative, chipper, and stubborn. Redheaded, freckled, and homely-looking.
MATTHEW CUTHBERT: (male, 50s+) – A bachelor who lives with his unmarried sister, Marilla. Matthew is painfully shy and a little eccentric. Shy and quiet, but quickly brought to life by Anne's constant devotion. Anne considers Matthew a kindred spirit and always turns to him when she wants a sympathetic ear.
MARILLA CUTHBERT: (female, 50s+) – An unmarried woman who lives with her unmarried brother, Matthew. Although Marilla bears a stern exterior, underneath she has a wry sense of humor and a loving heart. Although she raises Anne strictly, she loves her adopted daughter, and by the end of the play she has become softer and more expressive.
RACHEL LYNDE: (female, 40s+) – The town busybody who likes nothing better than to give her opinion and preach her own morals. She lives next door to Green Gables, and an affectionate, quarrelsome friendship exists between her and Marilla. She is outspoken about everything from politics to fashion, and, although childless, she never fails to advise Marilla on how to raise Anne.
MR. PHILLIPS: (male, 20s) – The schoolmaster at Avonlea during Anne’s first year at Green Gables. Mr. Phillips is an inattentive teacher and a capricious disciplinarian. Mr. Phillips spends class time flirting with his oldest student, Prissy Andrews.
PRISSY ANDREWS: (female, older teen-20s) – An older teenager, Prissy considers herself grown up enough to court her teacher, Mr. Phillips. She is standoffish toward the other students and overtly flirtatious with her teacher.
DIANA BARRY: (female, teens) – Anne’s best friend. Diana is a pretty girl Anne’s age who lives next door and immediately becomes her loyal best friend. Sweet and caring. Pretty but in no way vain.
MRS. BARRY: (female, 40s) – Diana’s mother. Mrs. Barry is a severe, unforgiving woman. She expects her children to follow strict and sometimes unreasonable rules and worries about her daughter's associations. Her fussy nature gives way to an open heart when Anne saves her youngest daughter.
MINNIE MAY BARRY: (female, child under 10 years old) – Diana’s little sister. Young and spirited, she sometimes irritates her strict mother. Minnie May falls ill with the croup, but Anne saves her life.
JOSIE PYE: (female, teens) – An Avonlea schoolgirl who antagonizes Anne Shirley and vies for Gilbert's attentions. Not particularly smart or hard working, she carries a proud sense of entitlement. Aloof. A party girl who is brash and effortlessly abrasive.
RUBY GILLIS: (female, teens) – Ruby inclines toward sentimentality and seems to care more for her good looks and her string of boyfriends than she does for her studies.
MOODY SPURGEON MACPHERSON: (male, teens) – One of the boys in Anne’s class at the Avonlea school and a classmate of hers at Queen’s Academy. He is studying to become a minister and has a bit of a superiority complex.
CHARLIE SLOAN: (male, teens) – One of the first people to recognize Anne’s charms. Charlie admires Anne from afar from the time they are children. He wants to become a politician when he grows up and enjoys teasing the girls and pranking the boys.
JANE ANDREWS: (female, teens) – A plain, sensible girl in Anne’s group of friends. Jane is not particularly ambitious, imaginative, or pretty, but she is steadfast and reliable.
GILBERT BLYTHE: (male, teens) – A handsome, smart Avonlea boy who becomes Anne’s rival when he makes the mistake of teasing her about her red hair. Popular among the other students, he dreams of becoming a doctor. Rivals Anne for top marks in school. His heart is quickly captured by Anne. Self-assured. Charming. Hard working.
TILLIE BOULTER: (female, teens) – A calm, sensible girl.
JIMMY GLOVER: (male, teens) – A general pest and annoyance at school.
BESSIE WRIGHT: (female, teens) – Bessie has an undeniable crush on Gilbert Blythe, and makes no effort to hide it. Unfortunately, he does not give her the attentions she desires.
CARRIE SLOAN: (female, teens) – Carrie is the sister of Charlie Sloan. She is mischievous and spirited.
MISS SUSAN STACY: (female, adult) – The village teacher after the unpopular Mr. Phillips departs. Her unorthodox teaching methods worry the conservative Avonlea trustees, but all of her students love her. She becomes a role model and mentor for Anne.
AUNT JOSEPHINE BARRY: (female, 50+) – Diana’s old aunt. Aunt Josephine is very rich and lives in a mansion a few towns away. She has come to expect people to cater to her, although when they do it bores her. Anne’s vivacity and unorthodoxy charm Aunt Josephine, and an unlikely friendship between them develops.
MISS ROGERSON: (female, adult) – The girls’ class Sunday school teacher. She has a high expectation of her students and is impressed with Anne’s quick wit and ability to memorize.
REVEREND BENTLEY: (male, 50+) – An elderly minister at Avonlea. Mr. Bentley does little to inspire his congregation and gives dull, lengthy sermons.
REVEREND ALLAN: (male, young adult) – The newly appointed village minister. Young and energetic, he is a good man and a natural leader of the community. He is enthusiastic about his new position.
MRS. ALLAN: (female, young adult) – Wife of the new minister. Mrs. Allan exudes youth, beauty, and natural goodness, and becomes a mentor for Anne.
STATIONMASTER: (male/female, adult) – Jovial and easy going. Timeliness is important and he maintains a prompt schedule.
MRS. BLEWETT: (female, adult) – A woman living in Avonlea. Mrs. Blewett offers to take Anne in as a babysitter when she learns that Marilla intends to replace Anne with a boy orphan. Mrs. Blewett is a nasty, stingy woman, and not fit to care for a child, even though she has many of them.
JERRY BUOTE: (male, adult) – The farmhand at Green Gables. He helps Matthew with the hard manual labor. A simple, country man.
MARY JO: (female, teens-20s) – Hired French-Canadian maid for the Barry household. Young and eager to please, she is a very anxious girl and has been the recipient of Mrs. Barry’s temper on more than one occasion.
PRESIDENT OF QUEEN’S ACADEMY: (male, adult) – Prestigious, intelligent, and well-spoken. Delivers the commencement address.
MR. SADLER: (male, adult) – Attempts to buy the Green Gables farm upon Matthew’s death.
ENSEMBLE: (male/female, all ages) – Ensemble members will include schoolchildren, graduates, townspeople, mourners and pallbearers.
MATTHEW CUTHBERT: (male, 50s+) – A bachelor who lives with his unmarried sister, Marilla. Matthew is painfully shy and a little eccentric. Shy and quiet, but quickly brought to life by Anne's constant devotion. Anne considers Matthew a kindred spirit and always turns to him when she wants a sympathetic ear.
MARILLA CUTHBERT: (female, 50s+) – An unmarried woman who lives with her unmarried brother, Matthew. Although Marilla bears a stern exterior, underneath she has a wry sense of humor and a loving heart. Although she raises Anne strictly, she loves her adopted daughter, and by the end of the play she has become softer and more expressive.
RACHEL LYNDE: (female, 40s+) – The town busybody who likes nothing better than to give her opinion and preach her own morals. She lives next door to Green Gables, and an affectionate, quarrelsome friendship exists between her and Marilla. She is outspoken about everything from politics to fashion, and, although childless, she never fails to advise Marilla on how to raise Anne.
MR. PHILLIPS: (male, 20s) – The schoolmaster at Avonlea during Anne’s first year at Green Gables. Mr. Phillips is an inattentive teacher and a capricious disciplinarian. Mr. Phillips spends class time flirting with his oldest student, Prissy Andrews.
PRISSY ANDREWS: (female, older teen-20s) – An older teenager, Prissy considers herself grown up enough to court her teacher, Mr. Phillips. She is standoffish toward the other students and overtly flirtatious with her teacher.
DIANA BARRY: (female, teens) – Anne’s best friend. Diana is a pretty girl Anne’s age who lives next door and immediately becomes her loyal best friend. Sweet and caring. Pretty but in no way vain.
MRS. BARRY: (female, 40s) – Diana’s mother. Mrs. Barry is a severe, unforgiving woman. She expects her children to follow strict and sometimes unreasonable rules and worries about her daughter's associations. Her fussy nature gives way to an open heart when Anne saves her youngest daughter.
MINNIE MAY BARRY: (female, child under 10 years old) – Diana’s little sister. Young and spirited, she sometimes irritates her strict mother. Minnie May falls ill with the croup, but Anne saves her life.
JOSIE PYE: (female, teens) – An Avonlea schoolgirl who antagonizes Anne Shirley and vies for Gilbert's attentions. Not particularly smart or hard working, she carries a proud sense of entitlement. Aloof. A party girl who is brash and effortlessly abrasive.
RUBY GILLIS: (female, teens) – Ruby inclines toward sentimentality and seems to care more for her good looks and her string of boyfriends than she does for her studies.
MOODY SPURGEON MACPHERSON: (male, teens) – One of the boys in Anne’s class at the Avonlea school and a classmate of hers at Queen’s Academy. He is studying to become a minister and has a bit of a superiority complex.
CHARLIE SLOAN: (male, teens) – One of the first people to recognize Anne’s charms. Charlie admires Anne from afar from the time they are children. He wants to become a politician when he grows up and enjoys teasing the girls and pranking the boys.
JANE ANDREWS: (female, teens) – A plain, sensible girl in Anne’s group of friends. Jane is not particularly ambitious, imaginative, or pretty, but she is steadfast and reliable.
GILBERT BLYTHE: (male, teens) – A handsome, smart Avonlea boy who becomes Anne’s rival when he makes the mistake of teasing her about her red hair. Popular among the other students, he dreams of becoming a doctor. Rivals Anne for top marks in school. His heart is quickly captured by Anne. Self-assured. Charming. Hard working.
TILLIE BOULTER: (female, teens) – A calm, sensible girl.
JIMMY GLOVER: (male, teens) – A general pest and annoyance at school.
BESSIE WRIGHT: (female, teens) – Bessie has an undeniable crush on Gilbert Blythe, and makes no effort to hide it. Unfortunately, he does not give her the attentions she desires.
CARRIE SLOAN: (female, teens) – Carrie is the sister of Charlie Sloan. She is mischievous and spirited.
MISS SUSAN STACY: (female, adult) – The village teacher after the unpopular Mr. Phillips departs. Her unorthodox teaching methods worry the conservative Avonlea trustees, but all of her students love her. She becomes a role model and mentor for Anne.
AUNT JOSEPHINE BARRY: (female, 50+) – Diana’s old aunt. Aunt Josephine is very rich and lives in a mansion a few towns away. She has come to expect people to cater to her, although when they do it bores her. Anne’s vivacity and unorthodoxy charm Aunt Josephine, and an unlikely friendship between them develops.
MISS ROGERSON: (female, adult) – The girls’ class Sunday school teacher. She has a high expectation of her students and is impressed with Anne’s quick wit and ability to memorize.
REVEREND BENTLEY: (male, 50+) – An elderly minister at Avonlea. Mr. Bentley does little to inspire his congregation and gives dull, lengthy sermons.
REVEREND ALLAN: (male, young adult) – The newly appointed village minister. Young and energetic, he is a good man and a natural leader of the community. He is enthusiastic about his new position.
MRS. ALLAN: (female, young adult) – Wife of the new minister. Mrs. Allan exudes youth, beauty, and natural goodness, and becomes a mentor for Anne.
STATIONMASTER: (male/female, adult) – Jovial and easy going. Timeliness is important and he maintains a prompt schedule.
MRS. BLEWETT: (female, adult) – A woman living in Avonlea. Mrs. Blewett offers to take Anne in as a babysitter when she learns that Marilla intends to replace Anne with a boy orphan. Mrs. Blewett is a nasty, stingy woman, and not fit to care for a child, even though she has many of them.
JERRY BUOTE: (male, adult) – The farmhand at Green Gables. He helps Matthew with the hard manual labor. A simple, country man.
MARY JO: (female, teens-20s) – Hired French-Canadian maid for the Barry household. Young and eager to please, she is a very anxious girl and has been the recipient of Mrs. Barry’s temper on more than one occasion.
PRESIDENT OF QUEEN’S ACADEMY: (male, adult) – Prestigious, intelligent, and well-spoken. Delivers the commencement address.
MR. SADLER: (male, adult) – Attempts to buy the Green Gables farm upon Matthew’s death.
ENSEMBLE: (male/female, all ages) – Ensemble members will include schoolchildren, graduates, townspeople, mourners and pallbearers.