A small-town theater will open its 2026 season with a deeply personal story about friendship, loss, and survival.
Seneca Community Players announced auditions for Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz, scheduled for early January at the Lafayette Theater in Waterloo.
Auditions will take place Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, both starting at 7 p.m., at the Lafayette Theater at 202 W. Main St. Actors will read from the script and take part in scene work and improvisation.
Lonely Planet centers on two friends, Jody and Carl, and unfolds inside a map store where Jody has largely shut himself off from the outside world. As Carl brings chairs belonging to friends who have died into the store, the story explores friendship, fear, and responsibility during the AIDS crisis.
The play focuses on the bond between the two men and the choices Jody must make when faced with taking an HIV test and stepping back into life.
The production is casting two roles. Jody is written as a man who can play ages 30s to 40s, described as an introspective dreamer anxious about the outside world. Carl is written as a man who can play late 20s to 30s, a dreamer deeply connected to his friends and sometimes grandiose.
Lonely Planet will be performed March 7, 8, 9, and again March 13, 14, and 15 at the Lafayette Theater in Waterloo.
Anyone seeking more information about auditions can contact the director at 585-202-9143 or by email at [email protected].
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