MARQUETTE, Mich.—Community members and Northern Michigan University students are invited to audition for the upcoming Forest Roberts Theatre production, The Near East. Auditions are scheduled from 6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 29-30. Callbacks will be held at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

To sign up for a time, visit mysignup.com/forestrobertstheatre. Actors will enter the space six at a time for 30 minutes. Each will be asked to read scenes from the script and time will be allotted for interviews with the director. Show dates are Feb. 14-18 and 21-25 at the James A. Panowski Black Box Theatre. The show will also travel to Ohio March 28-April 1 for three performances.                                                          

In the play by Alex Lewin, American archaeologist Ken Schneider is hired by Arab feminist scholar Aisha Ghazali to search for the elusive Umm al-Kitab, the “Mother of Books.”  Disillusioned by the recent death of his son and the loss of his wife, Ken questions what it means to believe in God while they undertake this controversial mission. Meanwhile, Aisha’s brother struggles with his own religion, caught between love and his possible devotion to radical Islam. Tinged with echoes of Arab-American conflicts, the new play is a portrait of love and loss, terror and hope.

For more information, call 227-2553.