Auditions for "Roshomon" set for May 16 at the Fox

The Aurora Fox theater will hold auditions for “Rashomon,” the first show of its 27th season, on Monday, May 16.

The drama by playwright by Fay and Michael Kanin is based on the stories by Ryunokuke Akutagawa, and filmmaker Akira Kurosawa used the basic plot as the foundation for his 1950 film. The available roles in the Fox’s production are for six men aged 20 to 60 or older, and three women aged 20 to 50. The show will include two roles for members of the Actors’ Equity union.

Performances of “Rashomon” will run from Sept. 9 to Oct. 9 on the Aurora Fox main stage, leading the five selections in the Fox’s next season.

Actors’ Equity auditions will run from 6 to 7 p.m. and all other auditions will go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Aurora Fox theater, 9900 E. Colfax Ave.

Akutagawa’s mystery plays like a modern detective novel in an ancient setting, Aurora Fox Executive Producer Charles Packard earlier this year. Behind the exotic locale, the 12th century setting and the samurai sword fights lies a whodunit that should be familiar to Western audiences.

“At the beginning of the play, it is made clear that a samurai has been murdered. The circumstances of that murder are in dispute and a magistrate is called,” Packard said. “It plays a little bit like an episode of CSI. You get to see all of the possibilities play out.”