Auditions for, “The Firebugs” had few, but promising actors present. Only four students showed up to the first round of auditions and five for the second round.

The play was written for radio in 1953 by Swiss playwright and novelist Max Frisch, but was later adapted for television and the stage in 1958, with a total of six scenes.

The, “Firebugs: A Morality Without a Moral,” is centered around a town that is often attacked by arsonists who disguise themselves as door-to-door salesmen and eventually talk their way into the homes of their victims.

Director Ed Douglas chose the play after much deliberation.

“We were going round and round about what we were going to do,” said Douglas. “ I had plays on every flat surface of my house. And then I saw “The Firebugs” and realized ‘that’s it.’”

Douglas, who has directed such plays as “Three Friendships, Two Urns, and a Bird,” and “Twelfth Night,” is also a fight director who has choreographed fight scenes for “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet.” He has not only directed the play before, but has also acted in it.

Auditions on Feb. 20 held not only first-time auditioners but also students who had been called back from the previous day as well.

One student who was called back that day was two-time GCC production veteran Aldo Garcia, 23. He appeared in, “A Pleasant Life” and “A Flea in Her Ear.”

“It’s a great experience to audition,” he said. “It was nerve-wracking but rewarding.”

Garcia, who first wanted to be an architecture major switched his major to theatre arts.

“I was with a company that was building sets, but I took a theater class, auditioned, got a part and I was hooked,” he said.

Anthony Leyva, another theater arts major had good feelings about his audition.

“I projected and it created an awesome effect, so it went well,” he said.

“I projected and it created an awesome effect, so it went well,” he said.

Leyva has auditioned for four GCC plays and has been in “Almost, Maine” and will also be appearing in the musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” that opens on April 3.

Angela Thompson, a first-time auditioner, sat on an empty table, intently studying a scene from the play for her audition.

“I’m not really nervous because I’ve been reading this for the past hour,” said Thompson. “But when you audition, you get this tingling feeling and it’s addictive.”

Throughout the auditions Garcia and Leyva showed off their acrobatic skills when they proceeded to defy gravity, executing various aerial and side flips.

Glen De Bont, stage manager for “The Firebugs” and an international student from Belgium, chose between his managerial position over auditioning for the play.

“I hope I made the right decision,” he said. De Bont also appeared in past GCC productions such as, “A Doll’s House” and “A Flea in Her Ear.”

De Bont decided to be the stage manager of the play for experience.

“I wanted to audition,” he said. “But I’ve already been in two plays. It’s a small cast, so I thought I’d give other people who need experience and the class to graduate a chance.”

According to Douglas, the audition process is not easy on anyone. However, Douglas was very pleased with the actors who tried out for the play.

“My philosophy is to go with the best actor, and try to stay out of their way,” he said.

Opening night for “The Firebugs” will be May 1 at 8 p.m. and will run from May 1 to 4 and May 8 to 10.