About 30 hopeful theater arts students and other aspiring actors auditioned on Sept. 4 and 5 for the first play of the semester, “A Flea in Her Ear,”  GCC’s fall mainstage production, which will be presented at the main auditorium in November.

“A Flea in Her Ear” is a new version of Georges Feydeau’s farce by David Ives and will be directed by Matt Foyer. According to Foyer, the play is “great for students” and has a “really great audience buzz.”

The play, set in 1900s France, is about mistaken ideas. “Everybody in the play is either not getting enough sex or wants a lot more sex,” Foyer said. “[The play] entertains the idea of having affairs left and right and the characters who aren’t [having affairs.]”

Auditioner Ren Madlangsakay, former vice president of the Theatre Guild showed her support by helping her fellow actors rehearse their cold readings. “Why would I consider theater?” Madlangsakay said. “I was so shy. How could I talk to someone without embarrassing myself?”

However, after her part as Yasmin in a past production at GCC, Madlangsakay is now considering a minor in theater arts and hopes to play a part on the main stage in GCC’s fall production. She is a preschool teacher and part-time student at GCC.

A case of the butterflies got the better of nearly everyone. When second-time auditioner  Therese Jacobsson auditioned she said it was “nerve wracking” but she enjoyed it.

Jared Ogassian, a GCC student whose first production acting role was in “Almost Maine,” called his audition experience “intense.” “I never played a more antagonistic character. It was kind of an experiment,” he said.

Throughout the auditions, the French character names proved difficult to pronounce for many of the auditioners, but it was all in good fun as students quickly got acquainted with each other during preparation.

Ethan E. Followwill, an auditioner who moved to Glendale from England a year ago, had his first audition since he was 11 years old. On a chance encounter with Johnny Depp, Followwill was inspired to become an actor.  He heard about “A Flea in Her Ear” auditions from a friend, which led him to GCC.

“Auditions will be based on talent, experience and direction,” Dina Dominguez, staff member of theater department said. The play has a lot of physical comedy and Foyer and Melissa Randel, Chair of the Theater Department will be choosing the 14 cast members based on comic ability as well.

Opening night for “A Flea in Her Ear” will be Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. and it will run to Nov. 10 and Nov. 14 to 17.