PITTSBURG, Kan. — Pittsburg Community Theatre is holding auditions for its upcoming production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 and 21.  

The play needs five women from ages 15 to 50+ and five men ages 16 to 50+. Dutch and German dialects will not be used, so accent experience is not required.  

“The Diary of Anne Frank” is a play based on the book “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank that was posthumously published in 1947. The book chronicles the story of Anne Frank and her family as they spend two years in hiding from Nazis during World War II.  

“It's about is the human condition,” Director Richard Spencer said. “It's about Anne’s observations of the people around her, and it also shows what a marvelous person she was and her growing up, and the things that would happen but can't happen in a normal way because they're in a room of a building that they can't make noise in during the day. They could only do things at night. So obviously, her life is disrupted, but it's more about the human condition. It's more about how human beings handle these kinds of conditions.” 

Spencer previously directed “South Pacific” for PCT in 2024. Spencer said that in addition to giving community actors a chance to develop and hone their skills, “The Diary of Anne Frank” is a story that should not be forgotten. 

“This show, I think, is just as important today as it was the day it was written,” he said. “More than anything, for ‘The Diary of Anne Frank,’ people need to be constantly reminded, so we don't have those things happen again.” 

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.