Southern California, 1975

Welcome to Heavenly Hills, a posh suburb of Los Angles. Specifically to a gala dinner in support of the Heavenly Hills Regional Theater. A fund-raising event held twice annually. This dinner is not just an opportunity for wealthy theater patrons to wear their mink, it is also a chance for some of them to "audition" for small parts in the latest productions. The theater is very active and a "professional" company so the prestige of landing a part is the important thing to most of the patrons.  

The company's latest production is titled "Dial 'D' for Death". It is supposed to be an avant-garde murder mystery written and produced by Chip Ralston, one of the directors that the theater has employed for other productions. Chip is a very exacting director and there are those that feel he is too demanding to work with volunteers. Others feel that he is just striving to bring out the best possible performances from the actors. The theater regularly hires actors to fill leading roles and already has selected 3 or 4, but Chip has been asked by the board of directors to use a number of the theater patrons for this production and so he will be conducting random auditions here tonight.

To add to the evenings excitement is the rumor that a talent scout from Really Big Pictures may attend the event. Many of the theater's patrons work in film related industries and would benefit from any inside contacts with a major studio. The actors are very agitated, wanting to both be seen and make a good impression. After all, anyone would just KILL for the chance to be a movie star, wouldn't they?