BELLA: AN AMERICAN TALL TALE - NYC EPA
Playwrights Horizons Inc.
AUDITION DATE
Jan 31, 2017
9:30 am - 5:30 pm (EST)
Lunch 1 to 2
CONTRACT
Off Broadway $645 /week
SEEKING
Actors who are strong dancers. See breakdown for details.
PREPARATION
Prepare a short pop song (uptempo or ballad). Bring sheet music; accompanist provided. Bring picture and resume.
LOCATION
Actors' Equity New York Audition Center
165 W 46th St
16th Fl
New York, NY 10036
PERSONNEL
Book, Music and Lyrics: Kirsten Childs
Director: Robert O'Hara
Choreographer: Camille A. Brown
Musical Director: Rona Siddiqui
OTHER DATES
1st rehearsal: April 18, 2017
Tech: May 13, 2017
1st preview: May 19, 2017
Opening: June 12, 2017
Maximum End Run: July 23, 2017
OTHER
PHNYC.org
EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition.
An Equity monitor will be provided.
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.
Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
BREAKDOWN
ALOYSIUS T. HUNNICUTT:
20. African-American. Hot-tempered, proud, ambitious, hunk of a Mississippi boy. Bella’s betrothed. A righteous man with a righteous plan: see some fighting action, gain some capital, get some land, get hitched to the proper wife and become king of his personal hill. Bass/Baritone.
NATHANIEL BECKWORTH:
20. African-American. Railroad porter. Formerly an intrepid adventurer, he’s settled down to a relatively secure life of railroad employment. His life experience has made him a bit pessimistic, but his pragmatism, decency and kindness make him the type of guy you can depend on. Tenor.
GABRIEL CONYERS:
20. Caucasian. Circus performer. Younger brother of circus owner CP Conyers. The actual financial brains behind the circus operation, Gabriel sacrifices himself to his brother’s verbal and physical abuse in order to deflect it away from the other sideshow performers. A lack of self-confidence causes him to stutter. Tenor/ Baritenor.
MR. DINWIDDIE:
30. All ethnicities. Farmer. Nice upright guy, thinks he rules the roost. Strong dancer. Tenor.
MRS. DINWIDDIE:
25. All ethnicities. Farmer’s wife. Sweet as pie. Rules the roost. Strong dancer. Soprano.
IDA LOU SIMPSON/ AUNT DINAH:
Mid 30’s. African-American. Ida Lou is a pretty widow with a newborn baby, migrating from the South to Kansas. Lost her husband to nightrider terrorism. Heartsick, frightened but strong-willed. Also plays Aunt Dinah, an attractive wise-cracking woman who is shrewdly pragmatic about sharing her favors with powerful men in her life, in order to secure benefits for her beloved, powerless family. Soprano/ Mezzo.
BONNY JOHNNY RAKEHELL/ SNAGGLETOOTH HOSKINS:
Mid to Late 30’s. Caucasian. A member of the Southern aristocracy, Bonny Johnny is a handsome charming fun-loving, foppish Southern fried villain. Believes the world is his oyster, and every woman in it is his for the taking. Snaggletooth Hoskins is a lowdown dirty rotten train robbing outlaw with a disgusting tendency to spit. Tenor.
The following roles have been CAST. Actors will be considered for possible replacements if necessary:
GUSSIE MAE CABBAGESTALK/ MAMA:
Role CAST. Mid 30’s. African-American. Bitter, defensive, disheartened mail order bride. Her life’s been nothing but a hellish sequence of orphanages, workhouses and employers who pay her a pittance while sexually harassing her. No one can get past the hard shell of her experience to reach her fiercely guarded heart...or so she thinks. Also plays Bella’s mother. Soprano
TOMMIE HAW:
Role CAST. 30’s. Asian. Wealthy cattle baron. Handsome and friendly, his natural gregariousness is stifled by his solitary cattle ranching life. To dispel the loneliness, he sings and talks with his cattle and the other animals of the prairie, making him a type of country-western Orpheus. Baritenor
DIEGO MORENO/ CP CONYERS:
Role CAST. Early 20’s-30’s. Latino/Hispanic. Wayfaring cowboy of Spanish and African blood, descended from the pobladores, founders of the city of Los Angeles, California. A carefree spirit, with a poetic, romantic soul and an unerring eye for hidden beauty. Dynamic, persuasive, he grabs life and anything else he wants with gusto. Also plays CP Conyers, an unprincipled circus owner. Tenor
GRANNY:
Role CAST. Mid 40’s. African-American. The young grandmother of Bella…strong willed and sometimes forgetful… should be voluptuous and engaging. Also plays the personification of Bella’s Booty. Soprano/ Mezzo
ISABELLA (BELLA) PATTERSON:
Role CAST. 18. African-American. Sweet, naïve, life loving Mississippi girl. Not the brightest bulb, but the warmest heart. Her impulsive nature often leads her to make foolish choices. Voluptuous. A perennially optimistic and cheery soul. Mezzo/Alto
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to audition.
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