INSTITUTIONAL OFF BROADWAY THEATRES Equity Principal Auditions - Institutional Not-for-Profit Off Broadway Theatre Companies Auditions

Posted July 16, 2014
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INSTITUTIONAL OFF BROADWAY THEATRES - Institutional Not-for-Profit Off Broadway Theatre Companies

Institutional Off Broadway Theatres - EPAs
Institutional Not-For-Profit Off-Broadway Theatre Companies | New York, NY

Date of Audition:
7/29-7/31/2014


Call Type
Equity Principal

Time(s)
Equity Principal Auditions (3 days)
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 (MUSICAL DAY)
Thursday, July 31, 2014
9:30 AM to 5:30 PM each day. Lunch 1 to 2

Contract
Off Broadway
various **

Location
Actors' Equity Association Audition Center
165 West 46th Street
16th Floor
New York, NY 10036


Seeking
AEA actors for various roles in each theatre's season.
Theatres include:

Second Stage Theatre
The Public Theater
Playwrights Horizons

This breakdown has basic show info for each season.
See separate notices for each theatre for full info.

Preparation
Please bring THREE copies of your picture and résumé, each stapled together.


For Tue & Thur: Prepare a brief monologue of choice, preferably no longer than 2 minutes in length.

For Wed: Prepare a song of choice. Bring sheet music; accompanist provided this day only

Other Dates
See separate notices for each theatre for show rehearsal/run dates

Other
** See separate notices for each theatre for salary information.

Personnel
See separate notices for each theatre for personnel information

· EPA Rules are in effect.

· A monitor will be provided.

Performers of all ethnic and racial background are encouraged to attend.

Always bring your Equity Membership Card to auditions.


Breakdown

Playwrights Horizons
Equity Off-Broadway A Contract; $566/week current min.
Artistic Director: Tim Sanford
Casting Director: Alaine Alldaffer, attending auditions
Associate Casting Director: Lisa Donadio, attending auditions
Casting Assistant: Barbara Hollander, attending auditions

Basic Info for Season (see separate notice listed as ''Institutional Off-Bway Thtrs - Playwrights Info'' for full season breakdown)

BOOTYCANDY
GRAND CONCOURSE
POCATELLO
PLACEBO
IOWA
THE QUALMS

==========

The Public Theater
Equity Off-Broadway Contract, various Tiers / Minimums
Artistic Director: Oskar Eustis
Casting Directors: Jordan Thaler, Heidi Griffiths, attending auditions

Basic Info for Season (see separate notice listed as ''Institutional Off-Bway Thtrs - The Public Info'' for full season breakdown)

THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS
PERICLES
STRAIGHT WHITE MEN
HAMILTON
THE TOTAL BENT
TOAST

===========

Second Stage Theatre
Equity Off-Broadway C Contract; $766/week current min.
Artistic Director/Co-Founder: Carole Rothman
Associate Artistic Director: Christopher Burney, attending auditions

Basic Info for Season (see separate notice listed as ''Institutional Off-Bway Thtrs - Second Stage Info'' for full season breakdown)

LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART
AMERICAN PSYCHO—A NEW MUSICAL THRILLER
THE WAY WE GET BY

PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS SEASON INFO

BOOTYCANDY
Writer/Dir: Robert O’Hara
1st Reh: 8/1. Runs: 8/22-10/26
All Roles Cast:

ACTOR ONE
20-30, African-American woman. Plays array of roles. Fearless, colorful; possess great understanding of rhythm/comedic timing.

ACTOR TWO
20-30. African-American man. Intelligent, confident. Sexually explicit, at times vicious. Has strong Dramatic & Comedic abilities.

ACTOR THREE
30-40. African-American woman. Plays array of roles. Confident/witty with natural instincts & comfortable with explicit text.

ACTOR FOUR
30-40. African-American man. Flamboyant, extremely funny. Strong dramatic/ comedic abilities. Plays several roles.

ACTOR FIVE
20-40. Caucasian man. Plays array of roles. Funny, sexy/comfortable with outrageous behavior. Nudity Required.

===
GRAND CONCOURSE
by Heidi Schreck
Dir: Kip Fagan
1st Reh: 9/16. Runs: 10/17-1/4/15

All Roles Cast:

EMMA
19. Sweet but dishonest college dropout; a lot of issues. Something opaque & strange about her; charismatic, attractive, funny. Everyone at shelter falls for her. Vampirish in need for love; more vulnerable than appears.

SHELLEY
Late 30s/early 40s. Former private school girl turned progressive nun. Runs soup kitchen. Experiencing crisis of faith regarding her vocation; arrival of Emma pushes her to question her life path. Kind, but extremely self-protective with dry sense of humor. Doesn't get close to people.

OSCAR
20s. Dominican-American. Security guard. Came to States as kid to join mom; putting himself through College. Wants to marry girlfriend ; not sure has enough to offer her yet. Sexy, sweet, bit full of himself.

FROG
50s or 60s. Homeless man. Former leftist intellectual & hippy whose life went off the rails due to mental illness he barely manages with medications. Can bullshit about any subject. Writes joke books he sells on street. In love with Emma in platonic/fatherly kind of way.

===
POCATELLO
by Samuel D. Hunter
Dir: Davis McCallum
1st Reh: 10/21. Runs: 11/21- 1/25/15

AVAILABLE:

EDDIE
30s. Nick’s brother, Doris’ son. Desperately optimistic manager of failing chain restaurant hell-bent on keeping open. Earnest, warm, gentle. Lived in Pocatello entire life; feels deep connection to it, even as it slides to economic ruin.

TAMMY
Mid-30s- Early-40s. Troy’s wife. Once happy, well-adjusted teen, got married too quickly & soon found herself leading a life she didn’t want. Always puts on a happy face, but finds it harder to do so as her marriage & relationship with daughter begin to crumble.

BECKY
18+ to play 17. Troy & Tammy’s daughter. Fiercely intelligent, empathetic, but unable to deal with bleak world around her. Has become bitter introvert who would much rather be read books about genocide than interacting with parents.

NICK
Mid-30s-Early-40s. Eddie’s older brother, Doris’ son, Kelly’s husband. Successful realtor; eschews his small-town upbringing. Left Pocatello as soon as possible; very unhappy about being back home. Generally kind, well-meaning, but quick-tempered & caustic.

KELLY
30s. Nick’s wife. From affluent family in Twin Cities area. Child of therapist, has brought Nick to Pocatello in an attempt to force him to confront his demons. Intelligent, empathetic, well put-together.

CAST:

DORIS
60s. Eddie & Nick’s mother. No-nonsense direct woman; has not had easiest life, but never complains. Gruff exterior masks a large amount of pain.

COLE
80s. Troy’s father. Korean War vet; life-long resident of Pocatello. Now lives in retirement home; sliding into dementia. Pragmatic/crusty.

MAX
Early 20s. Recovering meth-addict employed at restaurant. Well-meaning if a little goofy & naïve.

ISABELLE
20s. Restaurant employee. Fun, easy going. Tad shallow on surface, but underneath well-adjusted & intelligent.

TROY
Mid-30s- Early-40s. Restaurant employee. Working-class, affable, if little dark & depressive. After losing his job at paper mill several years ago, his marriage has been in decline; shuffled between various minimum wage jobs before Eddie hired him. Life-long resident of Pocatello; not proud of it.

===
PLACEBO
by Melissa James Gibson
Dir: Daniel Aukin
1st Reh: 1/23. Runs: 2/20- 4/26/15

AVAILABLE:

LOUISE
Late 20s. Attractive, winning. Wry. Doctoral student in psychology & researcher involved with a new drug study. Not fully comfortable with the title of doctor. Lives in her lab coat; makes her feel validated. Ambitious, unsettled, inquisitive.

JONATHAN
Late 20s. Male, attractive. Louise’s fiancé. Classicist PhD candidate. Struggling with dissertation while also attempting to quit smoking. Intense, kind, part intellectual, part dude.

TOM
Early 30s. English. A PhD researcher & Louise’s colleague. Charming, wry, blunt; a realist. Doesn’t share personal life with co-workers. To him the research project is just a job.

MARY
40s. Participant in New Drug study. Direct, disarming, gut-smart. Been in a relationship for years & feeling dissatisfied & frustrated.

CINDY
20s. Researcher & Louise’s co-worker. Funny, smart. Balanced. Has empathy of the participants. Also plays Paula another drug Study participant.

BOB
20s. Receptionist at research clinic. Direct, very professional. Particular. Has long term boyfriend named Fred.

===
IOWA
by Jenny Schwartz
Music/Lyrics: Todd Almond
Dir: Ken Rus Schmoll
1st Reh: 2/20. Runs: 3/20-6/7/15

AVAILABLE:

SANDY
40-50. Female. Funny, fast talker. Vulnerable, open, filled with longing & regret. Commanding. Leading lady, capable of passion, emotional & physical, not afraid of cruelty. A singer.

BECCA
18+ to play 14. Average teen. Bored, sullen, capable of passion. Brooding adolescent, but can break into a stylized Noel Coward play; A singer.

YOUNGER BECCA/CHILD
8-10 yr old girl. Simple, straightforward, not cutesie. Big heart, full of longing. A singer.

ROGER/MR. HILL/JIM/PONY
40–50. Funny, quick witted. Able to be in stylized Noel Coward play. Saucy, ironic, zany. Jumps between different crazy characters; also grounded & real. A singer.

AMANDA/SISTER WIFE
20-40s. Latina or Mediterranean. Excellent singer/actress great with comedy.

CAST:

LIZ/SISTER WIFE
40s, Chinese. Excellent singer/actress/comedian.

CHEERLEADER/SISTER WIFE
40s, Caucasian. Excellent singer/actress/comedian.

NANCY DREW/SISTER WIFE
40s African-American. Need excellent singer/actress/comedian.

===
THE QUALMS
by Bruce Norris
Dir: Pam MacKinnon
1st Reh: 4/24/15. Runs: 5/22-7/26/15

AVAILABLE:

GARY
40s. Caucasian. Bearded, fleshy, diving instructor & philosophical pothead. Coupled with TERI; Member like the others of a loose-knit swinging community.

TERI
Early 40s. Female. Caucasian. Curvaceous. Innocent-seeming, damaged goods. Semi-professional massage therapist. Not terribly well-educated.

CHRIS
30s Caucasian. Clean-cut. Couple of educational & economic notches above GARY & TERI. Works in Private Equity. More uptight than imagines himself to be.

KRISTY
30s. Caucasian. Lean, attractive, well-educated, professional. Married CHRIS after failed relationship with another man. More socially at ease than husband.

DEB
40s-50s. Caucasian. Heavyset-calls herself fat. Confident, brash, talkative. Real-Estate Broker. Lost husband to cancer a year ago. Now with KEN.

KEN
30s. African-American. Muscular, handsome. By outward appearances, might read him as gay, but he confusingly maintains he isn't. Reflexologist. Politically outspoken.

ROGER
40s-50s. Caucasian. Suntanned, well-off, but not of same educational class as CHRIS. Served in military. Now imports furniture. Has nasty sense of humor with which he taunts CHRIS. Partner of REGINE.

REGINE
40s. Female. Afro-Carribean. French accent, Born in Martinique. Highly attractive. Intellectual, slightly haughty. Has perverse streak. In longstanding relationship with ROGER

SECOND STAGE THEATER SEASON INFO

LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART
Playwright: Terrence McNally
Director: Peter DuBois
1st Rehearsal: 9/9/14
1st Performance: 10/7/14
Opens: 11/3/14
Max run through: 11/30/14

All roles have been CAST. Actors will be considered for possible replacements.

SALLY TRUMAN:
CAST. Female, late 20s – early 30s. Married to SAM. Recently inherited a beach house in a gay section of Fire Island from her late brother who passed away from AIDS. A kind, artistically inclined, still and sensitive soul; but the waters run deep. Honest, but with secrets of her own. Sally has a huge heart, and a good sense of humor, but is still grieving the loss of her brother and trying to find meaning in his death and in her own complicated life and loves. ROLE HAS BEEN OFFERED AND ACCEPTED.

SAM TRUMAN:
CAST. Male, late 20s – early 30s. Married to SALLY. Identifies himself as “a humble Trenton, New Jersey homeowner”, the alpha male taking strong care of his family, but under his sometimes gruff and overbearing veneer Sam harbors deep insecurities. Often unable to perform small tasks like tying a bowtie, Sam can become aggressive and confrontational to mask his vulnerability. ROLE HAS BEEN OFFERED AND ACCEPTED.

CHLOE:
CAST. Female, late 20s – early 30s..SAM’s sister. An endearingly high-strung, oftentimes silly chatterbox; queen of the local community musical theatre. Seemingly in her own eccentric little world, CHLOE actually misses nothing, and uses her incessant talking and frequent bursts into song and dance to deflect/skim the surface of her pain. Underneath she is a deeply feeling soul aware of how silly she has become, and why; arguably, she possesses the most inclusive and mature take on life of the four. ROLE HAS BEEN OFFERED AND ACCEPTED.

JOHN:
CAST. Male, early 30s – 40. Chloe’s handsome, patrician, somewhat standoffish, domineering but charming-when-he-wants-to-be-husband; has had an affair with SALLY he is still recovering from. Has an acerbic wit, which he most often unleashes on CHLOE. JOHN is suffering silently from his own life-threatening disease, and as the play progresses he must come to terms with his self-loathing and contempt for who he (and what his life) has become --- which means perhaps recognizing how much he might need the wife he so often mistreats. ROLE HAS BEEN OFFERED AND ACCEPTED.

====

AMERICAN PSYCHO—A NEW MUSICAL THRILLER
Director: Rupert Goold
Book: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Music/Lyrics: Duncan Sheik
Based on the novel by: Bret Easton Ellis
Rehearsals: December 22
Previews: February 3
Opening: Late February
Closing: March 29, with possible extension to April 12

Seeking:

PATRICK BATEMAN
Male, to play 26. The narrator. Extremely attractive, physically in excellent shape. Has obsessive compulsive disorder. Immaculate, well-groomed, always has the best clothes, the best furniture, the best of everything. Has an aura of self-importance, but actually he disgusts himself. Drug addict. Capable of sadistic humor. Strong pop/rock voice.

PAUL OWEN
Male, to play mid 20s. Extremely good-looking. Immaculate. Patrick's colleague. Handling the most important account at Pierce & Pierce, which Patrick is extremely jealous about. Can never remember who Patrick is; he calls him Marcus, which enrages Patrick. Strong pop/rock voice.

CRAIG MCDERMOTT
Male, to play mid 20s. Good-looking. Patrick's co-worker. Part of the foursome of friends. Self-obsessed. Chauvinistic. Obsessed with material things. Strong pop/rock voice.

TIM PRICE
Male, to play mid 20s. Good-looking. Patrick's best friend. Part of the foursome of friends. Has huge anger issues. Highly negative. Strong pop/rock voice.

COURTNEY LAWRENCE
Female, to play mid 20s. Attractive. Dating Luis but secretly having an affair with Patrick. Loves compliments and the expensive things in life. Materialistic. Strong pop/rock voice.

JEAN
Female, to play 20s. Patrick's secretary. In love with him. Pretty. Compared to everyone else, she's the most switched on and normal. The only person who truly understands Patrick. Strong pop/rock voice.

SABRINA
Female, to play 20s. Prostitute/escort. Has a threesome with Patrick and Christine, who in turn performs extremely violent acts on her and eventually kills her. Strong pop/rock voice.

EVELYN WILLIAMS
Female, to play mid 20s. Patrick's girlfriend. Attractive. Self-obsessed like all the others. Never listens to anyone, especially Patrick. Loves the idea of marriage. Highly materialistic. Strong pop/rock voice.

DETECTIVE KIMBALL
Male, to play 40s. Private Detective investigating Paul Owen's disappearance. Strong pop/rock voice.

CHRISTINE
Female, to play late teens/early 20s. Prostitute. A little trashy. Has a threesome with Patrick and Sabrina, who in turn performs extremely violent acts on her and eventually kills her. Strong pop/rock voice.

VICTORIA/HARDBODY BARTENDER
Female, to play 20s. To play Victoria—Patrick’s neighbor from his building—and Hardbody Bartender. Great physique. Strong pop/rock voice.

SEAN BATEMAN
Male, to play early 20s. Patrick’s younger brother, a writer, just out of college. Patrick thinks he’s a pain. Strong pop/rock voice.

PATRICK’S MOTHER/MRS. WOLFE
Female, 50s. To play Mrs. Bateman—Patrick’s mother—and Mrs. Wolfe—a real estate agent. Strong pop/rock voice.

DAVID VAN PATTEN Male, to play mid 20s. Good-looking. Patrick's co-worker. Part of the foursome of friends. Self-obsessed. Chauvinistic. Obsessed with women. Strong pop/rock voice.

LUIS CARRUTHERS Male, to play mid 20s. Not as well-dressed as the others. Patrick's co-worker. Dating Courtney but secretly in love with Patrick. A little effeminate. Strong pop/rock voice.

=====

THE WAY WE GET BY
Playwright: Neil LaBute
Director: tba
Spring: 2015

Seeking:

BETH
Female, 20s, independent yet longs to be wanted.

The following role has been CAST. Actors may be considered for possible replacements:

Doug:
CAST. Male, 20’s, scatterbrained but also charming. ROLE HAS BEEN OFFERED AND ACCEPTED.

====

NOTE: A fourth production will be announced later in the season.

THE PUBLIC THEATER SEASON INFO

THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Book: Itamar Moses
Music & Lyrics by Michael Friedman
Conceived and directed by Daniel Aukin
Based upon the novel by Jonathan Lethem
1st reh: 8/19/14. Runs: 9/30-11/2/14
Extension Closing: 11/23/14

All roles have been CAST
=====

FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS
by Suzan-Lori Parks
Dir: Jo Bonney
1st reh: 9/9/14. Runs: 10/14 - 11/16/14
Extension Closing: 12/14/14

All roles have been CAST

========

PERICLES
by William Shakespeare
Dir: Rob Melrose
Composer/Music Director: Michael Thurber
1st Reh: 9/23/14
Tour Runs: 10/21 - 11/2/14
Public Theater Runs: 11/11 - 11/30/14

Seeking a diverse group of collaborative, language-oriented actors who enjoy working in a physical style. All roles will double with multiple characters. Please submit qualified actors of all cultures and ages, disabled and non-disabled. The soundscape of the piece will be created entirely by actors’ voices, so we are especially interested in actors who are comfortable singing a cappella and/or harmonizing in a group.

SEEKING:

PERICLES AND ENSEMBLE. 30s. Any ethnicity. Male. Prince of Tyre. Intelligent, capable, confident, and bold. When these traits put him in a dangerous position, he’s forced to flee and is set off on a journey that tests his character, patience, and luck. Naturally resilient and unflagging, the trials he faces in losing his loved ones eventually wear him down, leaving him despondent and world-weary, until his ultimate redemption restores his inherent good character. This role will also participate in the ensemble storytelling as a part of the collective voice of GOWER.

THAISA AND ENSEMBLE. 30s. Any ethnicity. Female. Princess of Pentapolis, daughter of Simonides, eventual wife of Pericles. Bright and warm, also determined and self-aware. A kind, intelligent woman who knows what she wants and asks for it. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to BAWD. Proprietress of a brothel in Mytilene. Commanding, goal-oriented, vulgar. Also likely to double with others including PHILOTEN and lords.

MARINA AND ENSEMBLE. 20s. Any ethnicity. Female. Pericles and Thaisa’s daughter. Virtuous, graceful, well-bred. Young, innocent, and committed to her values. Strong in the face of adversity. Has the brain, mouth, and charisma to change hearts and minds. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to LYCHORIDA, Thaisa’s nurse, who accompanies her from Pentapolis to return with Pericles. Dutiful and loyal. Also likely to double with others including ANTIOCHUS’ DAUGHTER, knights, and lords.

LYSIMACHUS AND ENSEMBLE. 30s-40s. Any ethnicity. Male. Governor of Mytilene. While not an entirely virtuous man, his interaction with Pericles’ daughter, Marina, causes him to reevaluate his practices. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to CLEON, Governor of Tarsus. Ruler of a land that is facing famine. Worn down and doing his best to lead his people. Pays his debt to Pericles by raising Marina alongside his own daughter and providing her education, but ultimately, passive, submissive, and disloyal. Also likely to double with others including ESCANES, pirates, lords, sailors, and gentlemen.

DIONYZA AND ENSEMBLE. 30s-40s. Any ethnicity. Female. Cleon’s wife. Deceptive and selfish. Willing to do for others until it affects her own life negatively. Calculating and controlling. Hires an assassin to murder Marina in order to elevate her own daughter’s status. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to DIANA. The Roman virgin goddess. Appears to Pericles in a vision to guide him to find his lost wife. Also likely to double with others including knights and thugs.

HELICANUS AND ENSEMBLE. 30s-40s. Any ethnicity. Male. A lord of Tyre and Pericles’ most trusted advisor. Intelligent, pragmatic, and wise. Watches over Tyre while Pericles is away, and remains loyal throughout, with Pericles’ best interests always at the forefront. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to fishermen, knights, sailors, servants, and pirates.

ANTIOCHUS AND ENSEMBLE. 40s. Any ethnicity. Male. A king who is carrying on an incestuous relationship with his daughter and who does not hesitate to have anyone who guesses his secret assassinated. Proud, cunning, and quick on his feet. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to CERIMON, A lord of Ephesus and a healer. Restores Pericles’ wife, Thaisa’s, life when her body is washed to shore and aids her in finding a home in Diana’s temple. Kind, selfless, and helpful. Also likely to double with others including LEONINE, BOULT, gentlemen, fishermen, knights, and lords.

SIMONIDES AND ENSEMBLE. 30s-40s. Any ethnicity. Male. King of Pentapolis. A respected and beloved leader. Boisterous, generous, optimistic. Committed to the happiness of his daughter, Thaisa, and his entire kingdom. This role will double with others, likely including but not limited to THALIARD, King Antiochus’ lord, sent to track and kill Pericles. Serves his king out of fear and intimidation, not loyalty. Also likely to double with others including PANDER, TYRIAN, gentlemen, pirates, and sailors.

====
STRAIGHT WHITE MEN
By/Diretor: Young Jean Lee
Runs: 11/7/14 - 12/7/14

This will be cast and performed by Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company

====

HAMILTON
Dir: Thomas Kail
Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Music Spvsr: Alex Lacamoire
Choreo: Andy Blankenbuehler
Casting: Telsey + Company/Bethany Knox
1st reh: 11/24/14. Runs: 1/20 - 2/22/15
Extension Closing: 5/10/15

GENERAL NOTE: Looking for people of all ages and all ethnicities for these roles. This storyline spans 25 years+, so age is not literal - like Aaliyah said, it’s nothin’ but a number.

SEEKING:

AARON BURR: tenor/baritone, sings and raps in equal measure. Our narrator. A cool, steely reserve. An orphan raised in wealth, plays his cards and opinions close to the vest. Slow to anger, but when he gets there, look out. Javert meets Mos Def.

GEORGE WASHINGTON: tenor/baritone, sings and raps in equal measure. Authoritative, regal, aloof, aware of his place in history at all times. John Legend meets Mufasa.

HERCULES MULLIGAN/JAMES MADISON (dual role): Tenor/baritone, MUST be able to sing and rap well.
MULLIGAN is the life of the party, dripping with swagger, streetwise and hilarious. Joins the revolution to get out of being a tailor’s apprentice, and befriends Laurens, Hamilton and Lafayette. Busta Rhymes meets Donald O’Connor. MADISON is incisively intelligent, quiet, professorial. A former Hamilton ally, he becomes Jefferson’s detail man concerning all matters—he gets things done. RZA meets Zach from Chorus Line.

KING GEORGE: tenor, British accent. The King of England. Entitled, pouty nihilist. Sees the American Colonies as a deluded former lover, who will come crawling back. Rufus Wainwright meets King Herod in JCS.

PEGGY SCHUYLER/MARIA REYNOLDS (dual role.): Mezzo-soprano. PEGGY SCHUYLER: sweet, shy, youngest of the three Schuyler Sisters. The Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child. MARIA REYNOLDS: sultry, young, calculating. Affects the role of a damsel in distress to seduce Hamilton. Jasmine Sullivan meets Carla from Nine.

All other roles have been CAST.

======

THE TOTAL BENT
Text by Stew
Music by Heidi Rodewald & Stew
Dir: Joanna Settle
1st Reh: 2/3/15. Runs: 3/3 - 4/5/15

NOTE: As much of the action of the piece takes place inside a recording studio during sessions, in addition to singing, we are particularly, but not exclusively, interested in actors with strong instrumental musical ability to convincingly play band members.

SEEKING:

JOE ROY: 40s–50s. African-American. A music visionary and the engineer behind his son’s early success as a gospel singer. A bold, brash personality with a gift for descriptive language and a penchant for fire and brimstone speeches. A Christian sinner with a weakness for women and gambling, he is relentless in his desire to return Marty to the fold and employ his instrument as a “lightning rod” for worship and profit.

ABEE: Mid 20s-Early 30s. African-American. Marty’s longtime friend, a former church bus driver who has joined the band. Acts as Marty’s “psycho-social valet,” a.k.a. Marty’s liaison to the outside world. He is the glue that holds the ensemble together. Loyal and eager to please, he is the first to recognize and diffuse conflict. Would take a bullet for Marty.

All other roles have been CAST

====

TOAST
by Lemon Andersen
Dir: Elise Thoron
1st Reh: 3/10/15. Runs: 4/3 - 4/19/15

TOAST ingeniously weaves major characters from black oral narratives into a gripping story about a group of inmates fighting to keep their minds free amidst the 1971 riots that rocked Attica Prison. Honoring the spoken word narratives recited in pool halls, bars and prisons across America by generations of black poets, TOAST is a stunning new play about men trying to live free in a system—and a world—designed to keep them chained.

ALL ACTORS MUST BE EXTREMELY SKILLED WITH LANGUAGE/SPOKEN WORD.

SEEKING:

DOLOMITE: 50s. African-American. The “baddest bad-ass out of San Antone,”and fabled to have been the most dangerous man in the South. He has been imprisoned for 27 years for murder, and is currently the most famous prisoner in Attica. Feared and respected by all, he is a leader within the cell-block, and becomes an unconventional father figure for Hard Rock. Despite his violent past, there’s a weary, settled quality about him. When rumors of a riot spread, he forbids the residents of the cell-block to get involved—until events arise which make violence unavoidable.

HARD ROCK: 20s. African-American. A young Vietnam vet, incarcerated at Attica. Bright, outspoken, magnetic. He has the charm and charisma of a politician, and the spirit of a community organizer. Worldly, educated, and well-read. Determined to correct the abuses inherent in the correctional system, he becomes a spokesperson for prisoners’ rights. His volatile combination of resolve, intelligence and appeal pose more of a threat to the powers that be than violence ever could.

JESSE JAMES: 20s. Biracial (Caucasian and Puerto Rican) from the South Bronx, whose nickname is derived from his criminal history of robbing banks. Determined to be respected and accepted by the rest of the cell-block, most of whom find his efforts at assimilation comical. Energetic, front-footed, unflappable. Impulsive & proud. Refuses to give up, and not afraid of a fight

ANNABELLE: 30s. African-American. A transgender woman incarcerated in a male prison. Strong, tough, unflinching, with a wry sense of humor. A survivor. She’s seen horrors and dangers on the outside as well as behind bars, and she knows what she has to do to stay alive. Loyal, loving, passionate. In love with Dolomite and will do anything to protect him. A role for a strong singer.

SHERIFF JODY: 50s. Caucasian. The Senior Corrections Officer in charge of Attica. A World War II veteran. Brittle, absolute, no-nonsense. Old-school. Relishes the power that he wields within the prison walls, and believes in prisons the way that other men believe in religion. Confident that prisons are a necessity—not only as a form of punishment, but as a deterrent for future crimes. Fears that if the inmates’ demands are met, that it could threaten not only the entire correctional system, but possibly the moral foundation of the country itself. In love with Annabelle, and is willing to use (or abuse) any of the tools in his power to make her love him.

G.I. JOE: 50s. 50s. Puerto Rican-American. A floor officer at Attica. Proud, direct, diligent, reasonable. He has worked hard to carve out an honest and decent life for himself and his family. To him, the job is just a job, and he looks forward to the day that he can move along to something less physically and spiritually taxing. Deeply ashamed and disappointed with Jesse James, whom he feels is damaging the image of the Puerto-Rican community with his criminal behavior.

HOBO BEN: 60s. African-American. The old-timer of the cell-block, but possesses the vigor and fiery of a much younger man. Although he lacks much formal education, he has extremely quick, razor sharp wit, that he wields with ease and enthusiasm. The breadth of his life experience has given him wisdom and insight more valuable than can be found in any books.

STACKOLEE: 30s – Early 40s. African-American. Known as “the most dangerous prisoner at Attica.” Tough, cagy, watchful. Dangerous—thought the threat is seldom overt. He’s more like a coiled snake; at rest but alert, poised to strike at any time. Fearless. Loyal to Dolomite.

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