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Breakdown
2016 SEASON
ORLANDO
by Sarah Ruhl
Director, Natalya Baldyga
1st reh: 4/31/16. Opens: 6/23. Closes: 7/9
Synopsis: What do you do when you've changed, but the world around you hasn't yet caught up? We've all woken up feeling a bit off, maybe a little unlike our normal selves, but none so much as Virginia Woolf's Orlando. He went to bed your typical Elizabethan Man: a favorite of the Queen, madly in love with a Russian Princess, fleeing an Archduchess, but on this fine day in Constantinople he's risen to find he has become, of all things, a woman… Adapted for the stage by MacArthur "genius" playwright Sarah Ruhl, Orlando takes audiences on a time-traveling erotic journey of yearning, whimsy, and discovery.
Setting- England and beyond, the Elizabethan Age through the 20th century.
Seeking: Actors who move well.
ORLANDO
Female, 20’s-40’s, any ethnicity. Begins the play as teenaged male, wakes one day to find herself a mature female. What does not change is his/her nature – passionate, romantic, restless, unsettled, and curious. A would-be poet, s/he spends the play traveling across time and space on a quest to discover her/his true self -- and her/his true soulmate.
SASHA
Female, 20’s-40’s, any ethnicity. The Russian princess who steals Orlando’s heart. Androgynously beautiful, selfish, passionate, speaks with a Russian accent. (May also play Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, Esq. – Orlando’s manly yet sensitive husband in the nineteenth century and beyond.)
3 CHORUS MEMBERS
To play multiple roles. Male, 18-64, any ethnicity. Will play both male and female characters, as well as serving as a chorus providing narration and movement that creates the world of the play and invites us to share Orlando’s emotional journey. (Characters played by the chorus include: sea captains, ladies at court, nobles, maids, Othello, Desdemona, and Queen Elizabeth.)
Please prepare:
A brief contemporary monologue that demonstrates the ability to handle lyrical or poetic language. Bring picture and resume.
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JULIUS CAESAR
by William Shakespeare
Director, Peter Richards
1st reh: 7/5/16. Opens: 7/28. Closes: 8/7
Synopsis:
Idealism, envy, and power politics collide as the Roman Republic reaches a crisis. Returning general Julius Caesar is a hero, and his political genius and military prowess make him the most powerful leader the Republic has ever known. Some say too powerful. His popularity breeds suspicion and concern among both the jealous and the honorable. Will his power corrode the freedom of the State? And to protect that freedom, must he then die--for what he might do, what he might become? Questioning leads to conspiracy, and the fate of the Republic hangs in the balance.
Seeking: versatile actors with strong language skills, experience with Shakespeare, vocal and physical adaptability, and a healthy collaborative spirit.
ANTONY
Male, 35-45; a master of rhetoric with a keen political instinct; deeply loyal to Caesar, he is a man driven by both revenge and ambition following Caesar's assassination; a lover of music and drink.
BRUTUS
Male, 35-45; an honorable man of noble principles and a deep commitment to the Republic whose high-minded idealism and rigid principles ultimately pave the way for his downfall. A stoic.
CASSIUS
Male, 35-45; a cerebral, serious, and envious man; a shrewd judge of character who is Iago-like in his ability to move others to his cause. Not without feeling, he greatly values his friendship with Brutus.
CAESAR / CICERO
Male, 40-50; a multi-character track. Caesar: a charismatic leader; ambitious and egotistical; he thinks of himself as immovable but, in reality, is easily swayed through flattery. Deaf in one ear and an epileptic. Cicero: the wisest of all the elder-statesmen of Rome.
CASCA / TITINIUS / FLAVIUS
Male, 30-45; a multi-character track. Casca: an acerbic, blunt, and superstitious man; quick in mind and action, he is the first of the conspirators to stab Caesar. Titinius: an officer deeply loyal to Cassius. Flavius: a tribune politically opposed to Caesar.
PORTIA / CALPURNIA / OCTAVIUS
Female, 30-40; a multi-character track. Portia: a loyal, proud, and strong-willed woman; wife to Brutus. Calpurnia: deeply troubled by a terrible dream, she is determined to prevent her husband, Caesar, from going to the senate-house on the day of his assassination. Octavius: an ambitious and cunning future leader of Rome.
CINNA / DECIUS BRUTUS / LEPIDUS / MESSALA / MURELLES
Male, 40-60; a multi-character track. Cinna: a chief conspirator who is close with Cassius. Decius Brutus: a master at flattery and persuasion; the conspirator who convinces Caesar to go to the senate-house on the day of his assassination. Lepidus: along with Antony and Octavius, he represents the third (and weakest) leg of the “triumvirate” fighting against Brutus and Cassius. Messala: a soldier loyal to Brutus. Murelles: a tribune politically opposed to Caesar.
Please Prepare:
A two-minute dramatic Shakespeare monologue.
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MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY
By Ann Washburn
Director, Sarah Gadzowicz
1st reh: 8/2/16. Opens: 8/25. Closes: 9/4
Synopsis:
What is left after the end of the world? In the deep darkness after the collapse of society’s electrical grids, a mismatched group of survivors huddle close around a campfire fighting off fear with the heroic story of youth and innocence triumphing over evil -- the story, of course, of Bart Simpson’s epic battle against Sideshow Bob. From this meeting, memories of America’s favorite prime-time family achieves Homeric proportions and become the basis for shaping a new society - one where the pop culture of today becomes the mythology of tomorrow as the play travels decades into the future. The story of how one underachieving fourth-grader convinced humanity not to have a cow and inspired resilience through the ages.
Seeking:
These characters can be any ethnicity or type. This is an ensemble piece and collaboration will be key to the process - any additional dance/movement, music or other unique training background is a plus. All actors must be able to sing.
MATT
Male survivor an apocalyptic event, original group member and storyteller. Also plays Scratchy. Age about 25-50
JENNY
Female survivor of an apocalyptic event, original group member and storyteller. Also plays Marge. Age about 20-50
MARIA
Female Survivor of an apocalyptic event, original group member and storyteller. Also plays Itchy. Age about 20-40
SAM
Male survivor of an apocalyptic event, original group member. Also plays Mr. Burns. Age about 20-50
COLLEEN
Female survivor of an apocalyptic event, original group member. Also plays Lisa. Age about 25-60
GIBSON
Male survivor of an apocalyptic event, new comer to the group. Also plays Homer. Age about 25-45
QUINCY
Female survivor of an apocalyptic event, has joined group once it has developed into a performance troupe. Also plays Bart. Age about 25-45
EDNA (Edna Krabappel)
Female. Leader of the Shades of Springfield Chorus. Age about 25-60.
Please prepare:
a one-minute contemporary monologue with a highly conversational or casual feel (Neil LaBute, Annie Baker, etc.) and 16 bars of a highly theatrical musical piece (musical theatre, operetta or pop songs are all acceptable - must be hyper-performative.)
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