Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
AUDITION DATE
Tue, Dec 17, 2019
9:30 am - 5:30 pm (EST)
Lunch 1 to 2
CONTRACT
LOA 2020 contract/salary pending. LOA $ 753/ SPT-9 $699 (2019 minimum salaries)
SPT
SEEKING
Equity actors and actor/singers for various roles in the upcoming LOA and SPT Seasons. See breakdown.
Also seeking SM and ASM positions. See separate notice for submission info.
PREPARATION
Please prepare one of the following two audition options:
1) Prepare a brief monologue from one of the plays, or a monologue that will illuminate your ability to play one of the roles. Actors auditioning for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM or HENRY IV, PART 2 should prepare a brief Shakespearean monologue.
2) Prepare 16 bars of a song and a 1 minute monologue that will illuminate your ability to play a role in A CHORUS LINE and/or FENCES, AN ILIAD, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, SENSE & SENSIBILITY, or HENRY IV, PART 2. If singing, bring sheet music; an accompanist will be provided. Please bring a picture and resume, stapled together.
LOCATION
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Fest.Labuda Center for the
Performing Arts
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, PA 18034
on DeSales University Campus. Studio Theatre - follow signs from the lobby
PERSONNEL
Expected in attendance at the EPA, either one of the following:
Producing Artistic Director: Patrick Mulcahy
Associate Artistic Director: Dennis Razze
(both also have authority to hire SMs)
OTHER DATES
See breakdown for show dates.
OTHER
An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of audition.
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
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival – Summer Season 2020
All races/ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition.
A CHORUS LINE
LOA
Conceived and Originally Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett
Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban, Co-Choreographed by Bob Avian.
Director: Dennis Razze. Choreographer: Stephen Casey. Music Director: TBD.
1st rehearsal: May 19, 2020. Runs June 10 – 28. A few roles may begin May 16.
ZACH: The director and choreographer of the show. Thirties. Strong Dancer.
LARRY: Tenor. Zach’s assistant. Authoritative, strong dancer.
AL DELUCA: Baritone. Late 20s to early 30s. From the Bronx. Street tough, macho, and newly married to Kristine; very protective. Mid to late 20s.
BEBE BENZENHEIMER: Alto. From Boston. Very insecure about her looks, very funny which is a cover for her insecurities. Feels a little excluded but just wants to be liked. Early twenties.
BOBBY MILLS: Baritone. Mid 20s. Flamboyant, funny, bitchy, and witty. Very sharp-tongued. Covers over everything with a joke; had a hard childhood. From New York.
CASSIE FERGUSON: Soprano. Late 20s to early 30s. Returning to the chorus after years of being a featured dancer. VERY strong dancer. Shy and kind hearted. Previously had a relationship with Zach.
CONNIE WONG: Alto. Experienced dancer. Late 20s to early 30s. Married. Petite. A bit of a mother hen with a great sense of humor. Born in Chinatown, Lower East Side, New York.
DIANA MORALES: Alto. Mid to late 20s. Streetwise, a little bit tough, eternal optimist and starry eyed. A determined athletic dancer from the Bronx.
DON KERR: Baritone. Mid 20s. Ladies’ man, married; into cars, money, and women. Very sure of himself, cocky. Worked with Zach before.
GREGORY GARDENER: Baritone. Sassy, Jewish gay man. Quite a smart-aleck and has worked with Zach before. Very East Side New York.
JUDY TURNER: Mezzo. Mid 20s. Funny, gawky, nervous. Warm and hopeful. Very awkward except when dancing.
KRISTINE ULRICH: Al’s wife who can’t sing. A bit flighty, scatterbrained. Early 20s.
MAGGIE WINSLOW: Mezzo. Mid 20s. Kindhearted, little sister type. Dreamer. Fairly experienced dancer from California.
MARK ANTHONY: Tenor. Late teens-early 20s. Optimistic first-timer. Naïve but charming. Great dancer and hardworking kid. Obsessed with sex; from Arizona.
MIKE COSTA: Tenor. Mid 20s, from New Jersey. Quite aggressive, determined, cocky. But likable. Tap dancer who worked with Zach before. Experienced, flirtatious.
PAUL SAN MARCO: Baritone. Mid to late 20s. Introverted and slightly insecure but loves performing. Only now starting to feel comfortable about being gay and accepted by his parents. From Spanish Harlem, New York. Friends with Diana.
RICHIE WALTERS: Tenor. Mid to late 20s. From Missouri. African-American; strong dancer, enthusiastic, cool and very funny. Likable and laid-back.
SHEILA BRYANT: Alto. Oldest dancer on the line. Late 20s to early 30s. Confident, brassy, uses her sexual sense strategically, bitchy and sophisticated. Humorous; one of the more popular dancers.
VAL CLARK: Alto. Mid 20s. Proud of her appeal, sassy, funny. A foul-mouthed but excellent dancer who couldn’t get dancing jobs until she had plastic surgery. A brazen, direct attention seeker from Vermont.
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August Wilson’s FENCES
SPT
Director: Christopher V. Edwards.
1st rehearsal: May 26, runs June 18 – July 5.
Takes place in Pittsburgh in the 50’s in the Hill District
TROY MAXSON: late 40s-60 years old. Male of African Descent. The larger than life ruler of his fiefdom. Ex-baseball player in the Negro League. Masterful storyteller with a zest for his family and life itself. Haunted by his dreams deferred and fighting the idea of getting older. Having a very intense midlife crisis. Has not been dealt the best hand in life.
CORY MAXSON: 18-30. Male of African Descent. Troy and Rose’s son. We see Cory from approximately age 16 - 28. In high school and plays football. Strong willed. Wants to be like his father. An athlete who feels strongly about his future prospects.
ROSE MAXSON: 40-50. Female of African Descent. Troy’s wife. Kind and generous with an assured nature. Has a deep and loyal love for her family. Consistent in doing what she says she is going to do. A survivor and strong woman with a lot of life and love for those who she take into her heart.
GABRIEL MAXSON: 35-50. Male of African Descent. Troy’s brother. A free spirit with an open heart. He is a hunter of demons - or at least thinks he is. Lives a life between the natural and supernatural world - perhaps in his own mind and perhaps in the material world. Who’s to say? Received a severe head injury in the war and has been under the supervision of his brother, whom he loves dearly.
JIM BONO: 45-60. Male of African Descent. Troy’s best friend. Wise and loyal and knows how to help guide and support Troy. Bono also loves to partake in local mythology and story telling. A loyal supporter, not a leader but a fierce ally to Troy. He is strongly committed to his community.
The following roles are CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.
LYONS MAXSON: 20s-40. Male of African Descent. Troy’s son from a previous relationship. Bold and courageous. An aspiring musician who understands how to survive and hustle. Supportive and clear that he no longer needs to live by Troy’s rules.
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AN ILIAD
SPT
By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare. Director: Greg Wood. 1st rehearsal, June 28, runs July 7-17, 2020.
The following roles are CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.
THE POET: Role CAST. A teller of stories ancient and ever-present. Weary, fierce, an old soul.
The musician is also already staffed.
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Jane Austin’s SENSE & SENSIBILITY
LOA
Adapted by Jessica Swale
Director: Gina Lamparella. 1st rehearsal: June 5, runs July 16-Aug 2. In rep with A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Actors of all ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition.
ELINOR DASHWOOD - 18+ to play 19-year-old eldest Dashwood daughter. Composed and practical, with an inner emotional life that she feels she must control. Warm, loving, understanding, with an intense love for her family, and for Edward Ferrars, to whom she must not show her true feelings. May track in rep as Helena in Midsummer.
MARIANNE DASHWOOD - 18+ to play 17-year-old second Dashwood daughter, passionate and full of life. Not interested in hiding her emotions, as society dictates. Open and demonstrative of her feelings of love and heartbreak. May track in rep as Hermia in Midsummer.
MARGARET DASHWOOD - 18+ to play 13-year old youngest Dashwood daughter. Witty and mischievous. Loves the outdoors and all the creatures she finds there. Observant, smart and fun. May track in rep as Puck in Midsummer.
MRS. DASHWOOD - early 40s. Mother of the Dashwood girls. A woman who shares Marianne’s romantic sensibilities. She has just lost her husband and experiences a series of humiliations. She must, with the help of Elinor, make some practical decisions that go against her nature. A warm, loving mother.
ACTOR WILL ALSO PLAY: MISS GREY - rich young woman with a strong will. Dictates her fiancé’s goodbye letter to Marianne.
May track in rep as Titania in Midsummer.
FANNY DASHWOOD – late 20s-30. Selfish wife to John Ferrars who expertly manipulates him into leaving his half-sisters with almost nothing to further enrich her own family. Snobbish, cold.
ACTOR WILL ALSO PLAY: MRS. PALMER – good-spirited, talkative and foolish daughter of Mrs. Jennings.
EDWARD FERRARS - late 20s-early 30s - a gentleman of status who does not wish for the grand things his mother believes he should have by birthright. In search of a quiet, happy life. Shy, loving, with a sense of duty and responsibility.
ACTOR WILL ALSO PLAY: MR PALMER - a gruff man who uses a sardonic sense of humor to navigate through his life with a ridiculously talkative and empty-headed wife.
May track in rep as Demetrius or Lysander in Midsummer.
COLONEL BRANDON - 40s. A reserved and honorable retired officer. A man of great morality and kindness which can be hidden by his stern nature. Capable of great love and compassion. May track in rep as Oberon/Theseus in Midsummer.
JOHN WILLOUGHBY - 20s-30s a charismatic man. One of those people everyone wants to be around. Fun and charming, but with a recklessness and hidden selfishness that ultimately breaks Marianne’s heart. May track in rep as Demetrius or Lysander in Midsummer.
The following roles are CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.
MRS. JENNINGS - Role CAST. 50s. An older woman who, along with Sir John, welcome the Dashwoods to their new home in Devonshire. She is high-energy, very talkative and must know everyone’s business. She is always trying to match up young women and eligible bachelors. A busy body, but generous and good-hearted. Will track in rep as Quince/Egeus in Midsummer.
SIR JOHN MIDDLETON - Role CAST. 40s -distant relative of the Dashwoods who offers them his cottage when they are kicked out of their home. He is generous, personable and fun. Loves company.
ACTOR WILL ALSO PLAY: DOCTOR HARRIS - doctor who tends to Marianne. Attentive and caring.
ACTOR WILL ALSO PLAY: THOMAS - loyal servant to the Dashwood family.
Will track in rep as Bottom in Midsummer.
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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
LOA
By William Shakespeare
Director: Matt Pfeiffer, 1st rehearsal: June 5, runs July 8-Aug 2. In rep with Sense & Sensibility.
All races/ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition. All roles likely to track into Sense & Sensibility. See notes under S&S breakdown.
OBERON/THESEUS
Male identifying 25-55
A commanding presence, athletic, excellent movement skills; needs a sense of authority and yet an ability to be goofy when necessary, should have an edge of danger but also needs to be compassionate and capable of forgiveness; both men come from paternalistic, authoritative ways of thinking and of ruling; Theseus chooses forgiveness late in the play, and begins to change as the story concludes.
TITINA/HYPOLITA
Female- identifying 25-55
Both are strong women and not to be messed with, though Titania is the more poetic of the two; athletic, excellent movement skills; sense of authority and yet able to be silly when called upon to do so. Hippolyta is a Queen in her own right, taken captive in war; does not find hope in the marriage with Theseus till late in the play when he chooses forgiveness over punishment and he begins to loosen his paternalistic hold on the world.
PUCK/PHILOSTRATE
Any gender 20’s to 40’s
needs to be youthful and athletic, excellent movement skills; sense of mischief, loves stirring things up; Philostrate is more constrained and committed to doing his job well; parallels Puck in that he serves a King and Queen. Musical ability a plus.
LYSANDER
Male identifying 20’s to 30’s
Of the two young men, the more poetic and romantic; the more likely to become an artist, actor, or poet. He believes that the course of true love never does run smooth, and that he and Hermia--like all lovers of legend and history--are destined to be together because theirs is already a bumpy path; not a practical thinker. Musical ability a plus
DEMETRIUS
Male-Identifying 20’s to 30’s
Of the two young men, the more rigid and uptight, the more likely to end up a stock broker on Wall Street; the guy dad and mom would choose; certain sense of entitlement; capable of cruelty, but also learns forgiveness late in the game; he secretly really does love Helena, but is afraid of making an unconventional choice. Musical ability a plus.
HELENA
Female-identifying 20-30’s
She feels out of sorts and she wants a loyal partner to love. She’s smart--and a real problem solver, always countering Demetrius with an answer or a solution; works tirelessly to overcome obstacles along the path to true love, operates from her head more than she does from her heart, though she’s a romantic inside. She’s bold and feisty. Musical ability a plus
HERMIA
Female- identifying 20-30’s
A romantic, poetic, idealistic and feisty; a dreamer; bold enough to take matters into her own hands, defy her father (and the Athenian law), and run away to the woods with the man she loves.
The following roles are CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.
BOTTOM
Role CAST. Male-identifying. 30s-50s.
The confident-to-a-fault weaver who wants to play all the parts. Guileless, tries too hard to impress. Not a great sense of self. Plays Pyramus in the Mechanical’s play. Great comic timing, excellent with language.
QUINCE/EGEUS
Role CAST. Any gender 40-60’s
QUINCE - A carpenter and aspiring playwright. patient and caring; kind, shy, and retiring. He does his best to hold together his band of players. EGEUS - Hermia’s parent. Overly protective and stubborn. Doesn’t want to let Hermia grow up or make her own decisions. Musical ability a plus
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HENRY IV, PART 2
SPT
by William Shakespeare
No director – Elizabethan-style brief rehearsal model. Actors paid to come in off-book.
1st rehearsal: July 17. Runs July 22 – August 2
Actors of all ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition and roles may be cast as any ethnic group. Gender is open.
PRINCE HAL – 20s-early 30s – King Henry’s eldest son and heir. After spending most of his youth in the tavern with Falstaff and friends, he has greater plans to do greater things. Can change gears from playful to fierce as needed. Wiser than he appears to some but still finding his way, capable of some compassion even when suppressing it. His nobility is inescapable. Athletic, skilled stage combatant.
NORTHUMBERLAND – 50s - Northumberland is Hotspur’s father, at first on the side of the king but then a leader of the rebellion.
SCROOP - The Archbishop of York. Backs the rebellion. Uses his religious authority to his advantage.
LORD CHIEF JUSTICE – 40s-60s. Powerful, level-headed, calm advisor.
KING HENRY IV – 40s-50s – Formerly Bolingbroke in Richard II, plagued by guilt over his deposition of Richard, by illness, and by continued insurrections in the north. Deeply troubled by his son Hal’s antics and absence from court, but even more proud following his final reconciliation with Hal.
ROBERT SHALLOW – 50s-70s - a Justice of the Peace. Wealthy, vain, provincial, likes to reminisce about the good old days.
MISTRESS QUICKLY – 50s – Innkeeper of the Boar’s Head Tavern, she complains about Falstaff but still likes the old rascal.
DOLL TEARSHEET – 20s-40s. a fierce, rough-tongued prostitute.
The following roles are CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.
FALSTAFF – 40s-50s – a decadent aristocrat whose appetite for food, drink, and festivity is matched only by his wit and intellect. He leads Prince Hal (so he thinks) toward a life of debauchery and endeavors to teach him the ways of the world.
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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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