CULLUD WATTAH Submission - New York Shakespeare Festival Auditions

CULLUD WATTAH - EQUITY VIDEO SUBMISSIONS

New York Shakespeare Festival

CONTRACT

Off Broadway $1,212 weekly minimum

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in CULLUD WATTAH (see breakdown).

All Stage Management positions on the show have been filled at this time.

INSTRUCTIONS

SEE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS IN BREAKDOWN : EPA Notice Requesting Video Audition Submissions. All submissions must be received by WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 at 6:00PM EDT. Please submit audition video via online form : https://airtable.com/shruA1SNaQvxOhy6w

Deadline: Wed, Sep 8, 2021

PERSONNEL

Written by Erika Dickerson-Despenza (she/her)
Directed by Candis C. Jones (she/her)
Viewing Auditions : Heidi Griffiths (she/her) and Kate Murray (she/her)
Casting by Heidi Griffiths (she/her) and Kate Murray (she/her)

OTHER DATES

1st Rehearsal: 10/16/21
Tech Start: 10/23/21
1st Performance: 11/2/21
Close: 12/12/21

OTHER

SPECIAL NOTE:
As a condition of employment, the Public will require all employees who report to work on site (either at The Public Theater or any other workspace or performing location) to show proof of full vaccination. The Public Theater is committed to ensuring a safe return to theatrical production and to complying with state and local guidelines in addition to sector-specific parameters. The health and safety of all of our artists, staff, audiences, and the city is paramount to The Public.

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 submit.

BREAKDOWN

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS :

Please prepare EITHER: A contemporary, dramatic monologue of your choice that is two minutes or less. OR: ONE of the following monologues from the play:

BIG MA UNDERSTUDY :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M23nrj0lirRcBor_19jGdVAKygn1qroY/view?usp=sharing

MARION / AINEE UNDERSTUDY :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YSC7OKwA3_0G2qFdMfTlE8pfHA95gha2/view?usp=sharing

PLUM / REESEE UNDERSTUDY :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uYpb1kY9EdjfQghk_qRQKLG4dzW1yZTW/view?usp=sharing

SYNOPSIS:

It’s been 936 days since Flint has had clean water. Marion, a third-generation General Motors employee, is consumed by layoffs at the engine plant. When her sister, Ainee, seeks justice and restitution for lead poisoning, her plan reveals the toxic entanglements between the city and its most powerful industry, forcing their family to confront the past-present-future cost of survival. As lead seeps into their home and their bodies, corrosive memories and secrets rise among them. Will this family ever be able to filter out the truth?

NOTE: Although this play is NOT a musical, actors should be able to hold a note, and be comfortable with singing. In this family, music comes as easily as breathing. All actors should be comfortable with movement. All roles are for actors with both comedic and dramatic range, possessing STRONG language skills.

BIG MA: 60’s. A Black woman. The matriarch of the family who does NOT run the house.(ROLE IS CAST)

MARION: 30’s. A Black woman. A third-generation assembly line worker at GM. (ROLE IS CAST)

AINEE: Late 30’s/early 40’s. A Black woman. Marion’s defiant sister. (ROLE IS CAST)

PLUM: 9 years old. Black. Marion’s daughter. (ROLE IS CAST)

REESEE: 16 years old. Black. Queer. Marion’s daughter and Plum’s older sister (ROLE IS CAST)

BIG MA UNDERSTUDY (50’s - 60’s): A Black woman. The matriarch of the family who does NOT run the house. Leads with a stern and tough exterior, but deeply loving at her core, although she would never admit it. Frank and stubborn. She understands what it means to make sacrifices for people you love.

MARION/AINEE UNDERSTUDY : MARION: 30’s. A Black woman. A third-generation assembly line worker at GM. A single mother who has been raising her two daughters (with the help of her mother and sister) after their father was killed in combat in Afghanistan. Practical, responsible. Everyone depends on her, but the strain is starting to wear. Will also understudy AINEE: Late 30’s/early 40’s. A Black woman. Marion’s defiant sister. 34 weeks pregnant. Has had multiple miscarriages. Recovering from substance abuse issues and she sees this baby as a welcome opportunity for a fresh start. Perceptive, straightforward and fearless. A fighter. Frank and direct, with a quick and irreverent
sense of humor, she always speaks her mind.

PLUM/REESEE UNDERSTUDY (18+): PLUM: 9 years old. Black. Marion’s daughter. Her dark complexion matches her name. Just finished chemotherapy for leukemia. Physically frail, but resilient. Smart and intuitive, she’s able to pick up on everything that’s going on around her even if she lacks the life experience to understand it. Playful and strong-willed, with a vivid imagination. She’s wise beyond her years. Extremely loving. REESEE: 16 years old. Black. Queer. Marion’s daughter and Plum’s older sister. Opinionated and outspoken. Quick witted, with a bit of a brass mouth. A teenager, she’s inhabiting the space between child and adult and is pushing against the boundaries on both sides

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 submit.