ENSEMBLE STUDIO THEATRE 2026-27 SEASON — Principal Actors Auditions

ENSEMBLE STUDIO THEATRE 2026-27 SEASON - NYC EPA

LOCATION:

Ensemble Studio Theatre, 545 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019-5012

AUDITION INFORMATION

AUDITION DATE:

Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (Break: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM)
Call Type: EPA

CONTRACT

LOA-NYC
$700 weekly minimum

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in Ensemble Studio Theatre's 2026-27 Season (see

BREAKDOWN

).

PREPARATION

Please prepare a brief contemporary monologue. Please bring your headshot and resume stapled together. Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.

PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Adriana Borzellino
Company Manager: MJ Lugo
Casting by: Calleri Jensen Davis
Expected to Attend: Co-Artistic Directors Estefania Fadul and Graeme Gillis; EST Director of Play Development and EST/Sloan Project Director Linsay Firman; Program Director of Youngblood RJ Tolan

VENUE NOTES

There are two doors to the building located on either side of the MC Gallery on the 1st floor:

• The door to the left (closer to 11th Ave.) is unmarked and has a stairwell that leads up to the EST lobby on the 2nd floor.
• The door to the right is marked 545 (closer to 10th Ave.) and is the entrance for the passenger freight elevator. There is a phone number on the elevator door to call the operator, who will pick you up and take you to the second or sixth floor theatres. There is a small movable ramp for the lip at that entrance. Elevator operator takes lunch from 1 PM to 2 PM.

PRODUCTIONS

BEYOND WORDS

By: Laura Maria Censabella
Inspired by: The life story of Irene Pepperberg and Alex
Directed by: Colette Robert
First Rehearsal: Monday, January 4, 2027
First Preview: Monday, February 8, 2027
Opening: Thursday, February 18, 2027
Closing: Monday, March 7, 2027

Casting

BREAKDOWN

Dr. Irene Pepperberg - White, late-20s to late-50s. Charismatic, sensual, professional, highly intelligent. She has a slight hybrid Brooklyn-Queens/Boston accent—more a subtle NYC boroughs' attitude, actually—despite her MIT and Harvard education. She's funny and irreverent but low key with dry, wry intelligent humor.

Alex - White. Strong mover. A human portraying an African Grey parrot, Puck-like with a deep reserve of inner life.

Dr. Howard (Howie) Towers/Dr. Rick Pepperberg - White. Dr. Howard Towers (30s to 60s) an Ivy League, Jewish, educated scientist with a strong Bronx accent. Doubles as Dr. Rick Pepperberg (30s to 40s) a preppie Midwestern Ivy League educated Jewish scientist and Irene's husband. NOTE: May double other roles in the chorus if needed.

Dr. Lourdes Acevedo and Others - Puerto Rican, 20s to 50s. A dolphin scientist and Irene's best friend. She has almost the same style as Irene—sophisticated and sensual. Funny. Intelligent. Doubles some roles in the chorus as indicated, mostly in Part I.

Chorus 1, 2 & 3 - All three chorus tracks will double multiple roles. Chameleonic, with strong movement and comedic skills.

LUCKY/BIRD

By: Audley Puglisi
Directed by: abigail jean-baptiste
First Rehearsal: Monday, April 19, 2027
First Preview: Monday, May 17, 2027
Opening: Thursday, May 27, 2027
Closing: Sunday, June 13, 2027

Casting

BREAKDOWN

Louise - Black, 60s-70s+. Matriarch of the Evans family, mother to Tasha, grandmother to Nia; raises peacocks and other tropical birds on her front porch; a bit of a pariah, a bit reclusive; a three-time widow, sometimes bitter, a chain smoker; an Everything Happens to Me attitude towards life.

Nia - Black, 20s. Louise's granddaughter, Tasha's daughter. Often glued to her phone; in a rebellious phase of life; stubborn; surprisingly, has more in common with her grandmother than her mother. Unhappy, at first, to be visiting her grandmother. Feigns youthful disinterest and apathy to hide her true feelings. (May double with The Stranger.)

Sonny - Black, 20s/30s. Louise's neighbor, feeds her birds for her. Incredibly sweet, earnest, sometimes a little naive; both parents are deceased, lives alone, often lonely; very close with The Duke. Nia's suitor.

Mrs Clarke - Black, 60s-70s+. Louise's neighbor and occasional nemesis; the town crier, always in everybody's business; loves to start and spread gossip, rumors. Often very nice and sweet on the surface, not always kind. The eyes and ears of the block. Also a widow; sometimes feels she's in competition with Louise, although very one-sided. (May double with The Stranger.)

The Duke - Black, 60s-70s+. A flirtatious smooth-talker, old school charm, a little fast-talking, a dandy; often the life of the party, a bacchus-figure, a trickster-figure; used to slick back his hair and wear alligator shoes back in the day; a jazz man with no instrument. Behind his laughing mask is a lonely man, a misunderstood man, which has led him to drinking.

Tasha - Black, 40s-50s. A butch lesbian, very cosmopolitan, left the community as a teenager, educated, informed; looks out of place in the world of this town, feels disconnected from her mother and her mother's community and the culture she was raised in; listens to NPR and lives with her white wife and their daughter, Nia, in a nearby major city; a little uptight, a little type-A. (May double with The Stranger.)

Mr Ackerman - Non-Black, 20s-40s. An official, should represent the outside world: bureaucracy, order, modernity, comedic timing/straight man. Will also represent The Man, who is more serious, stoic, mythic. Doesn't have many lines (might not speak at all) but has a strong, ominous presence whenever on stage.

OTHER INFORMATION

Ensemble Studio Theatre Website

EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition. An Equity Monitor will be provided.

Equity's

CONTRACT

s 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.