Folger Theatre 2026-27 Season Equity Principal Actors - Folger Theatre Auditions

FOLGER THEATRE 2026-27 SEASON - WASHINGTON, DC EPA

Folger Theatre | Washington, DC

Notice: Audition · Call Type: EPA

AUDITION DATE

LOCATION

Monday, March 16, 2026

Folger Shakespeare Library Haskell Center
301 E Capitol St SE
Washington, DC 20003

11:00 AM - 6:30 PM (E)

Lunch: 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

PERSONNEL

Artistic Director: Karen Ann Daniels

Appointments expected to attend: Daryl Eisenberg, CSA, Casting Director of Eisenberg Casting.

To schedule an audition appointment please go to:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054DACAE2CA5FB6-62535911-folger#/

See breakdown for production-specific personnel.

CONTRACT

$757 weekly minimum (Ref. to LORT) - 2025-26 rates. See breakdown for production-specific dates.

LOA

OTHER DATES

See breakdown for production-specific dates.

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in Folger Theatre's 2026-27 Season (see breakdown). Performers of all racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities and expressions are encouraged to audition. Folger Theatre will provide reasonable accessibility accommodation to individuals who request it in advance. Folger Theatre is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this 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.

Website:
www.folger.edu

PREPARATION

Please prepare a brief Shakespeare or other monologue. Please bring your headshot and resume. Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.

Breakdown

The character breakdowns in this announcement include specifications that reflect the identity of the characters. The worlds of these plays will explore the intersections of identities, and actors with bi-racial, multi-cultural, and gender-expansive identities are encouraged to audition.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Written by William Shakespeare

Director: TBD

Rehearsals Begin: August 25, 2026

Performances: September 22 – October 25, 2025
Potential extension through November 1, 2026

Additional roles to be doubled among the cast.

SEEKING:

• Duke of Vienna – male. Later disguises himself as Friar Lodowick.
• Escalus – any gender. A judge. Loyal to the Duke and advises Angelo.
• Claudio – male. Isabella’s brother. Sentenced to death for impregnating his fiancée.
• Lucio – male. An outspoken bachelor.
• Angelo – male. In charge of Vienna when Duke is absent.
• Provost – any gender. Prison guard who carries out Angelo’s orders.
• Pompey – any gender. Works for Mistress Overdone. Becomes an executioner.
• Elbow / Friar Thomas / Mistress Overdone – any gender.
  • Elbow - a constable. Causes confusion in his lack of clear communication.
  • Mistress Overdone - runs a brothel.
• Isabella – female. Claudio’s sister, training to be a nun.
• Mariana – female. A heartbroken woman.

The Reading Room Festival

Rehearsals Begin: January 25, 2027

Performances: January 28 – January 31, 2027

Written by: TBD
Directed by: TBD

The Reading Room Festival is a one-week series of staged readings of new plays and musicals that are in relationship to the works of William Shakespeare, other early modern classical writers, or that speak to the mission of the Folger. Each reading is produced on a full week’s contract which uses the 29-hour staged reading code as the template.

Over the past four years, the Reading Room Festival has introduced audiences to new plays that have gone on to full-scale productions, including the world premiere of Lauren M. Gunderson’s A Room in the Castle; Al Letson’s Julius X, which remixes Civil Rights history through the lens of Shakespeare’s tragedy; and Jacob Ming-Trent’s autobiographical How Shakespeare Saved My Life.

SEEKING:

• Actors of all genders, all ages. Skilled with classic text.

HAMLET

Written by William Shakespeare

Director: TBD

Rehearsals Begin: February 2, 2027

Performances: March 2 – April 4, 2026
Potential extension through April 11, 2027

Additional roles to be doubled among the cast.

SEEKING:

• Hamlet – male. Prince of Denmark.
• Queen Gertrude – female. Widow of the late King Hamlet, married to Claudius. Mother to Hamlet.
• King Claudius – male. Brother to the late King Hamlet.
• Ophelia – female. Daughter of Polonius.
• Laertes – male. Ophelia’s brother.
• Polonius – male. Father to Ophelia and Laertes, advisor to King Claudius.
• Player King / The Ghost – male. Skilled with classic text.
• Horatio – male. Hamlet’s friend.
• Rosencrantz / Marcellus / Player 1 – any gender. Skilled with comedy and classic text.
• Guildenstern / Bernardo / Player 2 – any gender. Skilled with comedy and classic text.

Production TBD

Rehearsals Begin: April 26, 2027

Performances: May 18 – June 20, 2027

Written by: TBD
Directed by: TBD

Auditions for this production will be held at a later date.