HAMLET - NYC EPA
New York Shakespeare Festival | New York, NY Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
Friday, January 27, 2023
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM (E)
Lunch 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
LORT Non-Rep
$1101 weekly minimum (LORT B) contract pending
Equity actors for the Shakespeare in the Park production of HAMLET (see breakdown).
All roles will be understudied.
There is one Assistant stage manager position available. Please drop off your resume with the monitor for consideration.
Please prepare one short (no more than two minutes in length) Shakespeare monologue. Bring your picture and resume stapled together.
Actors' Equity New York Audition Center 165 W 46th St
16th Fl
New York, NY 10036
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kenny Leon
Expected to attend:
Public Theater Casting Office:
Jordan Thaler & Heidi Griffiths - Directors of Casting
Kate Murray - Casting Director
Chalin Tulyathan - Casting Associate Elizabeth Hay - Casting Assistant
Rehearsal Date: 4/25/2023
Preview Date: 6/8/2023
Closing Date: 8/06/2023
OTHER
Will be performed at Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare In The Park
EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition. An Equity Monitor will be provided.
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.
Equity encourages everyone participating in the auditions to wear a two-ply cloth face mask, surgical mask, singer’s mask or respirator (N95, KN95 or KF94). Single-ply face masks, gaiters and bandanas are not recommended. Singer’s masks can be found at www.broadwayreliefproject.com/singersmask.
Equity encourages members to prepare for their audition prior to arriving at the audition venue, to the extent that they can (e.g., get dressed, hair/make-up, etc.) to avoid crowding in bathrooms and dressing rooms.
The maximum capacity in the holding room is: 80
The maximum capacity in the audition room is: 28
NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL VACCINATION INFORMATION:
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 confirm that they are fully vaccinated and have received an additional dose/booster shot. For the purpose of this policy, “fully vaccinated” means that at least 14 days have passed since the date of receiving the final vaccine dose in the COVID-19 vaccine series.
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.
Safety guidelines have been developed by the Public’s Onsite Safety and COVID-19 Compliance team in ongoing dialogue with those with expertise in institutional infection control practices, infectious diseases, and community health to ensure compliance with all state and local health guidelines, and to augment working practices during rehearsals, tech, and performances to minimize risk of SARS-CoV 2 transmission among actors, crew, and other theater professionals.
The Public Theater is committed to inclusive casting and as such we are intentionally seeking performers of all ethnicities, performers with disabilities, performers of all gender identities, and ages.
NOTE FOR ALL ROLES: As this production will involve singing at times, we are particularly but not exclusively interested in actors who are confident singers and are comfortable with group singing.
[HAMLET] THIS ROLE IS CAST.
[CLAUDIUS] 50s, A Black man. Hamlet’s uncle, step-father and now the King. Deceitful. Jealous. Controlling and calculating. An ambitious politician. Driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power. He seems to genuinely love his wife but other attempts to express human feeling like guilt are fleeting, It is only after Polonius is murdered that he begins to lose emotional control. His monarchy, which had once seemed so positive, begins a descent into grotesqueness and excess.
[GERTRUDE] 50s. A Black woman. Hamlet’s mother. A vital and beautiful woman who loves her son deeply and was loyal to her recently deceased husband during his life. In a society where a woman’s status and security is defined entirely by marriage, she is forced to make a purely practical decision to hastily remarry after the King’s sudden death. A woman caught between her memory of her husband, and the choices she is compelled to make in order to protect her and her son, even if her son is unable to understand.
[POLONIUS] 50s. A white man. Counselor to the king. He has a tendency toward action without thought. Or if with thought, his own particular brand of quirky thought. Loves his children but can easily sacrifice their best interests for what he thinks is the most politically correct decision. Like all politicians, he is fond of repetition, saying the same thing a hundred different ways, often to great comic effect. Ultimately it is his fondness for moralizing that is his undoing. An inept spy who dies because of his own duplicity. Comedic and dramatic.
[OPHELIA] Late 20s - early 30s. A Black-white biracial woman or a white woman. Polonius’ daughter, sister of Laertes and Hamlet's love interest. A young, bright woman, with a big heart that she wears on her sleeve. A light. A warm and loving soul who cares deeply for those around her. An honest and genuine person who is trying to survive–with her heart and voice intact–in a world that operates through deception. Truly in love with Hamlet, but their timing never lines up. NOTE: Exceptionally strong SINGER.
[LAERTES] Late 20s - 30 years old. A white man. Polonius’ son. A loving older brother to Ophelia. Adventurous. If Hamlet manifests self-doubt and inaction, Laertes is all action and certainty. A young man eager to begin his life.
[HORATIO] 30s. A Black man. Loyal friend to Hamlet. Calm and collected. A trusted ally and logical thinker. Even-tempered. Hamlet is able to let his mask down and be entirely himself when he’s with Horatio. Incorruptible. NOTE: Physically strong enough to lift and carry someone approximately 150
lbs. at the end of the play. This would NOT be a good fit for someone with previous back and/or knee issues.
[ROSENCRANTZ] 30s. A Black man. An old friend of Hamlet’s, that Hamlet has slightly outgrown. Sidekick to Guildenstern. Trying to be cool, but ultimately very uncool indeed, and often even embarrassing. Closer friends with Hamlet in his mind than in reality. Impressed by power. Social and political climber. Comedic and dramatic.
[GUILDENSTERN] 30s. Any AAPI, First Nations, Indigenous, Latine, SWANA, Multiracial, Native, or white ethnicity. An old friend of Hamlet’s, that Hamlet has slightly outgrown. Sidekick to Rosencrantz. Trying to be cool, but ultimately very uncool indeed, and often even embarrassing. Closer friends with
Hamlet in his mind than in reality. Impressed by power. Social and political climber. Comedic and dramatic.
[MARCELLUS/ENSEMBLE] 20s - early 30s. Any AAPI, Black, First Nations, Indigenous, Latine, SWANA, Multiracial, or Native ethnicity. A young man and a career soldier. More of the working class but raised along with Hamlet. Honest. A loyal and pragmatic friend. NOTE: This role will likely understudy other principal roles.
[GRAVEDIGGER/ENSEMBLE] 30s - 50s. Any ethnicity and/or gender. Working class, and lives on the margins of the wealthy, privileged society. Their take-no-prisoners sense of humor makes their morbid occupation enjoyable, or at least tolerable. Possesses great wit and comic instincts. NOTE: This role will likely double with and/or understudy other principal roles.
[OSRIC/ENSEMBLE] 30s - 50s. Any ethnicity and/or gender. A true eccentric, not a dismissible fool. A messenger or master of ceremonies of sorts. Comedic. NOTE: This role will likely double with and/or understudy other principal roles.
[Equity ENSEMBLE] Late 20s - 50s. Any gender and/or ethnicity. A variety of speaking roles, including but not limited to players, messengers, courtiers, etc. Experienced in handling classical text. Will likely double in multiple roles, and will understudy principal roles. NOTE: We are particularly interested in significant dance experience, and STRONG, confident singers.
[Equity UNDERSTUDIES] 20s-50s. Any ethnicity and/or gender. To understudy principal roles. These are offstage positions.
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