PARTS OF PARTS & STITCHES
- Submit Photo / Resume for NYC Appointments
MTWorks (NYC) Equity Showcase, approval pending
Contact: Martha Goode
1st rehearsal on or around 2/11/12. Runs: 3/15-3/30/12
NYC auditions will be held on January 13th, from 4pm to 7pm and January 15th from 12pm to 5pm, by appointment only.
For consideration, email picture and resume to:
Indicate in subject line: “PARTS OF PARTS AND STITCHES Submission”
NOTE: Some roles will be combined and played by one actor. The combination will be determined after casting. The ability to speak Punjabi, Urdu, or Hindi is not mandatory, but would be helpful. An understanding of the area’s culture is also helpful. The play will be performed in English, but appropriate accents are welcome. For the majority of roles, this play will be cast with an eye towards ethnic realism, utilizing actors that 'read' as South Asian and Middle Eastern; however we have a couple of roles that will be open to all actors.
About the Play: “Parts” is about a relationship coming together, while a people are torn apart. The action takes place in a small village in the Mianwali district of the NorthWest Frontier Province/Punjab (in what is now Pakistan). A young couple takes their final steps toward marriage, with all the joy and pressure that such a union creates with people all over the world. But their union is short-lived, horribly aborted by the violence that accompanies the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. A woman, horribly widowed, must make a journey to find the pieces of her husband in order to reconcile his loss. “Parts” deals with a very real issue in a fantastical way, and uses a “greek chorus” of vultures to prod, illustrate and underline the story.
Seeking:
Yamuna:
Female, Bride, Hindu. Early 20s. Sexually innocent. Caught up in the joy of becoming a married woman. Confident of her sewing and math skills.
Shazia:
Female, Muslim, 20s. Long time servant to Yamuna’s family and “big sister-like” to Yamuna. Smart, sassy, shrewd, and courageous. Thinks quickly on her feet.
Jiwan:
Male, Groom, Hindu, 20s. Playful, gentle, hard working, poetic, thoughtful, not particularly politically aware, practical. Able to sing.
Vultures:
Four Roles [Ageless] The vultures have a hermaphroditic quality, working the continuum of masculine-feminine. They function independently and as a sort of “Greek Chorus.” They are onstage at all times. They instigate, inform, and bait. These roles are open to any gender, any age, any ethnicity. The ability to play an instrument, dance/move well, and/or sing is helpful.
Maqbool:
Male, Sweetmeat maker, Muslim, 40s. Married, working class, ambitious, politically savvy. Feels betrayed and angry by his sisters’ brutal death and turns on his neighbors.
Khan Mia:
Male, Neighbor, Muslim, 50s+. Wealthy, land-owning patriarch of the village, surrogate father to Yamuna. Old friend of Yamuna’s father. Torn on reconciling loyalties, duty and protecting his family.
Pushpa:
Female, Yamuna’s Mother, Hindu, 40s+. Loves her children fiercely. Eager to please the groom’s family; aware of social expectations; in denial of reality. Plays a dholki, dances.
Veena:
Female, Jiwan’s Mother, Hindu, mid 40s+. Smart, demanding, aware of the social/political situation around her. Wants the best for her family.
Pritham:
Male, Jiwan’s Father, Hindu, mid 40s+. Loving guide to his son; confused and scared about what to do with his family in face of the political situation. Level-headed. Loves his wife.
Kundun:
Male, Bride’s brother, Hindu, Late 20s/30s. Yamuna’s brother. Loyal to his family but struggling to find his footing as the patriarch of his clan. Confused on the competing needs of his family vs the political climate. Dances.
Masterji:
Male, Tailor, Muslim, 40s+. Married to a Hindu woman. Loyal, accommodating to the families he’s tailored for many years.
Masterji’s Apprentice:
Male, Tailor apprentice, Muslim, 20s. Works for Masterji. Young, impressionable man caught up in the perpetration of violence and propaganda.
Tamana:
Female, Sardarji’s servant, Muslim, late 20s+. Another innocent, unsuspecting victim of the carnage. Sews and embroiders for Sardarji. Deranged by the time she appears in the action.
Sardarji:
Male, Tailor, Sikh, 30s+. Family man; sassy.
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