RICHARD THE SECOND Equity Principal Actors - Red Bull Theater Auditions

RICHARD THE SECOND (OBway) - NYC EPA

Red Bull Theater | New York, NY

AUDITION DATE

Friday, September 19, 2025
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (E)
BREAK: 2:00PM - 3:00PM

CONTRACT

Off Broadway
$903 weekly minimum (tier 3)

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in RICHARD THE SECOND (see breakdown).

PREPARATION

Please prepare a Shakespeare monologue of your choice. Please bring your headshot and resume stapled together.

LOCATION

Ripley-Grier Studios (520)
520 8th Ave
New York, NY 10018-6507
Audition Room: 17 T – capacity: 24;
Holding Room: 17X – capacity: 34

PERSONNEL

Producer: Red Bull Theater
Director: Craig Baldwin
Playwright: William Shakespeare
EXPECTED TO ATTEND:
Alexandre Bleau, Casting Director

OTHER DATES

First Rehearsal: September 22, 2025
Previews: October 27 - November 8, 2025
Opening: November 9, 2025
Understudy First rehearsal: On/about December 1, 2025
Closing: February 1, 2026
The initial run will be through November 30 with possible extensions.

OTHER

Venue: Astor Place Theatre
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.
Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA

BREAKDOWN

RICHARD THE SECOND

SEEKING:

THE FOLLOWING ROLES ARE CAST.

• Richard: Michael Urie
• Bolingbroke: TBA
• Gaunt / Bishop of Carlisle: TBA
• Queen: TBA
• Northumberland: TBA
• York: TBA
• Mowbray / Scroop: TBA
• Bushy / Gardener 1: TBA
• Bagot / Welsh Captain: TBA
• Green / Gardener 2: TBA
• Aumerle: TBA

SEEKING

We will be hiring understudies if the production extends past its originally run

UNDERSTUDY TRACK 1:

• Bolingbroke: Male. 35-45. Black. Son of John of Gaunt. Upright, moral, and strong-willed. He is brave enough to speak truth to power and is stripped of everything he owns as a result. He has been wronged and at first, he is justified in his actions, but slowly in the course of bringing down the king he compromises his own morals. Eventually he becomes the violence and greed that he sought to destroy. He ends the play with the realization of his own degradation.
• Aumerle: Male. Early 20s-Early 30s. Son of the Duke of York. Richard’s “open secret” lover. They are deeply in love but can never publicly live that love. Aumerle is very much out of his depths amidst the political operators surrounding him. As much as he tries to play the political games, he’s a genuine soul in a sea of sharks. He will eventually get caught in their feeding frenzy and turn violent in his desperation to survive.
• Green/Gardener 2: Male. 30s-40s. Green is the junior of Richard's queer cabinet. A trio of hangers on, sycophants, and opportunists (Bushy, Bagot, and Green). Charming and self-interested, of course. Their youth makes them the most reckless of the trio, but also the most fun. Gardener 2 is a landscape worker with a comical view of politics.

UNDERSTUDY TRACK 2:

• John of Gaunt/Bishop of Carlisle: Male. 60-80. Bolingbroke's father. Gaunt was once a leader in war, now an Elder Statesman. Honorable, incorruptible and resistant to change. His health is diminished and he's ready to retire. Horrified by what the country has become, but resolutely will not be drawn into the fight... until he is pushed too far. Doubles as Bishop - A true holy man. A voice of morality, sounding warnings as the country sinks into ruthlessness and greed. Yet even he will end up plotting an assassination in his desperation.
• Mowbray/Scroop: Male. 35 - 55. Mowbray is a political operative who has tried to curry favour with Richard. He never reaches the inner circle and is discarded when the trouble hits. A genuine man at heart... probably too genuine. Scroop is a somewhat slimy politician and a real wordsmith. He knows exactly how to turn a phrase in the right direction. A shark that will turn violent when he needs to feed.
• Bagot/Welsh Captain: Male. 30s – 45. Bagot is the middle part of Richard's queer cabinet. A trio of hangers on, sycophants, and opportunists (Bushy, Bagot, and Green). Just as charming, fun, and self-interested, but probably also the savviest. Bagot makes it through the coup and wisely betrays his old friends to curry favour with the new king. Welsh Captain is a military leader, commanding a large army in the midst of utter turmoil.

UNDERSTUDY TRACK 3:

• Queen: Female. 25-35. French accent. A trophy wife, much to her own dismay. Full of privilege and entitlement, yes, but savvy, fiery, and very charming. She knows her husband has a male lover. She loves him anyway... she loves his lover, too. Having to sit ineffectually on the sidelines and watch all the politics unfold without her drives her almost insane. She would rule them all if she had the chance.
• Bushy/Gardener 1: 35-50. Bushy is the most senior of Richard's queer cabinet. A trio of hangers on, sycophants, and opportunists (Bushy, Bagot, and Green). Ambitious, charming and fun, but ultimately self-interested. Gardener 1 is a landscape worker with a comical view of politics.

UNDERSTUDY TRACK 4:

• York: Female. 60-70. Mother of Aumerle. Sister to Gaunt. Elder Statesperson. A matriarch, resistant to change. She believes in honour and nobility and is shocked to witness an increasingly ruthless world. She is trying to hold fast to political norms while the grounds shift completely beneath her feet. The country has changed and she hasn’t changed with it.
• Northumberland: Female. 40-60. A slick political operator. Ruthless, ambitious, Machiavellian. She is both master manipulator and superb spin-doctor. She instigates the coup and plays the political games to perfection. There's ice in her veins.