SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS – Photo / Resume Request
Hartford Stage Company Hartford, CT LORT B; $750/week minimum
Artistic Director: Michael Wilson
Director: Jeremy Cohen
Writer: David Gutterson
Adapted by: Kevin McKeon
Casting: Harriet Bass
1st rehearsal: 12/13/10. Runs: 1/21 – 2/12/11.
NYC auditions will be held October 28, 2010, by appointment only.
Seeking submissions from Actors' Equity Members only for these particular auditions.
For consideration, mail picture and resume to:
Harriet Bass Casting
648 Broadway #912
New York, NY 10012
Please indicate on the outside of the envelope:
“SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS – NYC Appointments – AEA member self submit”
SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS alternates between a powerful epic romance and a searing national examination of racial profiling, all resting on the fulcrum of a courtroom trial surrounding the death of respected local fisherman,CARL HEINE JR. ISHMAEL CHAMBERS, editor of the town paper and a man with a very complex history, is covering the trial of KABUO MIYAMOTO, a local Japanese-American fisherman, who is accused of the murder. The story taking place in the past, centers around what happens to the local Japanese & Japanese-American community in Oregon surrounding the events of Pearl Harbor, and the inauguration of the Internment Camps. In Act One, we see the forbidden love blossom between Ishmael & Hatsue as they grow-up together, but in Act Two we see the toll that WWII and the internment camps take, and eventually Hatsue marries Kabuo. In the meantime, there is a land dispute that forms between the Miyamoto and Heine families, which becomes the subject of the murder trial. The prosecutor claim that KABUO’S motive was land sold to CARL HEINE JR. that was originally his family’s leased to own by CARL HEINE SR. ISHMAEL, has a conflict of interest regarding the case as the defendant’s wife, HATSUE¸ is the only woman he has ever loved. In the end, ISHMAEL finds consistent evidence that confirms CARL HEINE JR was not murdered but washed overboard his ship by a wake and his death was purely accidental. KABUO is acquitted and ISHMAEL is still alone.
The narration in this adaptation is not written to be simply descriptive or passive, but rather it is the actors' journeys to find their way into the deepest possible activation of the words. The acting style requires an athleticism physically & vocally so that the narrative text can be spoken as dialogue, with an activated subtext behind the lines.
The cast (with the exceptions of ACTOR TRACKS 1, 2, and 4) play numerous parts. There is no attempt at disguising this, Costume changes, or augmentation to costume, will in many instances take place in full view of the audience.
Seeking:
ACTOR TRACK 1
Ishmael Chambers
Early-Mid 30s, White male. Editor of the town newspaper; cognizant of racial struggles but is conflicted, honest and always questioning. He loses his arm in WWII and clearly changed for the more shut-down after the war.
ACTOR TRACK 2
Hatsue (Imada) Miyamoto
Late 20s-Early 30s, Japanese-American female. Graceful and smart, conflicted between the worlds of “American” and “Japanese” but, despite her young love of Ishmael, airs on the side of her family’s staunch beliefs of a more realistic life. She is the wife of Kabuo, and daughter of Fujiko and Hisao Imada.
ACTOR TRACK 3
Nels Gudmundsson/As Cast:
Late 50s-60s, White male. Experienced defense attorney, straight-forward and no nonsense but compassionate and sympathetic; as Kabuo’s lawyer, he doesn’t leave anything to question and intends to show that the trial is truly only about racial prejudice. Very Atticus Finch.
ACTOR TRACK 4
Kabuo Miyamoto:
30s, Japanese-American male. A fisherman who struggles to find his place in every aspect of the community. Strong and well-built. A decorated US first lieutenant in WWII, he comes home to a world unchanged in respect to race and is accused of murdering Carl Heine Jr.. He becomes the husband to Hatsue.
ACTOR TRACK 5
Alvin Hooks/Fisherman/Coroner/Harvey/as Cast:
40s, White male. The prosecutor on the case; competent, quick, feeds into the racist vein of the island in order to enhance his case. Has a slickness to him. Like the others in the town, he has lived a very workman-like life, growing-up as a part of this small community.
ACTOR TRACK 6
Carl Heine Jr/FBI Agent/Jackson/as Cast:
Late 20s- early 30s, White male. A big, well-built man, a fisherman, quiet with a “fastidious nature”, also fought in WWII and came back hardened and prejudiced. He is allegedly murdered by Kabuo, his childhood friend; and is Susan’s husband, Carl St. and Etta’s son.
ACTOR TRACK 8
Abel/Carl Heine Sr./George Leonard/as Cast:
40s- 50s, White male. Abel: the Deputy, an inexperienced investigator with a weak stomach. Carl Heine Sr:kind-hearted, concerned with treating the Miyamoto’s with equality & dignity.
ACTOR TRACK 9
Etta Heine, Mrs. Chambers, Dr. Whitman/as Cast:
Late 40s-50s, White female. Etta: opinionated housewife and deep protector of her family & its legacy...and to that end, doesn’t agree with her husband about equality in the community. Mrs. Chambers: outspoken, believes in tolerance and being honest, worried for Ishmael, tender in a strong way.
ACTOR TRACK 11
Hisao Imada/Zenhichi Miyamoto/Mr. Nitta/as Cast:
Late 40s-50s, Japanese male. All men are hard working and concerned with doing what is best for their families on an island where the line is blatantly obvious between the Anglo Americans and Japanese Americans.
Videos
