SpeakEasy Stage Company
REVISED
SLAVE PLAY breakdown updated.
Edit to age of Alana in Slave Play
CONTRACT
NEAT Cat 6; $506.00
SEEKING
Due to COVID-19 and Social Distancing Efforts, accepting Video Submission Auditions in lieu of live EPAs locally at the theatre in Boston, MA.
Seeking Video Submissions from Equity Members only for the 2020-21 Season Plays. (see breakdown)
For pre-cast roles, auditioning performers will be considered as possible (emergency) replacements, should any become necessary. No understudies are being cast.
INSTRUCTIONS
Please email auditions@speakeasystage.com with your Equity status, full name and pronouns,
contact information, the shows for which you would like to be
considered, your headshot/resume as a PDF titled LAST NAME, FIRST NAME (2020), and your video submission link. For your submission, please use a private link on a streaming service or website such as YouTube or Vimeo (not an attachment) and send the link via email.
Deadline: Fri, May 29, 2020
SUBMIT TO
PERSONNEL
Reviewing this EPA will be: Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault and Artistic Fellow Shira Gitlin
OTHER DATES
SLAVE PLAY: Rehearsals begin August 17, 2020; Performances run September 11 - October 11, 2020 (Possible Extension to October 18, 2020
PEOPLE, PLACES, & THINGS : Rehearsals begin December 14, 2020; Performances run January 8 - February 6, 2021
THE INHERITANCE : Rehearsals begin March 22, 2021; Performances run April 30 - June 19, 2021 (Possible Extension to June 26, 2021)
OTHER
Audition Video Info: Submissions should be no longer than 5 minutes. Actors may read one or more scenes from the season's plays, perform one or more monologues, or prepare a combination of scene(s) and monologues(s) from other sources. SpeakEasy suggests, if not performing scenes, to choose two contrasting monologues.
Production scripts can be accessed by contacting Stage Source.
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 submit.
BREAKDOWN
Other: For these auditions, no nudity or any form of sexual contact will be required as part of an actor’s audition. We will not ask prospective participants to perform violence or sexual contact as part of an audition without disclosing this expectation in the audition notice or invitation. SpeakEasy Stage Company seeks to foster an environment of communication, safety, respect, accountability, and the health, safety, and well- being of institutions and its participants.
Actors of color are strongly encouraged to audition, and all roles are open to inclusive casting. SpeakEasy Stage Company shall conduct all auditions/interviews in a manner that promotes fair consideration to persons of all races, ethnicities, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, ages, and ability statuses. SpeakEasy Stage Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition.
20-21 Season Plays
SLAVE PLAY
by Jeremy O. Harris, director TBA
Rehearsals begin August 17, 2020; Performances run September 11 - October 11, 2020 (Possible Extension to October 18, 2020
KANEISHA: Female-identified, late 20s-mid 30s. Black. She has dark skin and is from the American
South. Kaneisha is unafraid of what she knows she wants. Self-aware and cognizant of human
psychology. Please note: this role contains simulated acts of a sexual nature. nudity required.
JIM: Male-identified, mid 30s-early 40s. White. Inheritor of more than he knows how to handle. Most
content when in control of a situation and easily flustered when asked to step outside his comfort
zone. Must be able to do a British accent. Please note: this role contains simulated acts of a sexual
nature. nudity required.
PHILLIP: Male-identified, 30s. Mixed black and white ancestry. He considers himself a person who is
neither black nor white and is exploring his place in the world. Needs to be able to play the violin or
easily learn how to play the violin (must be instrument savvy). Please note: This role contains
simulated acts of a sexual nature. nudity required.
ALANA: Female-identified, mid 30s-early 40s. White. She is a woman who wants more than the world
sees fit to give her. Alana is hyper-aware and hungry to talk about her own experience. Please note:
This role contains simulated acts of a sexual nature. nudity required.
DUSTIN: Male-identified, late 20s-early 30s. White or “off-White” as described by the playwright. This
character identifies as non-white. Hungers for recognition. Feels erased by a society that does not
recognize his racial identity. Please note: This role contains simulated acts of a sexual nature. nudity
required.
GARY: Male-identified, late 20s-early 30s. Black. A dark black man whose life has been lived with the
full trauma of his color. Please note: This role contains simulated acts of a sexual nature. nudity
required.
TEÁ: Female-identified, mid 20s. Mixed black and white ancestry. Teá is studied in her black and her
white heritage. Supportive and empathetic but still learning.
PATRICIA: Female-identified, 30s-40s. Any ethnicity. This character identifies as non-white. A light
brown woman who knows many lives. Passionate about her work, but able to keep a distance.
________________________
PEOPLE, PLACES, & THINGS
by Duncan Macmillan, directed by David Gammons
Rehearsals begin December 14, 2020; Performances run January 8 - February 6, 2021
*EMMA: Female-identified. 30s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Recovering drug and alcohol user; Has a hard time with reality; Guarded, reluctant; Unable to fully tell the
truth, both to herself and others.
*PAUL/DAD: Male-identified. 50-60s. Any Ethnicity. As Paul: Member of The Group; A user who goes through different stages of recovery, including relapse;
Eventually finds religion. As Dad: Uncomfortable; He has no patience left for Emma, but he does still love her.
DOCTOR/MOM: Female-identified. 50-60s. Any Ethnicity. As the Doctor: Fierce, but motherly. Believes in the system in place at the rehab. As Mom: Defensive, unemotional, matter-of-fact; Cruel, but also caring in her own way.
FOSTER: Male-identified. 20s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Former user; An employee at the rehab; Optimistic, grounded, and earnest.
MARK: Male-identified. 30s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Former user and member of The Group; Cynical; A strong temper and former anger issues; Values honesty above all else.
CHARLOTTE/ENSEMBLE: Female-Identified. 20s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Former heroin user and member of The Group; 10 years clean until an accident caused her to relapse; Sees herself in Emma.
T/ENSEMBLE: Any Gender. 20s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Former user and member of The Group; Born to a methadone-using mother; Was in the foster care system
since at least age 15, but probably much earlier; HIV positive; Has a lot to prove.
JODI/ENSEMBLE: Female-identified. 20s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Alcoholic, former prescription pill user, and member of The Group; Has to make a difficult decision about her future life.
SHAUN/ENSEMBLE: Male-identified. 20s-30s. Any Ethnicity. Former cocaine user and member of The Group; A high-powered trader before the financial crash; A
perfectionist who is lost in the scope of the world.
LAURA/ENSEMBLE: Female-identified. 20s-40s. Any Ethnicity. Alcoholic, former user, and member of The Group; Has hurt many of the people in her life, but is far enough along in recovery that she can see how far she has come.
*The roles of Emma and Paul/Dad have been cast. Actors will be seen for these roles as replacements only.
________________________________
THE INHERITANCE
By Matthew Lopez, directed by Paul Daigneault
Rehearsals begin March 22, 2021; Performances run April 30 - June 19, 2021 (Possible Extension to June 26, 2021)
*MARGARET: Female-Identified. 60+. Any Ethnicity. A haunted woman. The mother of a young man who died of AIDS in the mid-1980 and who she was estranged
from, she has spent her life atoning for her personal failings. Flinty, pugnacious, no-nonsense. She is tasked with caring for Walter’s house and, by extension, all its secrets as well as some of her own.
WALTER/E.M. FORSTER: Male-Identified. 50-59. White. As E.M. Forster: The eminent British author of Howards End and Maurice. A spiritual and literary guide to a
group of young men attempting to tell the story of their lives. Straight-laced. Proper. Occasionally playful and even joyfully wicked. Having grappled with his dishonesty and cowardice in life as closeted gay man fearful of exposure, in death he is a teacher who learns just as much as his pupils about life in the modern world. As Walter Poole: Henry's gentle, honest, partner. A haunted man possessed of tremendous compassion but also tremendous emotional caution. He survived the AIDS epidemic by sacrificing himself to the needs of others and now he seems to be half in this world, half in the spirit world—in the process, it seems, of becoming a ghost. Note: As this doubling covers both British and American characters, the role(s) requires an actor extremely deft with both accents.
HENRY WILCOX: Male-Identified. 50-59. White. A gay billionaire Republican real estate developer. Walter’s partner. Charming, fiercely intelligent and emotionally inaccessible. He survived the AIDS epidemic by closing himself off to the needs of others. In trying to ignore his trauma he has lived a life completely divorced from his emotions, from joy, from connection to others. But the desire for happiness does not come without cost—and he is forced to finally face his past.
YOUNG MAN 1/ADAM/LEO: Male-Identified. 20-29. Any Ethnicity. As Adam: A charming wide-eyed child of privilege; physically attractive. naturally seductive. He hides these qualities beneath a veneer of innocence and inexperience but beneath the surface, he’s calculating and methodical. He’s too skilled a manipulator to ever be caught at it. As Leo: A guarded, damaged young man aching for connection and kindness. Leo trusts no one because his life has taught him this is the only way to survive. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 2/JASON 1: Male-Identified. 30-39. Any Ethnicity. A high school science teacher, bookish and sweetly nerdy. The kind of person who doesn’t speak at parties until they’ve had a couple of drinks and then you can’t shut them up. The peacemaker. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 3/YOUNG HENRY: Male-Identified. 18-29. Any Ethnicity. Appears as a memory of the adult Henry Wilcox. Traumatized by what he witnesses during the mid-1980’s, at the start of the AIDS epidemic, he moves through the world cautiously, with his emotional guard resolutely up. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 4/YOUNG WALTER: Male-Identified. 18-29. Any Ethnicity. Appears as a memory of the adult Walter Poole. At the start of the AIDS epidemic. A deeply feeling, intensely loyal, innately principled young man. Outwardly, he is as gentle as a cherry blossom. Inwardly, he’s steel-spined and indestructible. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 5/TOBY’S AGENT: Male-Identified. 18-29. Any Ethnicity. A budding young power agent at one of the big agencies. Thrives on protein shakes and hot yoga. Not without compassion for Toby but increasingly frustrated by his client’s erratic behavior. Knows how to gently pet with one hand and cut throats with the other. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 6/TRISTAN: Male-Identified. 25-39. Black. An ER physician who spends his days dealing with trauma of all kinds. He is calm under pressure and knows how to diffuse the most volatile situations. He can be droll and wickedly funny when he wants to (and he often does). He can also expertly dissect thorny, seemingly impossible problems with reasoned, blazingly intelligent thinking. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 7/JASPER: Male-Identified. 30-39. White. A “social justice entrepreneur,” who works in the political realm as a movement influencer. He is wickedly
smart if also a little self righteous and blind to his own privilege. He has a good heart and good intentions. When we meet him, he’s an amiable doofus with boyish charm who hasn’t really matured past the age of 22, which is the average age of most of his boyfriends. The 2016 election hardens him in unhealthy ways. He
becomes prone to pronouncements, over analysis, and develops an ideological rigidity and inflexibility that causes his relationships to fracture. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 8/JASON 2: Male-Identified. 30-39. Latinx/Hispanic. A first-grade teacher who often treats the world as if it were his classroom. Big-hearted, joyful, and deliriously idiosyncratic. The fact that he is able to coherently argue his somewhat baffling points of view is evidence not only of his fertile imagination but also his rock-solid intellect. Jason is a perceptive and compassionate man who possesses the ability to understand the emotional stakes of any situation—eventually. Plays multiple other roles. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 9/ERIC GLASS: Male-Identified. 30-39. Any Ethnicity. Deeply compassionate. Tender. Loyal. Undervalues himself and doesn’t realize how special he is. Tested along the way by heartbreak and loss, he uses these disappointments as fuel to build the growing fire inside him. Doesn’t know that he’s the lead of this play. Once he does and makes a decision to act bravely and decisively, he discovers he has the ability to change the world to an extent far greater than anyone knows. Please note: nudity required.
YOUNG MAN 10/TOBY DARLING: Male-Identified. 20-39. Any Ethnicity. A raging whirlwind of ambition, sex appeal, self-regard, self-doubt, and ultimately self-destruction. Charming. Verbose. Funny. Sharp-tongued. A self-made man who charges through life as if he were indestructible—ultimately discovering that he is not. He knows the glory of tremendous heights and the devastating lows of self-annihilation. A star that burns too brightly and is extinguished too quickly. He can delight you and appall you, make you swoon one minute and break your heart the next. All of his bluster is to cover the fact that he is the most fragile character in the play. Please note: nudity required.
*The role of Margaret has been cast. Actors will be seen for these roles as replacements only.
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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 submit.
Videos
