Steppenwolf 2017-18 Season - Chicago EPA 3 Days
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
AUDITION DATE
Feb 14, 2017
10:00 am - 4:30 pm (CST)
Lunch from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Feb 15, 2017
10:00 am - 4:30 pm (CST)
Lunch from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Feb 16, 2017
10:00 am - 4:30 pm (CST)
Lunch from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
APPOINTMENTS
AEA Members may schedule an appointment online through the Member Portal beginning February 7 at 12:00 PM.
CONTRACT
CAT CAT and TYA Agreements; Upstairs Theatre: $950/week; Downstairs Theatre: $1015/week; Steppenwolf for Young Audiences: $475/week
SEEKING
Actors for our 2017-2018 Season. Please see breakdown for more information.
PREPARATION
Please prepare one contemporary monologue (60-90 seconds). Bring headshot and resume.
LOCATION
Steppenwolf Theatre
3rd Floor Conference Room
758 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60610-1047
PERSONNEL
JC Clementz. Casting Director; Tam Dickson, Casting Associate
OTHER DATES
Please see breakdown.
OTHER
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.
BREAKDOWN
Steppenwolf for Young Audiences Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Design Run – Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Open – Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Close – Saturday, October 21, 2017
John Proctor
30s; Farmer forced to defend his wife and himself against witchcraft charges. While his wife was ill, he succumbed to temptation and was intimate with Abigail Williams, a beautiful but malevolent 17-year-old. Although Proctor later rejects Abigail and admits his wrongdoing to his wife, Abigail continues to pursue him.
Reverend Hale
30s; Expert in detecting spirits. Well educated, he takes pride in his knowledge of the occult, but he is fair-minded. Although he first believes townspeople may be practicing witchcraft, he later defends accused persons, in particular Mr. and Mrs. Proctor.
Reverend Parris
30s; Salem's current minister. A faction in his congregation is attempting to replace him. He at first attempts to silence rumors of witchcraft because his own daughter, Betty, and his niece, Abigail Williams, were involved in conjuring rites. However, he later vigorously supports the witch trials when he sees that they will work to his advantage.
Judge Hathorne
The judge presiding over the witch trials
Deputy Danforth
50s-60s; Presiding judge conducting the witchcraft hearings and trials. He admits spectral evidence but refuses to accept a deposition presented by John Proctor. The deposition, signed by Mary Warren, is intended as evidence that could lead to the exoneration of Elizabeth Proctor and others.
Ezekiel Cheever
Clerk of the court; appointed to arrest those accused of witchcraft
Giles Corey
70’s-80’s; Innocent citizen accused of witchcraft after he attempts to defend his wife, Martha, and expose John Putnam.
Abigail Williams
Seventeen-year-old orphan whose parents were killed in front of her by Indians. She lives with her uncle, the Rev. Parris, and his daughter, Betty. Participated in a conjuring rite in the forest, where Abigail and other girls dance wildly around a cauldron; Fired from her job as a servant at the Proctor farm because Abigail tried to seduce her John Proctor.
Mary Warren
Eighteen-year-old servant of the Proctors who took part in the conjuring rite in the forest. She first agrees to testify against Abigail and the others, but under pressure from her peers and the court, she renounces her testimony and sides with Abigail.
Tituba/Mercy Lewis/Rebecca Nurse
Tituba: African American woman; Slave of the Rev. Parris. The minister brought her to Salem from Barbados, where she learned occult practices. She presides at a conjuring session involving teenage and adolescent girls from the town.
Mercy Lewis: Teenage servant of the Proctors who took part in the conjuring rite in the forest.
Rebecca Nurse: Older charitable Salem resident whom Ann Putnam accuses of witchcraft.
Betty/Elizabeth Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor : 20s-30s; John Proctor’s loyal and upright wife. She believes that she may have been partly at fault for her husband's unfaithfulness because she was not always as warm and loving as she could have been.
Betty: Young daughter of the Rev. Parris; lies in a stupor supposedly caused by witchcraft.
Ann Putnam/Francis Nurse
Ann Putnam: Wife of Thomas Putnam
Francis Nurse: A wealthy farmer and landowner; husband to Rebecca Nurse
Thomas Putnam
A greedy wealthy landowner who uses the witchcraft frenzy to implicate rivals and enemies.
_______________________
Steppenwolf Subscription Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday August 8, 2017
Design Run – Thursday August 31, 2017
First Preview – Thursday September 7, 2017
Open – Sunday September 17
Close – Sunday October 22, 2017
Pos. Ext. – Sunday November 12, 2017
ACTOR ONE—Male, 50s-60s ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
Henry—museum guard, bookish, grieving but in denial
Rembrandt the painter-- brilliant, grumpy, soft-hearted
ACTOR TWO—Male, early 20s (to play 13-24)
Dodger—training to be a guard, subversive, tattooed, seeker
Titus—Rembrandt’s son, clever, loves his father, pragmatic
ACTOR THREE—Female, early-mid 20s
Madeline—art student, forthright, grieving, not afraid to argue
Henny—Rembrandt’s partner, loving, practical, grounded
ACTOR FOUR—Male, 30s-40s
Jonny—guard, military background, carries a gun, caring in his way
Martin—hospice care nurse, strong, knowing
ACTOR FIVE—Male, 60s-70s ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
Simon—Henry’s husband, poet, an inherent grace and toughness
Homer the ancient poet—visionary, crude, crazy, brilliant
______________________
Steppenwolf Subscription Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Design Run – Thursday, November 2, 2017
First Preview – Thursday, November 9, 2017
Open – Sunday, November 19, 2017
Close – Sunday, December 31, 2017
Pos. Ext. – Sunday January 7, 2018
NOTE: no performances on Thursday November 23 – Thanksgiving or Sunday December 24 – Christmas Eve
Mayor Superba ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
50s-60s, Mayor of Big Cherry, small town charisma, people like him.
Mr. Peel ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
30s, earnest, a little cocky, recently moved to Big Cherry for his wife. The council’s newest member. Missed last week’s meeting because his mother passed away. Wants to know what happened at that meeting, but everyone on the council is withholding the minutes.
Mr. Oldfield ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
60-70s; Eldest and longest serving member on the council; both aloof and hardnosed.
Ms. Johnson ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
30s; One of the younger members of the council; no nonsense; the council’s secretary
Ms. Matz ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
40s-50s, loony, unorganized
Mr. Blake ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
30s-50s; oily; probably drunk at the meeting; really wants the council to approve his proposal for the town’s annual festival involving a cage match with a man dressed up as Abraham Lincoln. He thinks this could be a great income generator for the city. Nobody agrees with him.
Mr. Breeding ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
30s-50s, a bulldog of a man, part of the old boys club, well connected.
Mr. Assalone ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
40s-50s; brother of the sheriff; up to something.
Ms. Innes ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
60s, second longest serving councilperson; reads an overly long, well-intentioned statement that does not improve the situation.
Mr. Hanratty ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
40s-50s, fit, councilman who proposes handicap accessibility for the town’s fountain.
Mr. Carp ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
40s-60s, folksy, interested in history; discovers a dark secret about the town of Big Cherry. Stands his ground on the moral implications of the discovery.
______________________
Steppenwolf Subscription Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Design Run – Thursday, November 20, 2017
First Preview – Thursday, December 7, 2017
Open – Monday, December 18
Close – Sunday, January 21, 2018
Pos. Ext. – Sunday, February 4, 2018
NOTE: no performances on Sunday December 24 – Christmas Eve
Octavia
Is a deeply awkward, weird introvert super dork blk girl. Queer. Black. Mixed Black. 1/2 Black. Whatever. Black with a white dad from Cornwall, England who don’t get it. A short story writer. Dates Ry. Drinks too much & can’t hold it as well as Imani. No filter. Speaks thoughts as they exist in her head because the world is her head. Nerdy white boys build shrines to her for her genuine love of Japanese anime, Harry Potter and Octavia Butler, the woman after whom she is named. Her adoration of Star Trek is astounding and she can quote Blaxploitation movies off hand. She loves other worlds, would rather live in them than this one. She’s beautiful and makeup confuses her. Her uniform is sweatpants paired with large heels or boots, for her love of comfort and hatred of being short. She hasn't told her parents that she's queer.
Imani (also plays Auntie Shirley)
Haitian. Very Haitian. Matter fact, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone more Haitian. A budding alcoholic by American standards. Does a first-rate impression of Eddie Murphy from his “RAW”standup/movie & is always striving to perfect it. Single. Constantly gets fired from the same job at Nuyorican Poets Cafe on E. 3rd Street between Avenue A and B for jumping on the mic in the middle of her bar tending shift & doing her Eddie Murphy impression. Her dad passed away when she was 13. Pancreatic cancer. “RAW” is what they watched most often together when he was in the hospital. The last days.
June
Dates a dude named Jamal has dated a dude named Jamal for 5 years, since she & Octavia were in high school. Octavia is June's ace boon & roll dogg. Don’t leave the house without her. She is the only responsible drinker among the 3 house mates. Knows how to hack into databases of collegiate universities to access free J Store accounts. Plays a lot of “Call of Duty.” Is most at home in front of a screen. She is studying to be an accountant. She sells weed & is very professional about it. She comes from bougie black folks who have had money in the family for 2 generations. Did Jack & Jill, LINKS, the whole 9. Jamal was her date to cotillion. Light skin black girl. Hair always straight & long without weave. She is very proud of this. A prude, in a way. Cold, sometimes. Nah. Cold often. Usually unemotional. Makes pancakes for her house mates hangovers.
Ry
An employee at blink fitness. Wears ugly Christmas sweaters ironically. Loves to laugh & tells a good joke. Occasionally 2. Is insensitive, but doesn’t have a bad heart. Immature,mostly. From Oakland. Says, “breh,” at the end of most thoughts &/or sentences. Has been trying to land an internship with Terrance Nace for 2 years. Doesn’t drink. Pronounced/noticeable OCD. Odd numbers, not Even. Goes to Pride every year. A fantastic chess player. Puerto Rican. Whole family Catholic. Only queer woman in her family. Ry is 25 & a part time film student. Over-watches Aaron McGruder’s THE BOONDOCKS until the April 21st 2014 hijacking of the show from Aaron McGruder, which broke her heart completely.
Justin (also plays Dominican Dude, Sosa, Pedro)
A lovesick. Watched Shakespeare in Love too often as a child & thru his parents’ divorce. Says things like, “I want to make love to you,” & “I want to rub your feet” & means them. You’d think he’d get all the ladies. He doesn’t & hasn’t for quite some time. Plays up right base in a jazz band & acoustic guitar in his apartment. His favorite song is Barry White’s “I’ve Got So Much to Give.” He believes in love & fate & whiskey, always with love as the first and most important, the other two changing depending on the day. Possesses some stalker tendencies, such as over-calling, overtexting,
etc. but we use that word too liberally in this country. Let’s call him an obsessive. Passionate. He talks to his mom on the phone every morning. He works at Sunshine Cinema & sees a lot of couples on dates. JUSTIN’S parents are from Trinidad & Tobago. They are extremely reserved. He is the family oddity, even from his brother, who is his polar opposite in all things.
That Bitch on the Couch (also plays Drunk White Woman)
is the only white person in this play. She’s from Westchester, New York. Incredibly wealthy, like old money white folk WASP and all that. Incredibly white. Went to Exeter Academy for high school type shit. Did cotillion and founded her boarding school’s Black Student Union. It was confusing.
______________________
Steppenwolf Subscription Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Design Run – Thursday, January 18, 2018
First Preview – Thursday, January 25, 2018
Open – Monday, February 5, 2018
Close – Sunday, March 11, 2018
Pos. Ext. – Sunday, March 18, 2018
Mae ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
Daughter of Dad. Lover of Mac. 32
Dad
Father of Mae. In his 60s. He has a scar that goes across his neck from one ear to the other. It looks like someone tried to cut his head off.
Mac
A dude from Mae’s hometown. A few years older than Mae.
Jenny
Mae’s little sister
Matthew
Mae’s little brother
Hannah
Mae’s big sister
Cowboy
Mae’s lover in her head. Like the Marlboro Man; sexy.
______________________
Steppenwolf for Young Audiences Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Design Run – Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Open – Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Close – Sunday, March 4, 2018
Pos. Ext. – Sunday, March 18, 2018
Tara
17-19 years old female, Senior in high school; Popular (by any means necessary). Wants to be seen, always. And wants to be the one everyone looks to for trends, advice, what to think, wear, say, and do. Is pretty sharp. She's able to use reason, fact, and logic to justify her severe attacks upon other, weaker girls. Because she can. Tara uses social media for VISIBILITY.
Andi
17-19 years old female, Senior in high school; BF’s with Tara, though she may not like her all the time, she’s obsessively attached to her. Academically mediocre to subpar. Well-liked at school. Sliding by in all aspects of life. Distant/Absent family members. Her social clique is vital to her. On the basketball team, and serious about it, but constantly on academic probation. Likes to talk all “street” but it’s a front. Openly gay, secretly crushing on Tara. Uses social media to SEARCH and FOLLOW.
Shauna
17-19 years old female, Senior in high school; A seeker: of information, of approval, of help. Popular enough, but only at the mercy of Tara and Andi. She’s the student in class who can always find the right answer, but doesn’t always know what to do with it. Interested in knowledge. She knows how to work a system to her benefit. She’s biding her time before she can get out of school. Uses social media for its PERSISTENCE and CONSISTENCY.
Mercedes
17-19 years old female, Senior in high school; The outsider. From a different neighborhood than the other girls. Moved into this school when her school on the Westside closed and the students were siphoned into existing schools. Quiet, attempts to blend and disappear, but is unsuccessful due to the fact that she sticks out like a sore thumb. The daughter of a hugely Christian Conservative family, her manner and dress veer toward the modern Mennonite, and when she bothers to speak in school, it's to be proudly vocal for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This doesn't earn her a ton of friends, and in fact, makes her an easy target. Mercedes had an older brother who fucked up with drugs and gangs and was a fatal victim of that lifestyle. Her family turned to religion for succor in their time of grief. Her family is very protective of Mercedes, their only living child. Mercedes uses social media to SPREAD and to HIDE.
Erik
Mid 20’s to mid 30’s. Under 10 years in his teaching career. Idealist. Teaches English and Drama, but would much rather only be teaching Drama. In recovery through AA for about three years now. Used to be religious, but lost it as he entered adulthood. From a small town, Erik had dreams of making it as an actor in Chicago. Truly, truly loves theater. Lets his job consume his life, and this sometimes allows him to get caught up in “student drama.”
______________________
Steppenwolf Subscription Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Design Run – Thursday, March 29, 2018
First Preview – Thursday, April 5, 2018
Open – Sunday, April 15, 2018
Close – Sunday, May 20, 2018
Pos. Ext. – Sunday, June 3, 2018
NOTE: No performances on Saturday May 12 – Gala
Rosi Akintunde ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
African female, late 20s/early 30s, head of Irdley household; passionate about the plight of her and her fellow citizens of the Central African Republic. Smart and efficient.
Thomas Irdley/Jimmy ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
White male, 40s, CEO of Central Copper, married to Theresa/Thomas' identical twin brother, kindergarten teacher
Lolade Dtjotodia ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
OLOLADE DJOTODIA, African female, 60s/70s, married to Michel, ousted former president of the C.A.R. Shrewd political wife looking for ways to gain power for herself.
Theresa Irdley
Female, 40s, married to Thomas, international aid worker
Michel Dtjotodia ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
African male, 60/s/70s, married to Ololade, ousted former President of the C.A.R., known for his war crimes and bad temper.
Beatrix Geddes-Renwick
White female, 30s/40s, British Diplomat/Ambassador
Prince Amir Abdullah
Arab male, 30s, of Saudi Arabia's royal family, flamboyant, engaged to Marina, but he’s clearly using to cover for his homosexual tendencies.
Wen Xiaoping
Asian male, late 20s/early 30s, Chinese-American entrepreneur and playboy
Marina
Latina female, 30s, Brazilian, engaged to Prince Amir Abdullah; uses her looks to get what she wants. Although she comes off as ditsy, there’s more to her than it seems.
General Stanley Harcourt
White male, 60s, retired four-star general U.S. Army, Dick Cheney-esque
Body Double
Non-speaking; Same height/size as the actor playing Thomas/Jimmy
______________________
Steppenwolf Subscription Production
Contract Begins – Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Design Run – Thursday, May 24, 2018
First Preview – Thursday, May 31, 2018
Open – Monday June 11, 2018
Close – Sunday, July 15, 2018
Pos. Ext. – Sunday, August 5, 2018
NOTE: No performances on Wednesday July 4
Babur ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
Southeast Asian male, 20s, an Imperial Guard in 1648 Agra, India.
Humayun ***this role has already been cast. We will be casting understudies.
Southeast Asian male, 20s-30s, an Imperial Guard in 1648 Agra, India. A little older than Babur.
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 audition.
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