THE COLOR PURPLE - NYC EPA
Portland Center Stage
AUDITION DATE
Tue, Jun 12, 2018
9:30 am - 1:30 pm (EDT)
CONTRACT
LORT Non-Rep LORT B; $914/week min
SEEKING
Equity actor/singers for various roles. All characters are African-American.
PREPARATION
All actors should prepare a brief song from a song in the style of the show.
Bring picture and resume, stapled together.
LOCATION
Actors' Equity New York Audition Center
165 W 46th St
16th Fl
New York, NY 10036
PERSONNEL
Director: Timothy Douglas
Musical Director: Darius Smith
Music and Lyrics: Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray
Book: Marsha Norman
Casting: Harriet Bass Casting
Casting Director: Harriet Bass
Casting Assistant: Gama Valle
Harriet Bass from Harriet Bass Casting,Timothy Douglas, Director, and Darius Smith, Musical Director will be the representatives in the room. John Fischer will be the accompanist.
OTHER DATES
First Rehearsal: 08/21/18
Previews: 09/15/18 - 09/20/18
Opening: 09/21/18
Closing: 10/28/18 with a possible extension to 11/04/18
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
Based on Alice Walker’s groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and the recent John Doyle-streamlined Broadway revival, the story follows the trials and triumphs of Celie - a quiet woman warrior inside an oppressively male-dominated world. Anchored by of her unshakable devotion to sister Nettie; transformed by her unlikely bond with bluesy chanteuse Shug Avery, and grounded by her unwavering devotion to God, Celie’s is an inspired journey passionately forged by will and faith.
All Characters/ Ensemble Members are African-American, and uninhibited in their soulful expressions of self. These are country folk who shimmer with an eternally earthy and spiritual wisdom.
CELIE- Female. 25 to late 30s. African American. A radiant survivor who triumphantly journeys through a life filled with soul-reckoning challenges and emotional/physical violence. She is buoyed by a rock-solid faith in God, love and devotion for her sister Nettie, as well as the intimacy-awakening bond that she develops with Shug Avery. NOTE: Character age 14 to 40s.
NETTIE- Female. 25 to late 30s. African American. Celie’s sister, and her rock. Smart, driven, and protected by circumstance. Unwaveringly devoted to her sister, she is nonetheless torn apart from her, and goes on to realize a fulfilled life in Africa, which includes serving as caretaker to Celie’s ‘lost’ children, ultimately reuniting them with their mother. NOTE: Character age 13 to 40s.
PA- Male. 40s – 50s. African American. A deeply embittered and irredeemable man and violent abuser. He is father to Celie & Nettie, as well as father to Celie’s two children whom he abducts from Celie and gives them away at birth.
MISTER- Male. 35s - 45. African American. A deeply troubled man, as well as Celie’s husband and abuser. He is also the estranged love interest to Shug Avery for whom he still carries a torch. Eventually he is redeemed by a self-reckoning and atoning for his transgressions. NOTE: Character age 30s to 50s.
HARPO- Male. 25 to late 30s. African American. Mister’s hapless son from his first marriage. Well intended, but often falls short due to exceedingly bad parenting by Mister. Falls deeply in love with – and is dominated by his wife Sophia, then later by his girlfriend Squeak. He eventually finds his firm footing and manhood soon after Mister’s transformation and the return of his beloved Sofia. NOTE: Character age 18 – 40s.
SOFIA- Female. 20s to 35. African American. Harpo’s wife and Celie’s friend for life. A full-figured woman who possesses a giant personality, along with an equally expansive lust for life, and a proud sense of justice. A domineering pacifist who suffers no fools. NOTE: Character age 20s – 40s.
SHUG AVERY- Female. 30s – 40s. African American. A sultry siren and juke-joint performer who has seen better days. A former lover of Mister and a ‘good-time girl’, whose body, soul, and desire to love again is reawakened by Celie and the intimate bond they form with one another.
CHURCH LADY- Female. Any age. African American. Church lady who serves as a Greek/Gospel chorus who comments on the events of Celie’s life throughout the journey.
SQUEAK- Female. 20s. African American. Harpo’s devoted and fiercely protective girlfriend who serves as his great motivator. She possesses a voice that matches her name with mathematical exactness.
BOBBY- Male. 20s. African American. Celie’s handyman in her later life / the arch flunky responsible for tending to Sophia during her jail stay.
BUSTER- Male 30s - 40s. African American. Sofia’s goodtime man with whom she takes up between her relationship stints with Harpo/Shug Avery’s husband whose love and devotion grounds her life and love.
ADAM- Male. 20s. African American. Celie’s son raised by Nettie in Africa and reunited with his mother late in the play.
OLIVIA- Female. 20s. African American. Celie’s daughter raised by Nettie in Africa and reunited with her mother late in the play
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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