Kite Runner North America LLC
CONTRACT
Production (League) $2323 weekly minimum
SEEKING
Equity actors for roles in THE KITE RUNNER (see breakdown).
Actors of middle eastern descent encouraged to audition.
Due to persistent concerns about the spread of COVID 19 and variants, ALL auditions will take place via tape and virtual audition rooms. Only fully vaccinated individuals will be considered for the production.
INSTRUCTIONS
E-mail Laura Stanczyk Casting by 11:59 pm on Friday, January 28 to request an audition appointment. If you have a date/time you'd prefer to audition, note that in your e-mail. Casting will do their best to accommodate such requests. In your e-mail, confirm that you are an Equity member. (No appointments may be scheduled for non-Equity actors.) Actors will be expected to show proof of membership at their audition. For the audition, prepare a short monologue by an author of middle eastern descent.
Deadline: Fri, Jan 28, 2022
SUBMIT TO
PERSONNEL
Producers: Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner, Tracey McFarland, Jayne Baron Sherman
Executive Producer: Daryl Roth
Authors: Matthew Spangler from the novel by Khaled Hosseini
Director: Giles Croft
Casting Director: Laura Stanczyk, CSA (viewing auditions)
OTHER DATES
Auditions will take place via Zoom from 10:00 am-6:00 pm ET on February 3, 4 & 7, 2022. Please note that audition appointments will be scheduled ONLY for Equity members.
Rehearsals: June 6, 2022
Previews: July 6, 2022
Opening: July 21, 2022
Closing: October 30, 2022
OTHER
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
Based on Khaled Hosseini’s international best-selling novel, The Kite Runner has now been adapted into a stunning new stage production. A haunting tale of friendship which spans cultures and continents, this powerful story follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. “There is a way to be good again” Afghanistan is a divided country on the verge of war and two childhood friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul and the skies are full of the excitement and joy of a kite flying tournament. But neither Hassan or Amir can foresee the terrible incident which will shatter their lives forever.
Although Amir is on stage for the entire performance, this is an ensemble piece. The ensemble will be used as much as possible to fill the stage with movement and sound in necessary scenes and to embody many of the descriptive passages. All performers must be willing to populate the worlds of Kabul, Pakistan and the United States.
AMIR (MALE, 18+ to play ages 10-38) Afghan. Amir is the narrator of the novel. A charismatic, deeply intelligent and attractive young man whose essential failing is a desperate need for approval from his withholding widowed father. Bullied from a young age, he cannot find either the bravado or the true courage to face his father, his fears or to stand up for his best friend. Deeply human. On-stage for the entire evening. When narrating, Amir has a US accent.
HASSAN / SOHRAB/As Cast (MALE PRESENTING, 18+ to play ages 10-18) Middle Eastern Male. Afghan. Both tracks are an adult playing a child. HASSAN - Amir's closest childhood friend. 12 years old and an Afghan ethnic minority, Hazara. Open, funny, deeply vulnerable, loyal and instinctively courageous. Witty but due to his station, uneducated. SOHRAB is the son of Hassan. Much in common with his father but physical and mental abuse after the fall of Afghanistan creates deep psychological trauma. Shows warmth but also of conveys great damage without being either maudlin or playing the victim. Both roles require an Afghan accent.
BABA / As Cast (MALE, 45–60 YEARS) Afghan. Amir's father and a wealthy and influential businessman, charitable, envied. Charismatic and dominating. Courageous with a will of iron. A widower, he is the biological father of Hassan, a fact he hides from both of his children. He naturally gravitates towards Hassan’s spirit much to the dismay and confusion of his legitimate son, Amir. Flees to America after the fall of Afghanistan with Amir, leaving behind Hassan and rebuilds his life in a far humbler way, never revealing his secret. Afghan accent.
ASSEF / As Cast (MALE, 25–35 YEARS) Afghan. We see him as a teenager and a young man. Committed to the belief that the dominant Afghan group, Pashtuns, are superior to Hazaras. As a teen, the neighborhood bully. He is a true sociopath, capable of great charm and incredible violence. As an adult, he joins the Taliban and sexually abuses Hassan's son, Sohrab. A truly nasty piece of work. Afghan accent.
RAHIM KHAN / DR SCHNEIDER / OMAR / As cast (MALE, 30s to 60s) RAHIM KHAN – Afghan, Baba’s business partner and surrogate member of the family. Sympathetic to Amir, perceptive, understands the dynamic between father and son. A keeper of secrets. In Act II, Rahim Khan becomes the conscience of Amir and the play. DR SCHNEIDER – an American oncologist of Russian descent. OMAR FASIL – an American/Pakistani immigration attorney. Has exceptional language skills and a dry sense of humor. Afghan, American and Pakistani accents.
SORAYA / As cast (FEMALE, early 20s through 30s) Warm and sympathetic, attractive, intuitive and strong. Daughter of an Afghan General, has also emigrated to the US and wants to become an English teacher. Before meeting Amir, she ran away with an Afghan boyfriend in Virginia, which in the eyes of many of her countrymen and women, tainted her and her family's name. Strong enough to not let either tradition or opinion color her sense of self-worth. Afghan accent.
GENERAL TAHERI / RAYMOND / As cast (MALE, 40–55 YEARS) GENERAL TAHIRI is an upper class, well educated Afghan. Has a dry sense of humor, Soraya’s father and perhaps more compassionate than most. RAYMOND - American Embassy official in Pakistan. Afghan and American accents.
ALI / FARID / As cast (MALE, 45–60 YEARS) Afghan. Servant to BABA and father to Hassan. Loyal, dignified, kind, warm and honorable. Carries Baba’s secret and protects Hassan at great personal risk. FARID - Afghan, working class, has survived the Soviet invasion and the takeover of the Taliban but at a great price. Fierce, a survivor with courage and a moral center. Afghan accent.
KAMAL / ZAMAN / As cast (MALE, 18+ to play teens through 40s) KAMAL is a 12 year old Afghan and one of Assef’s gang. A follower, not a leader. ZAMAN 30s – 40s Afghan, director of an orphanage in Kabul. Zaman makes deals with the devil every day and rationalizes the treatment of the children in his care to excuse the desperate conditions and abuse they are subject to under his watch. He is not genuinely evil and is tortured by not being able to do better. Extremely helpful but not required for this character to sing.
WALI /DOCTOR / As cast (MALE, 18+ to play teens – 30s) Afghan, Wali is one of Assef’s gang. DOCTOR – Pakistani ophthalmologist, any age. Afghan and Pakistani accents. Extremely helpful but not required for this character to sing.
ENSEMBLE/MERCHANT (MALE PRESENTING, 20 – 35) Physically agile, good ear, central to creating the world of kite running and the soundscape of the piece. Understudies Amir and/or Hassan. Must be comfortable singing.
ENSEMBLE/POMEGRANATE LADY (FEMALE PRESENTING, 20s) Physically agile, good ear, central to creating the world of kite running and the soundscape of the piece. Understudies Soraya. Must be comfortable singing.
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.
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