THE WHIPPING MAN
- Submit Photo / Resume for NYC Appointments
Baltimore Centerstage (Baltimore, MD) LORT C; $825/week*
Artistic Director: Kwame Kwei-Armah
Director: Kwame Kwei-Armah
Playwright: Matthew Lopez
Casting: Stephanie Klapper Casting
1st Rehearsal: 3/9/12. Runs: 4/4/12 – 5/13/12
NYC auditions will be held on February 3, by appointment only.
Seeking submissions from Actors' Equity Members only for these auditions.
For consideration, email picture and resume immediately to Stephanie Klapper Casting at:
Indicate in the subject line: “The Whipping Man AEA Submission”
* Salary includes Round Trip train from NYC or cash equivalent, and a one-bedroom apartment no more than a 5 minute walk from the theater will be provided. Apartment has complimentary DSL.
Synopsis:
It is Passover, 1865. The Civil War has just ended and the annual celebration of freedom from bondage is being observed in Jewish homes across the country. One of these homes, belonging to the DeLeons of Virginia, sits in ruins. Confederate officer Caleb DeLeon has returned from the war to find his family missing and only two former slaves remaining. Caleb is badly wounded and the two men, Simon and John, are forced to care for him. As the three men wait for the family's return, they wrestle with their shared past as master and slave, digging up long-buried family secrets along the way as well as new ones. Slavery and war, they discover, warp even good men's souls.
SEEKING:
Simon:
African-American man, late 40s-late 50s. Formerly a “house-slave” for the DeLeon family, Simon looks forward to returning to work as a free, wage-earning man. He is steady and wise, passionate in the care he gives to those he loves but ready to stand against anyone who threatens them. His devotion to the Jewish faith gave him the quiet strength to survive the war and he continues to rely on it as he faces new suffering. Though his faith makes him trust that all will turn out well in the end, Simon is not naïve in his belief.
John:
African-American man, 20s. After being taught by Mrs. DeLeon, John became an avid reader, often going off to read in hidden corners. His learning and innate intelligence contribute not only to the fire of his mind, but also to his bitterness and his sense of the injustices of slavery. Though a grown man, John is still something of a child; he is quick to anger and quicker still to lash out. Beneath this rage, however, is a man very much searching for a home and sense of belonging.
Caleb
Caucasian man, Jewish, 20s. Caleb is a wounded Confederate soldier who has returned to his family’s home in the aftermath of the war’s end. Very much a boy forced to grow up too soon, Caleb is as broken hearted as he is physically broken. War has left him questioning his faith; his belief in Judaism is just as shattered as the rest of him. On his return home, Caleb discovers that he is not yet through learning the lessons the war has to teach him. Like John, however, Caleb holds on to the possibility of hope and his skepticism is tempered by longing.
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