Seeking Singers for Workshop of Least of My Children - Caterina Nonis and Dean Linnard

About the project: Seeking actors for a developmental workshop of sung-through musical Least of My Children, by Loren Linnard and Donald Briggs. Written in the mid-1980’s but never performed, Least of My Children is one of the first American musical pieces about the AIDS crisis. After laying dormant for over 30 years, our goal is to give this forgotten piece of queer theatre history its long overdue world premiere. This workshop will focus on exploring and developing the material.

Synopsis: When Guadalupe, a devoted woman, finds out her son Mateo is sick with AIDS, she moves from Mexico to her son’s apartment in Chicago. There she meets her son’s boyfriend, Lucas, and the two do not see eye to eye on religion, housekeeping, or what might be best for Mateo. Parallel to the story of this unlikely trio, the myth of Our Lady of Guadalupe unfolds. The piece centers themes of queerness, immigration, family, and belief. Stylistically it straddles both musical theater and opera, employing a diverse range of styles: from folk music, to jazz, to showtunes. Think The Light In The Piazza meets A New Brain.

Dates: 14-19 November 2022

Location: New York, NY.

Personnel:

Caterina Nonis - Director

Andy Peterson - Music Supervisor

Dean Linnard - Artistic Producer

Contract: 29 Hour Reading (pending)

Seeking collaborative performers with both strong musical and acting skills.

Least of My Children features characters of diverse backgrounds. We are seeking collaborators able to speak authentically and accurately to the cultural specificities of the piece.

TO SUBMIT: Please prepare a video of a 32 bar selection from a song that showcases classical/legit musicality, as well as emotional range. Email video as a downloadable link (wetransfer or Google Drive) to leastofmychildrencasting@gmail.com with headshot and resume attached. Please slate with your name, location, and the character you’re submitting for.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 09/20/22

GUADALUPE

Legit MT or operatic mezzo soprano (A3-G5)

Character pronouns: she, her, hers

Character is Mexican. Seeking performers of Mexican and Latine heritage.

30’s-50’s

Mateo’s mother. She moves to the US from Mexico to care for her dying son. Determined, fierce, desperate. Clinging to her sanity while fighting for her son’s life. Seeking an actor with a large emotional range. Heart of the piece.

MATEO

Legit MT or operatic tenor (C3-B4).

Character pronouns: he, him, his.

Character is Mexican. Seeking performers of Mexican and Latine heritage.

20’s-30’s.

Immigrated to the US from Mexico after his father’s death. Queer, recently out to his mother. Has AIDS. Fighting through fear. Torn between two people he loves, and conflict-averse. Childlike sweetness.

JUAN DIEGO

Legit MT or operatic baritone (A2-G4).

Character pronouns: he, him, his.

Character is Chichimec. Seeking performers of Chichimec Ancestry, Native Mexican heritage.

Any age

First Catholic Saint indigenous to the Americas. The Virgin Mary appears to him. Determined to satisfy her request. Good-hearted, determined, enlightened.

VIRGIN MARY

Legit MT or operatic soprano (C4-B5).

Character pronouns: she, her, her.

Any ethnicity.

Any age.

She appears to Juan Diego and asks him to build a church in her name. Maternal. Mother Earth. Caring, warm, playful.

MARCOS

Legit MT or operatic bass (F2-F3).

Character pronouns: he, him, his.

White.

30-60.

Strict, forceful, law-abiding. The embodiment of rigid order and supremacy.


Salary: $500/week