WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE - NYC EPA MCC Theater | New York, NY
Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (E)
Lunch 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Off Broadway
$695 weekly minimum (Level Four – Play or Musical Full Development)
Equity actors for roles in a workshop of WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (See breakdown).
We encourage gender diverse and color conscious casting. Performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, gender identities, and abilities are encouraged to audition!
Please prepare a short cut of a contemporary pop/rock song. If talent plays an instrument, we would welcome them to accompany themselves. A piano accompanist will also be provided. Also, please bring your headshot and resume stapled together.
Ripley-Grier Studios (520)
520 8th Ave
New York, NY 10018-6507
Holding room - Studio 17C
Co-Artistic Directors: Bernard Telsey & William Cantler
Executive Director: Blake West
Directed by Peter Hedges
Book by Peter Hedges
Music & Lyrics by Adrian Blake Enscoe, Christopher Sears, Sydney Shepherd and Regina Strayhorn
Casting by The Telsey Office
General Manager: Beth Dembrow
Expected to attend:
Peter Hedges (Director)
Kristian Charbonier (Casting Director)
Workshop Begins: Monday, May 27, 2024 Workshop Ends: Sunday, June 23, 2024
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.
SYNOPSIS – A musical adaptation of the novel by Peter Hedges. Summer, 1991. Endora, Iowa (Pop. 1,009). In the days leading up to the miraculous 18th birthday of Gilbert Grape’s younger brother Arnie, the ordinary-extraordinary-infamous Grape family gets tested in a myriad of ways.
NOTE: This show is an actor-singer-instrumentalist show – each actor will play multiple characters, sing, and play proficiently (at least one, if not many) instruments.
Ability to proficiently play any of the following instruments a plus:
WINDS - Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophone
BRASS - Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Tuba
STRINGS - Violin, Viola, Cello, Stand Up Bass
PERCUSSION
PIANO/ORGAN/KEYBOARDS
GUITAR (Acoustic, Electric, Bass)
GILBERT GRAPE – 24 – a dreamer, stuck in himself and his hometown, loyal to his brother, overwhelmed at times by the demands of his challenging family, aches to break free.
ELLEN GRAPE – 16 – the youngest Grape, an angsty teenager with a big, hidden heart, born the same year as Alanis Morissette.
BECKY BURNS – late teens, early 20s – an out-of-towner – spontaneous and surprising, a truth teller looking for meaningful connection and the right amount of fun.
MRS. BETTY CARVER – mid 30s – loyal-seeming wife of the local insurance man has been having a secret affair with Gilbert since he turned 18 – desperate to live a different life.
JANICE GRAPE – late 20s – Gilbert’s second older sister, a highly caffeinated flight attendant who got away, always up for a party.
BOBBY MCBURNEY JR. – late 20s – heir to Endora’s only Funeral Home, shows up with a smile whenever somebody dies.
LARRY GRAPE – early 30s – Gilbert’s detached, odd older brother, comes home only once a year for Arnie’s birthday.
GHOST DAD – father of the Grape children – early 30s – took his life many years ago, a haunting presence.
ARNIE GRAPE – THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. about to turn 18, having defied all medical odds – neuro divergent – animated, innocent, oftentimes more than a handful.
AMY GRAPE – THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. 34 – the oldest, a devoted daughter, puts everyone else first, bravely holds the family and barely herself together.
BONNIE “MOMMA” GRAPE – THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. mid 50s – mother of the other Grapes. Once one of Endora’s great beauties, when Bonnie Grape lost her husband to suicide, she coped by eating. Sixteen years and six-hundred pounds later, she no longer leaves the house. More than anything in the world, Momma just wants to see her son, Arnie, turn 18.
MR. LAMSON – THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. 60s – Gilbert’s long-time boss and owner of the struggling local grocery store. A salt-of-the-earth type, a bright-side thinker and father figure for Gilbert.
MR. KEN CARVER — THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. early 40s – the narcissistic, overbearing husband of Mrs. Betty Carver. A larger-than-life figure until he mysteriously drowns in a plastic baby pool.
TUCKER VAN DYKE – THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. 24 – Gilbert’s best (and only) friend. Stuck in Endora as well, but without complaint. On the simpler side, but loyal and dependable.
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