Arena Stage 2023-24 Season - NYC EPA Arena Stage | Washington, DC
Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM (E)
Lunch 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
LORT Non-Rep
$1096 weekly minimum (LORT B+) $1008 weekly minimum (LORT B)
Equity actors for roles in Arena Stage's 2023- 24 Season (See breakdown).
All roles will be understudied also seeking swings.
Equity Performers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities and expressions, and performers living with disabilities are encouraged to audition.
Please prepare 1 short song & 1 short monologue OR 2 contrasting short monologues. AUDITIONS MAY NOT EXCEED 3 MINUTES TOTAL. An accompanist will be provided. Also, please bring a copy of your headshot and resume stapled together.
Actors' Equity New York Audition Center 165 W 46th St
16th Fl
New York, NY 10036
Expected to attend:
Joseph Pinzon, Artistic Associate – Casting
See breakdown for production specific personnel
See breakdown for production specific dates 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.
Equity encourages everyone participating in the auditions to wear a two-ply cloth face mask, surgical mask, singer’s mask or respirator (N95, KN95 or KF94). Single-ply face masks, gaiters and bandanas are not recommended. Singer’s masks can be found at www.broadwayreliefproject.com/singersmask.
Equity encourages members to prepare for their audition prior to arriving at the audition venue, to the extent that they can (e.g., get dressed, hair/make-up, etc.) to avoid crowding in bathrooms and dressing rooms.
Holding/Audition room information:
The maximum capacity in the holding room is: 80
The maximum capacity in the audition room is: 52
ARENA STAGE PRODUCTIONS: ALL DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
The character breakdowns within this document include gender specifications that reflect the identity of the characters as written by the playwrights. However, we strongly encourage performers with any gender expression and/or gender identity to audition for any role.
By Lauren Yee
Directed by Chay Yew
First Rehearsal: 7/8/23
First Preview: 7/18/23
Opens: 7/20/23
Closes: 8/27/23
It’s 2008 and a father-daughter duo are heading to Phnom Penh; she to prosecute a notorious Cambodian war criminal, he 30 years after escaping then-Communist rule. In a psychedelic theatrical extravaganza set to some of the country’s most popular rock music, including from Dengue Fever, Cambodian Rock Band shines a light on the country’s vibrant ’70s rock scene and how an entire generation of musicians was purged by the Khmer Rouge, as it brings long-buried family secrets back to life.
ALREADY CAST, CAST ARRIVING AS FULL COMPANY
[CHUM] ALREADY CAST – Male, 51 and 18, Cambodian. Neary’s lovable, well-meaning, and wary father in 2008, full of charisma and dad jokes, purposefully withholding his history from Neary, and just trying to bring her back to safety in America. Unsettled by her interest in the dangerous Khmer Rouge. We also see him as a sincere, optimistic young man in the 1970s, caught between fleeing Cambodia and sticking with his beloved band The Cyclos. More of a fighter than we may initially expect. MUSIC: Lead Guitar or Bass Guitar, vocals. Instrumental skills.
[NEARY] ALREADY CAST – Female, 26, Cambodian-American (also plays SOTHEA). Headstrong, intelligent, and ambitious. Grew up in Massachusetts, and has spent the past two years investigating war crimes in Cambodia. There is also a vulnerable quality about her—she’s a little lost, because she hasn’t figured out a part of her own history. She’s a strong young woman, but also a child wanting to connect with her father. MUSIC: Lead vocals (powerful belter who can let loose vocally, and with personality), tambourine. Vocal skills.
[LENG] ALREADY CAST – Male, 20s, Cambodian (also plays TED, Neary's supportive Thai Canadian boyfriend). Chum’s best friend and bandmate in the 1970s, frontman for the band who focuses on the group's professional future as a way to avoid thinking about Cambodia's political turmoil and what it might mean for him. Will do anything to survive and can control the room, despite being conflicted by moral choices. Underneath his bravado, we find he's bit of a coward. MUSIC: Bass Guitar or Lead Guitar, vocals. Instrumental skills.
[DUCH] ALREADY CAST – Male, 30s/40s/maybe 50s, Cambodian. The physicality and presence of a spirited emcee and trickster. Vivacious, funny, mischievous. A leader. Incredibly educated and charming, but with a darkness underneath it all. The ability to suddenly transform into a terrifying and sadistic man. We’re seduced by him in Act 1, before finding out he’s a war criminal in Act 2. Justifies his actions by saying he’s only following orders, but we see that he is haunted. Hides his true passions in order to amass great destructive power. MUSIC: No musical skill necessary, but music background a plus.
[ROM] ALREADY CAST – Can be of any gender identity, 20s-30s, Cambodian (also plays JOURNALIST). A bandmate in The Cyclos. MUSIC: Drums/percussion. Serves mainly as a musician.
[POU] ALREADY CAST – Can be of any gender identity, 20s-30s, Cambodian (also plays S21 GUARD). A bandmate in The Cyclos. MUSIC: Keyboard, vocals. Serves mainly as a musician.
By Selina Fillinger
Directed by Margot Bordelon
First Rehearsal: 9/12/23
First Preview: 10/13/23
Opens: 10/19/23
Closes: 11/12/23
When the Commander-in-Chief publicly calls his wife a “See You Next Tuesday,” all H-E-Double Hockey Sticks breaks loose. In this searingly funny Broadway hit, POTUS follows how seven women of dramatically different backgrounds minimize the damage done by male arrogance and political posturing, in an endearing homage to the women who keep things running behind the scenes.
[HARRIET] – She/her. Late 40s-60s. Any ethnicity. Chief of Staff. A political bulldog who has chosen every aspect of her life, appearance, and personality in service of her career. A sexless and humorless middle-aged woman who lives and dies by the polls. Starts the play at a 7 and skyrockets from there. Everything is a means to the end.
[JEAN] – She/her. Late 40s-60s. Any ethnicity. Press Secretary. A hawk in a turtleneck. A high-strung, quick-witted woman who can handle any pressroom and sterilize any scandal. A single working mother whose pristine life is threatened only by her knee-weakening attraction to disastrous sexual partners — one, in particular. Harriet’s more polished and more tactful counterpart. Think CJ from West Wing, but with more bite, cynicism, and learned paranoia.
[STEPHANIE] – She/her. 20s-30s. Any ethnicity. Presidential secretary. An obedient and diminutive millennial, terrified of failure and perpetually on the edge of nervous breakdown. Deeply brilliant, just crippled by her own imposter syndrome. So much potential energy and rage just waiting to be set free.
[DUSTY] – She/her. 20s-30s. Any ethnicity. President’s plaything. A glowing, curious, sex-positive girl with a multitude of skills and a bright future! Loves civic duty! Loves democracy! Determined to make the world better!
[BERNADETTE] – She/her. Late 30s-50s. White/Caucasian. President’s sister. A total trash fire. Strife and mayhem. A coked-up tornado with raw sexual charisma, fiery temper, and fantastic sense of humor. Jean’s kryptonite.
[CHRIS] – She/her. 30s-40s. Black/African-American. A journalist. Overburdened, under-slept, postpartum, newly-divorced, on the brink of irrelevancy. A dogged reporter with much to gain and everything to lose.
[MARGARET] – She/her. Late 40s-60s. Black/African-American. The First Lady. An impeccable combination of high fashion, corporate experience, and legal savvy. Regal, sophisticated, brimming with bitterness and pent-up rage. Goes for the jugular.
By John Logan, Music and Lyrics by the Avett Brothers
Choreography by David Neumann
Directed by Michael Mayer
First Rehearsal: 10/24/23
First Preview: 11/25/23
Opens: 11/30/23
Closes: 12/30/23
When a violent storm sinks their whaling ship off the coast of New Bedford, Mass., the four survivors face a reckoning: how far will they go to stay alive? And can they live with the consequences? With music and lyrics from The Avett Brothers (“America’s Biggest Roots Band,” Rolling Stone), whose 2004 “Mignonette” was inspired by an 1884 shipwreck and the struggle of four men to survive, Swept Away is an electrifying, soul-stirring exploration of how facing tragedy can open the door to forgiveness if only we’ll let it.
[CAPTAIN] ALREADY CAST – Male, 45-60, an older and melancholy. No illusions and no dreams left. Nearing the end of a long career at sea. Fully incapable of handling the catastrophe which befalls his ship. A small man in a job that requires a giant. Folk baritone with some gravitas and grit. Sings to F#. Any ethnicity.
[LITTLE BROTHER] ALREADY CAST – Male, late teens – early 20s, a rebellious and searching boy of around 18. He wants more than the farm and the church. He wants all of life, all at once, and to be battered by it. He’s fled his home in search of adventure. Folk tenor with good pop sensibility. Sings to A. Any ethnicity.
[MATE] ALREADY CAST – Male, late 30s, a charismatic devil, a slick con man, a sexy predator. Well-educated and well travelled, always on the hardest roads. A man with deep reservoirs of emotion. But, above all, a man who has fallen from grace. Folk/rock bari-tenor with edge and grit. Sings to G#. Any ethnicity.
[BIG BROTHER] ALREADY CAST – Male, early 30s, a few years older, he will do anything to protect his little brother. A man seemingly content with his lot, whatever it may be. Stolid and unimaginative, but pure of heart and good of soul. Folk/rock baritone, can have country/bluegrass sensibility. Sings to G. Any ethnicity.
[ENSEMBLE]
By Kia Corthron
Directed by Psalmayene 24
First Rehearsal: 1/16/24
First Preview: 2/16/24
Opens: 2/22/24
Closes: 3/17/24
Born into slavery in North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper was a visionary Black feminist and educator in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, and only the fourth African American woman to earn a doctoral degree. Tempestuous Elements—the 11th in Arena Stage’s Power Play cycle—shines a light on Cooper’s tumultuous tenure as Principal of Washington, D.C.’s historic M Street School where she fought to keep Black education alive, despite the racism, gossip and sexism that threatened to consign her efforts to obscurity.
[ANNA] – A Black woman, mid-40s. A high school teaching principal: intelligent, patient, straightforward.
[MINERVA and as cast] – A Black woman, 30s to 40s. A strict but fair high school teacher.
[HUGHES and as cast] – A white man, 40s or 50s. The D.C. school superintendent, a man who tries to exude patience, but is very opinionated and of the certainty that he is always right.
[LUCRETIA/ LULA, JOSEPHINE, ANNIE] – A Black woman, late teens to early 20s. Doubles as a vulnerable high school student, a clever young phys. ed. teacher, and an intelligent child of 11 or 12.*
[JOHN/ LAWRENCE, CHARLES, and SILAS] – A Black man, 20s to 30s. Will double as high school students and an intelligent high school teacher and writer.
[HANNAHal/ NELLIE and MISS PATTERSON and as cast] – A Black woman 40s. Doubles as a high school teacher, a retired high school teacher, and a formerly enslaved person in her 30s.
[FRANCIS/ MR. TURNER, ATWOOD and as cast] – A Black man, 30s. Doubles as a young minister, a high school teacher, and a physician. (Whoever is cast as Francis should appear a good decade younger than his wife Lottie.)
[MARY/ RUTH, IVY and as cast] – A Black woman, 30s. Mary Church Terrell, a confident, outspoken woman, and doubles as high school students.
[CATHERINE/ MRS. COOK and as cast] – A Black woman, 20s to 30s. Doubles as a high school student and a retired teacher.*
[W.E.B DuBOIS/ HIRAM and as cast] – A Black man, 30s. W.E.B. DuBois, who appears for one scene: a confident speaker. Doubles as a high school student.
[LOTTIE and as cast] – A Black Woman, 50s. A retired teacher. Very patient, still very dedicated to the profession. (Will briefly double as high school student Abigail in the opening scene)
One of the two asterisked (*) actresses should be able to play a European classical instrument at least somewhat proficiently.
By Daniel Goldstein, Music by Michael Friedman, Lyrics by Michael Friedman and Daniel Goldstein Directed by Trip Cullman
First Rehearsal: 2/27/24
First Preview: 3/29/24
Opens: 4/11/24
Closes: 5/5/24
Cleaning out her grandmother’s home, Ellen Rabinowitz discovers the photograph of an anonymous soldier tucked away in a box of keepsakes. And so begins Unknown Soldier, a sweeping, elegiac musical from Daniel Goldstein and the late Michael Friedman on a woman’s journey to unearth the secrets of her family’s past and which will chart her future.
[LUCY LEMAY] – 20s: A young woman, who found love and lost it. We see her in the years immediately following World War 1. Legit Soprano to G5.
[LUCY RABINOWITZ/YOUNG ELLEN] – ELLEN at 10 years old. Smart and inquisitive. LUCY is a real New York kid. 10 going on 17. Soprano A3 to C5
[ANDREW] ALREADY CAST – 40ish. A librarian, living in Ithaca. He’s a little lonely and has an active imagination. A romantic. Any ethnicity. Baritone up to an F.
[LUCY ANDERSON] – 80s - She has been living with the loss of the love of her life for more than 60 years. Also the loss of her daughter and granddaughter. She is not a happy woman. Soprano A3 to C#5
[ELLEN RABINOWITZ] – 40ish. A sophisticated OBGYN, living on the Upper East Side. Fiercely intelligent. Soprano, belt/mix to C
[DOCTOR] – Man, any age, a vaudevillian. Any ethnicity. Baritone
[FRANCIS] – 20s - A soldier, recently returned from World War 1. An amnesiac. Tenor up to high A
[ENSEMBLE]
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