BERNHARDT/HAMLET - NYC EPA
Roundabout Theatre Company
AUDITION DATE
Tue, Apr 24, 2018
10:00 am - 6:00 pm (EDT)
Lunch 1:30 to 2:30
CONTRACT
LORT Non-Rep A+ $1520/eek
SEEKING
Equity actors for various roles.
PREPARATION
Sides from the play will be provided, to be prepared in a RP dialect unless otherwise indicated.
LOCATION
Ripley-Grier Studios (305)
305 W 38th St
New York, NY 10018-2902
(Studio 212 – Holding Room, Studio 211 - Auditions)
PERSONNEL
Theresa Rebeck, playwright; Mortiz von Stuelpnagel, director; Carrie Gardner, casting
One of the following will be in attendance: Carrie Gardner (Senior Casting Director), Stephen Kopel (Casting Director), Jillian Cimini (Senior Casting Associate), Peter Van Dam (Casting Associate), Jason Thinger (Casting Assistant)
OTHER DATES
First Rehearsal 7/31/18; First Performance 9/1/18; Opening 9/25/18; Max Run 11/25/18. American Airlines Theatre
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.
BREAKDOWN
CAST
SARAH BERNHARDT / HAMLET – Janet McTeer
SEEKING THE FOLLOWING:
Looking for all ethnicities.
EDMOND ROSTAND: Mid 30s to early 40s. Male. A playwright completely transfixed with adoration for Sarah, his artistic ambitions and sexual infatuation are wrapped up in her. He is both a fawning writer in awe of how actors come alive and a fiercely determined thinker. He is good with language and he knows it, so there is a confidence to his arguments which collapses into a vivid frustration when they fail him. Living slightly in his head, meticulous and obsessive, he believes in the power of poetry, even when it makes him neurotic about his own work. Having not yet penned Cyrano, his ambition is currently fettered with a slew of unmemorable productions, and were it not for his relationship with Sarah, he would question himself. Worried that Sarah is making a grave error in taking on Hamlet, he becomes desperate to intervene. But out of love for her, he takes on the daunting task of adapting and abridging Hamlet, driving him near mad. All the while, he is racked with guilt over his neglected wife and sick infant at home, but he can’t seem to stay away from the theater. A role for an unconventional lover with wit and depth.
CONSTANT COQUELIN / GHOST OF HAMLET’S FATHER / CYRANO DE BERGERAC: 50s. Male. The leading man in Sarah's troupe who has played every role in the canon… thrice. And yet, having never gotten the acclaim he probably deserved, there’s a heaviness about him. Though slightly jaded, he is a confidant to Sarah and she values him dearly. He’s a creature of the stage, well read, adaptable. Powerful and commanding as the Ghost of Hamlet, but also a whirlwind of effortless wit as the inspiration for Cyrano. He knows how to own the stage. This is a terrifically funny role that offers broad range. He is a consummate actor, who is capable of great bravura, open-hearted ferocity and careless nonchalance.
ALPHONSE MUCHA: 40s. Male. A famous artist and graphic designer, freed from obscurity by Sarah who hires him for all her show posters. He stands aloof, always scrutinizing from an emotional distance, sometimes dismissive, yet utterly charming. Can be unapologetically blunt. His dry humor is subtly hidden behind a facade of seriousness. Completely engrossed by his work, he doesn’t rest until it suits his standards, and gets tied up into himself when it doesn’t. Side to be prepared in a light Czech accent.
LOUIS: 50s to 70s. Male. The leading theater critic of Paris. Full of flamboyance, pretense and cutting humor, he relishes his authority to make or break careers. Passionate about the theater, he champions work he believes in or delights in utter flops. Loves to be courted by producers and artists who desire his approval, but just as likely to ingratiate himself to stars. An inconstant member of an entourage, but an important one nonetheless.
LYSETTE / OPHELIA: 20s or early 30s. Female. The pretty ingenue of Sarah’s troupe, she considers this job a big break for her. In awe of Sarah and always eager to learn from her. Seemingly innocent, she fancies herself more self-possessed than she probably is, but her depth is surprising, as is her willingness to experiment with her sexuality. Or maybe that’s just her idolatry for Sarah sublimating itself into desire.
RAOUL / ROSENCRANTZ / VISCOUNT DE VALVERT: 30s or 40s. Male. An actor in Sarah’s troupe. Self involved and has more than a hint of machismo. Not the brightest bulb, but not untalented. Funny, well trained, and serious about his craft. A good supporting role for a comedian who can make something his own.
FRANCOIS / GUILDENSTERN / THE BORE FROM CYRANO / WORKER: 30s or 40s. Male. An actor in Sarah’s troupe. A little scattered, his attention is just as easily captured as it can be distracted. A little sensitve, he’s a people pleaser. Funny, well trained, and serious about his craft. A good supporting role for a comedian who can make something his own.
MAURICE: Mid 30s. Male. Sarah’s devoted son who has allowed his mother the spotlight his entire life, either in being hailed for her artistic accomplishment or in being gossiped about derisively for her promiscuity. Handsome, he maintains dignity despite it all. But the twists and turns of his mothers passions as well as her finances have left him worried about money. A well meaning gentleman, but more content to hide away as a perpetual student than become a leader. And yet, mother and son are very close and deeply bonded. Perhaps to a fault. Finally, he is good natured about who he is in the world. He can stand up to his mother's excesses without apology. While he will never outshine her or escape her, there is no neurosis. Her love has made him steady, not weak.
ROSAMOND: 30s. Female. Rostand’s neglected wife. She confronts Sarah, not to stop her love affair with her husband, but to ask that she release him from the challenge of rewriting Hamlet so he can finish Cyrano. A woman of quiet dignity and strength, with a sick child at home and a husband she never sees, who has not always been dealt the kindest hand by life. And yet she’s persevered. As a fanciful poet herself, she respects the theater, but stands outside the incestuousness of its community. Unsure how to behave in the face of Sarah’s celebrity, she defies it. Extremely secure in her own skin--surprisingly so, given the circumstances. When she plays her cards she does so with an assurance which is one of the few things that truly can rattle the Divine Sarah.
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 audition.
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