HATUEY - NYC EPA
Music-Theatre Group
AUDITION DATE
Tue, Dec 19, 2017
10:00 am - 6:00 pm (EST)
Lunch 1:30 to 2:30
CONTRACT
LOA-NYC $650 weekly minimum for LOA production
Staged Reading Code $325 weekly minimum for staged reading
SEEKING
Equity actors for HATUEY (see breakdown).
PREPARATION
Please prepare a brief aria, preferably in Spanish or Yiddish. Bring sheet music; accompanist provided.
Please bring a current picture and resume, stapled together.
LOCATION
Pearl Studios NYC (519)
519 8th Ave
12th Fl
New York, NY 10018
Holding room- Studio K
PERSONNEL
Director: Mary Birnbaum
Choreographer: Maija Garcia
Libretto: Elise Thoron
Music: Frank London
Conductor: Constantine Kitsopoulos
Casting: Mungioli Theatricals, Inc.
OTHER DATES
Staged Reading: May 21-31, 2018
LOA Rehearsal: August 6, 2018 (Montclair, NJ)
LOA Performance Dates: o/a Sept 15th-23rd, 2018
OTHER
IN ATTENDANCE: DIANE WONDISFORD, Producing Director, MARY BIRNBAUM, Director, ELISE THORON, Librettist, ARNOLD J. MUNGIOLI, Casting Director
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
The piece takes place simultaneously in two time periods:
1) In the “El Dorado” Night Club Havana, 1931, while OSCAR is living and writing the POEM (spoken in the vernacular of audience; sung in Spanish) and also,
2) In Maisi, Cuba, 1511, the Eastern most point of Cuba where HATUEY arrives in a canoe from Quisqueya to warn local Siboney tribes about the dangers of the Spanish.
The drama unfolds as the New World discovers the Old (which is sung in Yiddish).
From the Producer who brought us the Drama Desk Award Winner for “Unique Theatrical Experience,” THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS, the Nature of this Piece requires People with Depth & a Connection to their own Heritage in order to tell this story -- Creative People who are Smart, have a Sense of Humour, and a Willingness and Ability to Work with Other People in a Rewarding and Unique Creative Process.
Our Ideal Casting combines Actors with Legit Singing Voices, Opera Singers, and Contemporary Afro-Caribbean and Cuban Salsa Dancers with unique Improvisation and Performance Skills.
SEEKING:
OSCAR:
Male; mid 20’s - early 30’s: An Intellectual Jewish Poet -- with a Lot of Sex Appeal -- originally from Ukraine who has escaped pogroms, having seen his friends killed and his village burned, now writing in Cuba with a feeling of being haunted and driven by something -- he is the Chronicler of another Culture; Quirky, Young Passionate Spirit; He is an interesting package -- even more than just our Hero, he has something hidden; a Depth of Soul; an Empathetic Figure; Curious about the world he knows and the world he does not know; He falls in Love with the Indomitable & Sexy TINIMA, but his passion project is an epic POEM, in Yiddish, about the Cuban freedom fighter, HATUEY, who led the indigenous resistance to the Spanish in 1511. MUST BE ABLE TO SING: TENOR; Could come from the Opera World; Must be good with (or willing to learn) Yiddish.
TINIMA
Female; 20’s - 30’s: Latinx, Taino (i.e.: of the Indigenous People of the Carribean -- a Culture of Great Dignity) -- Preferably Fluent in Spanish; The Audience must be in her thrall the entire time; The Wildly Attractive, Show-Stopping Lead Singer in a NightClub in Havana, with whom Oscar falls in love. A Strong and Beautiful woman of Taino descent from a village in Eastern Cuba near where HATUEY was burned at the stake, she has made it completely on her own; A Force to be reckoned with, she is secretly helping to organize an armed student uprising against the increasingly dictatorial Machado government; She wears on her sleeve the Injustices that have been done to her People; Falls in love with OSCAR through his Poem; She entertains the crowd at the Club singing throughout the evening. MUST BE ABLE TO SING: LOW MEZZO, and IDEALLY HAVE EXPERIENCE AS A ‘SONERA/ SALSERA’ (i.e.: singer of salsa/Cuban song).
HATUEY
Male; 30’s: Taino (i.e.: of the Indigenous People of the Carribean -- a Culture of Great Dignity); The protagonist of OSCAR’S POEM, legendary Cuban Folk Hero -- a Man of the People --originally from Quisqueya (now Dominican Republic/Haiti), where he saw his people decimated by the Spanish; The Pinnacle of Courage & Heroism -- Tall, Great Presence, Cuts a Real Figure; A Strong, Stoic, Straight Man -- we must believe he enters this world from the year 1511; He heroically travels in a canoe to Cuba to warn the local Siboney tribes about the Spanish and organize the Resistance. He dies at the stake in 1511, refusing to convert to Christianity. Actor also plays LAZARO, the Waiter in the Club in 1931. MUST BE ABLE TO SING: BARITONE -- Ideally, able to lay down the Beauty of the Yiddish Language in his Arias (i.e.: have the willingness to learn Yiddish Language). Familiarity with Spanish Language a Plus.
VELASQUEZ
Male; 40’s - 50’s: Of Latino or Causasian Origin; The Antagonist of OSCAR’S POEM, Spanish Conquistador who invades Cuba in 1511. Facially and Visually Interesting, he is the Villain of the piece; He is unlike anybody else in the world, because he has more Power; From a hard hewn life in a harsh remote Spanish province, he has been willing to suffer extreme privations to gain his wealth in the New World; Though he has appreciation for the beauty of the place, he has a Lust for Gold. His type travels in time, appearing in different epochs and places. He appears in the nightclub in Cuba 1931 as the Cuban President, MACHADO, or his ilk. MUST BE ABLE TO SING: TENOR. Familiarity with Spanish Language a Plus.
KASIKA
Female; Mid 20’s: Could come from the Opera World -- Beautiful Soprano Voice; Leader of the Siboney Tribe on Cuba; A Warrior -- although at first she may appear to be an Ingénue, she is FIERCE; a close friend to HATUEY, elects him as Leader of the Resistance; Helps organize the fight against the Spanish, and heroically, she does not betray HATUEY, even under torture; Actress also plays ALICIA, Perhaps physically diminutive, but in any case, more elegant than TINIMA -- working as one of TINIMA’s floorshow dancers in the Club, she is fiancé to LAZARO; MUST BE ABLE TO SING: SOPRANO. Familiarity with Spanish Language a Plus.
BEHIKE
Male; 40’s: Taino Holy Man; Strong Silent Type, one feels his Spirituality; Internal with a Lot of Depth; Has Life Experience; Perhaps Physically Tall & Thin, but his Holiness is his most important quality; Peaceful, with a Centered Inner Strength, he works with KASIKA to Lead the Tribe; Actor also plays ERNESTO, the Maître D of the Club who consciously works to accommodate tricky political times while keeping all of his employees and patrons safe. ACTOR MUST BE ABLE TO SING: BASS. Familiarity with Spanish Language a Plus.
CORTEZ
Male; 30’s: A Young Spanish conquistador -- he is the Thug, the most Scary of anyone in the piece; Dangerous and Sexy, he leans toward Darker Taste, i.e.: He takes pleasure in torturing people; On a mission with VELASQUEZ, training for future exploits; Actor also plays TAINO WARRIOR, BLOODHOUND, and HERNAN, President MACHADO’s Chief of Security, in the Club; MUST BE ABLE TO SING: TENOR. Familiarity with Spanish Language a Plus.
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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