MY MAN KONO - NYC EPA
Pan Asian Repertory | New York, NY
AUDITION DATE
Monday, September 23, 2024
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM (E)
Lunch 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
CONTRACT
Off Broadway
$779 weekly minimum (Cat. 1)
SEEKING
Equity actors for roles in MY MAN KONO (See breakdown).
PREPARATION
Please bring in a contemporary dramatic monologue under 2 minutes. For actors auditioning for Kono, please use the side which may be found at:
KONOside.pdf. A hard copy of the side will also be available on the morning of the audition at the audition site. Also, please bring your headshot and resume stapled together.
LOCATION
Actors' Equity New York Audition Center
165 W 46th St
16th Fl
New York, NY 10036
PERSONNEL
Playwright: Philip W. Chung
Director: Jeff Liu (may attend)
Founding Artistic Director: Tisa Chang (may attend)
Expected to attend:
Producing Associate: Chongren Fan
OTHER DATES
First Rehearsal: Jan 13th, 2025
Previews: Feb 6, 2025
Opening: Feb 12th, 2025
Closing: March 9th, 2025
OTHER
www.panasianrep.org
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.
Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
BREAKDOWN
MY MAN KONO
SYNOPSIS
In the heyday of silent films, Japanese émigré TORAICHI KONO, in pursuit of the American Dream, becomes a loyal confidante of film star Charlie Chaplin, but at the dawn of WWII is swept up in anti-Japanese hysteria and accused of espionage.
SEEKING:
TORAICHI KONO: (Japanese/Male/30-40s) Toraichi Kono was a Japanese immigrant who worked as movie star Charlie Chaplin's personal valet and closest confidante for two decades and was later arrested as an “enemy spy” during World War II. Kono is smart, witty, resourceful, ambitious—only the racism of the times prevented him from reaching greater heights.
ITARU TACHIBANA: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Japanese/Male/40-50s) A Japanese naval officer who was arrested as an “enemy spy” during WWII. He’s a pacifist who opposes his country’s path to war, but he’s also a patriotic soldier loyal to the Emperor. He’s desperate to prove that he can play a vital role in the Imperial Japanese military and that he is not just a relic of an older, more innocent time. Will double as multiple roles.
ISAMI KONO: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Japanese/Female/30-40s) Toraichi Kono’s wife. On the surface, she seems like the dutiful wife taking care of the family while her husband lives the Hollywood high-life. But underneath is a fierce determination that comes out when she assumes the role of her husband’s “prosecutor” in the play’s second act. Will double as Tomie Higashijima.
CHARLIE CHAPLIN: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Caucasian/Male/30-40s) Not only the biggest movie star, but the most famous person in the world at the time. Though he is a brilliant comedic artist, he’s driven by the trauma of a troubled childhood and can be equal parts kind and cruel—sometimes in the same moment. Will double as the strict Judge who presides over Kono’s hearing in the second act.
WAYNE COLLINS: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Caucasian/Male/40-50s) A civil rights attorney and a self-described “good ole’ American boy trying to live up to our country’s values”, he represented over 20,000 Japanese Americans who were detained and/or deported during World War II. He’s a little absent-minded and frazzled, but genuinely passionate about fighting the good fight no matter the personal cost.
ALVA BLAKE: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Caucasian/Male/20-30s) A slick con-man type who’s a “jack of all trades”. He’ll do anything to get by and make a little profit in the process. But more importantly, his main motivation is an almost delusional idea of fame and self-importance and in an era of xenophobic “yellow peril” hysteria, his delusion is rewarded in ways that have devastating consequences on Kono and other Japanese Americans. Will double as multiple roles.
PAULETTE GODDARD: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Caucasian/Female/20s) Chaplin’s young love interest both on and off screen during his films MODERN TIMES and THE GREAT DICTATOR. She would become a star in her own right, but at this time was a “new” Chaplin discovery. But unlike Chaplin's other lovers whom he considered “girls”, he saw Paulette as a “woman” and indulged her desire to have more say in every aspect of his life, which put her at odds with Kono. Will double as multiple roles.
FBI AGENT R. HORN: CAST.
SEEKING
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT ONLY (Caucasian/Male/40-50s) Horn embodies every cliché of the square-jawed, by-the-book FBI agent including the chilling fervent yellow peril sentiment of a civil servant convinced the enemy has already infiltrated American life. He’ll stop at nothing to prove that the Japanese in America are the nation’s biggest threat. Will double as multiple roles.
