SpeakEasy Stage Company 2024-25 Season (Plays) - Boston, MA EPA
SpeakEasy Stage Company | Boston, MA
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (E)
BREAK: 12:30PM - 1:30PM
To request an appointment, please email audition@speakeasystage.com with your full name, Equity status, contact information, and the shows for which you would like to be considered. Please also include your complete availability during the entire audition window.
NEAT
$638 weekly minimum (cat. 6)
Equity actors for roles in SpeakEasy Stage Company's 2024-2025 Season (see breakdown).
For pre-cast roles, auditioning performers will be considered as possible (emergency) replacements, should any become necessary. Actors of color are encouraged to audition, and all roles are open to inclusive casting. SpeakEasy Stage Company shall conduct all auditions/interviews in a manner that promotes fair consideration to persons of all races, ethnicities, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, ages, and ability statuses. SpeakEasy Stage Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Auditions should be no longer than 5 minutes. Actors may read one or more perform one or two monologues, scenes from the season’s plays, or prepare a combination of scene(s) and monologues(s) from other sources of their preference. SpeakEasy suggests, if not performing scenes, choosing two contrasting contemporary monologues.
Artists Studio Building - Boston Center for the Arts
551 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
Studio 204 is located on the second floor of the Artists’ Studios Building and does not have an elevator. All efforts were made to book an accessible location for this audition. If the inaccessibility of this location prevents you from attending, we will happily accept a video submission. To submit a video submission, please email your materials to: audition@speakeasystage.com
LAUGHS IN SPANISH by Alexis Scheer; directed by Mariela Lopez Ponce
PRU PAYNE by Steven Drukman; directed by Paul Daigneault
AIN’T NO MO’ by Jordan E. Cooper; directed by Dawn Meredith Simmons
JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING by Jocelyn Bioh; director TBA
EXPECTED TO ATTEND:
SpeakEasy Producing Artistic Director - Paul Daigneault
Directors - Mariela Lopez Ponce and Dawn Meredith Simmons
SpeakEasy Community & Artistic Programs Manager - Alex Lonati
Artistic & Literary Fellow - Huan Bui
See breakdown for production-specific dates.
www.speakeasystage.com
This audition is located on the second floor of the Artists’ Studios Building and does not have an elevator. All efforts were made to book an accessible location for this audition.
If the inaccessibility of this location prevents you from attending, we will happily accept a video submission. To submit a video submission, please email your materials to: audition@speakeasystage.com
An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition. 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.
Rehearsals begin 8/19/24
Tech begins 9/10/24
Performances run 9/13/24 – 10/12/24
MARIANA. Female. Late 20s. Half Colombian/Half Jewish. Born in Miami. Director of Studio Six, an art gallery.
CAROLINA. Female. Late 20s. Cuban-American. Born in Miami. A painter and intern at Studio Six.
JUAN. Male. Late 20’s. Colombian. Born in Medellín. Miami-Dade police officer. CARO’s boyfriend.
ESTELLA. Female. Mid 50’s. Colombian. Born in Medellín. A movie star and MARIANA’s mom.
JENNY. Female. Mid 20’s. Caucasian-American. Born in Westchester. ESTELLA’s assistant. A screenwriter.
Rehearsals begin 9/23/24
Tech begins 10/15/24
Performances run 10/18/24-11/16/24
TBD Extension close 11/23/24
PRU PAYNE. CAST Female. Late 60s. White. Public Intellectual, good breeding. Exacting, charming, charismatic, intimidating. A WASP and, at times, waspish.
THOMAS PAYNE. CAST Male. Early 30s. Mixed Race, 1⁄2 White, 1⁄2 African American. Smart, reticent, sensitive. Shares Pru’s patrician manner of speaking—on him it can sound quasi-British.
GUS CUDAHY. CAST Male. Late 60s. White. Custodial Engineer, thick Massachusetts accent. Prideful, jocular, handy, unschooled, intuitive. Laconic New Englander but jovial.
ART CUDAHY. CAST Male. Early 30s. White. Chip off the ol’ block, same accent. Tough jock-type but lovable, with a latent poetic side.
DR. DOLAN. CAST Female. 40. Any race. Nerdy, dry humor, can seem prim because she aims for scientific detachment.
Rehearsals begin 12/09/24
Tech begins 1/7/25
Performances run 1/10/25 – 2/8/25
PEACHES. Male. Mid 20s to mid 30s. Black. A drag queen and stewardess on African American Airlines. Bombastic, deeply charismatic. Adept at code-switching and knows effortlessly how to work an audience. Our emcee for the evening, and we’re happy to be in her capable hands. Witty, tells it like it is. Tough and no-nonsense, but also possesses a deep warmth and love for her community. Has strong language skills, possessing both humor and emotional truth.
PASSENGER 1. Female. Early to late 20s. Black. Doubles as TRISHA: A young woman, pregnant, and recently widowed as a result of police brutality. She may be young, but tragedy has forced her to grow up quickly. Pragmatic. Resilient but exhausted. MARIE: The eldest child of a wealthy, conservative family. Poised, elegant, restrained. Regal. Able to keep her siblings in line without appearing to exert the slightest effort. KEISHA: An inmate in a maximum-security prison. Young, sincere, direct, and somehow still hopeful. Naïve and open, she’s excited and curious to learn more about the outside world. KENDRA: A cast member on the “Real Baby Mamas of the South Side.” Young, pretty, privileged, and clueless. No filter. Over the top. Think Portia from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
PASSENGER 2. Male. Late 20s to early 30s. Black. Doubles as PASTOR FREEMAN: A fire and brimstone preacher. Hopeful. Energetic, charismatic, adept at rallying a crowd. A natural showman. Could talk anyone into anything. DAMIEN: A young man cut down in the prime of his life. Stuck between this world and the next, he is desperate to not be erased and forgotten. Full of love, anger, and untapped potential he’ll never be able to explore. JONATHAN: Wealthy, privileged. Educated in the best schools. The child of immigrants, he believes in hard work and the American Dream.
PASSENGER 3. Female. Late 20s to early 30s. Black, Fair-Skinned. Doubles as ZAMATA: An activist. Passionate, outspoken. Fed up with the inequality of the status quo, and unafraid to resort to the most difficult and radical forms of protest to make her voice heard. RACHONDA: The first “transracial” cast member of “The Real Baby Mamas of the South Side.” A white woman who believes that she is black. Excited to explore her new identity. Loud, outspoken, takes up space. Not a bashful bone in her body. SUSAN: A wealthy, conservative woman, who has dealt with her unhappy marriage and her boredom with her life by repressing her darker feelings. When a bad dinner party unearths hidden grievances, she begins to find some freedom in watching the carefully constructed world around her crumble.
PASSENGER 4. Female. Early to mid 30s. Black. Doubles as WOMAN: A woman waiting in line at an abortion clinic. Frank, she tells it like it is, with a take-no-prisoners sense of humor. Chatty, and not one to bother about personal space, she’ll talk to anyone for as long as she wants. Although her stories are ones of trauma and violence, to her they’re unremarkable. Not one to dwell, she delivers them with humor and candor. OFFICER BROWN: A prison warden. Empathetic & maternal, but in no way a pushover. Treats the inmates under her watch with patience and dignity. KATIE: The youngest sibling in a wealthy and privileged family. Sweet, bright and bubbly. A bit naïve. Happy to let others take the lead in situations, and a bit sheepish when it comes to owning her own voice
PASSENGER 5. Female. Early to mid 30s. Black. Doubles as BLACK: A spirit that has been imprisoned for decades, recently released. A ball of unbridled energy and power. Ravenous, sensual, vibrant, alive. Devours all the air and energy in the room, and spits poetry with passion and velocity. BLUE: An inmate in a maximum-security prison. She’s seen unimaginable pain and suffering, and the weight of everything she’s experienced is evident in her very being. Weary and broken, she’s hanging on but only by the slimmest of threads. NEWSWOMAN: Professional, put together. Conservative. Dedicated to telling stories with fairness and compassion. Thinks of herself as the voice of reason in a crazy world.
Rehearsals begin 4/7/25
Tech begins 4/29/25
Performances run 5/2/25 – 5/31/25
TBD Extension close 6/7/25
MARIE. Female. 18. Black Senegalese. Has lived almost her whole life in America. JAJA’s daughter who runs the shop for her mother. Does a great job. Kind and smart. Academically successful, but her immigration status is in the way of her college dreams. Carrying a lot of weight on her young shoulders pretty gracefully.
SISTA BEA. Female. 30s. Black Ghanaian. Has been at the shop the longest and values her seniority. Constantly gossiping with AMINATA. Has a great sense of humor, but you don’t want to cross her. Critical and unpredictable, she creates a lot of drama. But when push comes to shove, she’ll come through.
AMINATA. Female. 30s. Black Senegalese. Does a good job but takes all day. BEA’s best friend in gossip and drama - she doesn’t create it, but she doesn’t diffuse it either. Dryly funny, has mastered the art of side-eye.
NDIDI. Female. 20s. Black Nigerian. The young spitfire. She dresses the youngest and braids the fastest. Everyone at the shop knows that she makes the most money, and it doesn’t always go over well - especially with BEA, who accuses her of stealing clients.
MIRIAM. Female. 30s. Black Sierra Leonean. Quiet and kind. She has a five-year-old daughter back in Sierra Leone, who she is trying to bring to America. Her peaceful demeanor belies a rebellious streak, which has landed her in this life - very different than the one she was raised for.
JAJA. Female. 40s. Black Senegalese. Owner of the shop. Getting married today in City Hall to Steven - the landlord of a local building. Warm, joyful. Has a presence that draws you in.
JENNIFER. Female. 20s. Black American. Comes to the shop for micro braids, and is in there all day. Patient, and an enthusiastic audience to the stories and dramas of the women in the shop.
CHRISSY/MICHELLE/LANIECE: CHRISSY: Female. 30s. Black American. Very particular about her hair and adamant that they “make her look like Beyonce.” MICHELLE: Female. 20’s. Black American. The nervous client who doesn’t want trouble or confrontation and just wants to get her hair done peacefully. A former client of BEA’s who has come to have her hair done by NDIDI, without realizing they’re in the same shop. LANIECE: Female. 30’s. Black American. A really messy eater.
VANESSA/RADIA/SHEILA: VANESSA: Female. 30s. Black American. A super-rude customer who no one wants to deal with. RADIA: Female. 18ish. Black American. One of MARIE’s former classmates whose “just catching up” conversation highlights the differences between the opportunities available to them. SHEILA: Female. 30’s. Black American. A friendly but loud-talking and nosey customer. Constantly on her phone.
JAMES / FRANKLIN, THE SOCK MAN / OLU, THE JEWELRY MAN / ERIC, THE DVD MAN: JAMES: Male. 30s. Black Ghanian. AMINATA’s on and off again husband who clearly takes advantage of her. Charming, of course. FRANKLIN, THE SOCK MAN & OLU, THE JEWELRY MAN: Male. 30’s. Black West African. Honest men just trying to make a living; well-known to the women who work in the shop. ERIC, THE DVD MAN: Male. 30’s. Black West African. The caring DVD man who looks out for his friends; brings them critical news.
Videos
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