Everyman Theatre | Baltimore, MD
Monday, February 24, 2025
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM (E)
BREAK: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Audition will be run on a First Come / First Served basis. Sign-ups will begin at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the audition.
LORT Non-Rep
$850 weekly minimum (LORT D)
Equity actors for roles in THE PIANO LESSON (see breakdown). No roles will be understudied. Everyman embraces identity conscious casting with an intentional eye on gender non-binary, diversity, and ability-conscious casting. We believe in fair pay for all guest artists and will continue our transparent practice of compensating for additional commitments as these events occur. We aspire to become an artistic home that is multicultural in representation and centered on anti-racist and anti-oppression practices. Read more through our
Statement of Solidarity.
Please prepare one monologue (preferably from August Wilson) of approximately two minutes in length. Each actor must bring one 8x 10 head shot with a resume attached to the back of the photo.
Everyman Theatre
315 W Fayette St
Baltimore, MD 21201
Playwright, August Wilson
Director, Paige Hernandez
EXPECTED TO ATTEND:
Paige Hernandez, Associate Artistic Director
Kyle Prue, Producing Director
First Rehearsal: 8/5/2025
Opening: 9/5/2025
Closing: 9/28/2025
everymantheatre.org
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.
Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
By August Wilson
It is 1936, and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell a piano that has great importance to his family, but he shares ownership with his sister Berniece, and the piano sits in her living room. Berniece has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with beautiful carvings detailing the family's rise from slavery. Boy Willie argues that the past is past, but Berniece proves to be more formidable than he anticipated.
Grace (Female presenting – Black – 20s): A young, urban woman whom Boy Willie and Lymon each try to pick up.
Maretha (Female presenting – Black – 11): Berniece's daughter, Maretha is beginning to learn piano. She symbolizes the next generation of the Charles family, providing the occasion for a number of confrontations on what the family should do with its legacy.
Wining Boy (Male presenting – Black – 50s): A washed-up recording star who drifts in and out of his brother Doaker's household whenever he finds himself broke. He functions as one of the play's primary storytellers, recounting anecdotes from his travels.
Avery Brown (Male presenting – Black – Late 30s): A preacher who is trying to build his congregation; he moves north once Berniece's husband dies in an attempt to court Berniece. He is honest, ambitious, and fervently religious. He brings Christian authority to bear in the exorcism of Sutter's ghost.
Lymon (Male presenting – Black – 30): Boy Willie's longtime friend who is more taciturn than his partner, speaking with a disarming straightforwardness. Fleeing the law, he plans to stay in the north and begin life anew. An outsider to the family, he functions particularly in the beginning of the play as a sort of listener, eliciting stories from the family's past. Obsessed with women, he will also appear prominently in his seduction of Berniece, where he helps bring her out of her mourning for her dead husband.
The following roles are CAST with Resident Acting Company. Performers will be considered as possible replacements should any become necessary:
Berniece - CAST (Female presenting – Black – 30s): Sister of Boy Willie, she is a mother still in mourning for her husband, Crawley. She blames her brother for her husband's death, remaining skeptical of his bravado and chiding him for his rebellious ways.
Doaker Charles - CAST (Male presenting – Black – Late 40s): Berniece and Boy Willie's uncle and the owner of the household in which the play takes place; he has spent his life working for the railroad. He functions as the play's testifier, recounting the piano's history.
Boy Willie - CAST (Male presenting – Black – 30): Berniece's brash, impulsive, and fast-talking brother; he introduces the central conflict of the play. Coming from Mississippi, he plans to sell the family piano and buy the land his ancestors once worked as slaves. By selling the piano, he avenges his father, Boy Charles, who spent his life property-less.
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