TWELFTH NIGHT - Saratoga Springs, NY EPA Revised
Saratoga Shakespeare Company | Saratoga Springs, NY
REVISED
See updated audition DATE.
Saturday, May 20, 2023
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (E)
Break: 1:00-2:00pm
Appointments will be scheduled every 5 minutes, starting at 10 am. Please request a time at helena@helenabinder.com.
SPT
$375 weekly minimum (SPT 3)
Equity actors for roles in a July production of TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare in
Congress Park, Saratoga Springs, NY (see breakdown).
Saratoga Shakespeare Company is committed to an inclusive casting policy and encourages all actors to audition regardless of an individual's sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a veteran, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Please refer to breakdown for details.
Please prepare two one-minute Shakespeare monologues. Actors interested in the role of Fester (the Fool) should be prepared to sing and play guitar if requested.
Skidmore College, Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theater.
815 N Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-1632
Please follow signs to rehearsal studio.
Director: Helena Binder (expected to attend)
Callbacks: May 21, 2023: 10 - 4pm
First Rehearsal: June 26, 2023
Performances: July 13-16 and 19 – 21, 2023
OTHER
https://saratogashakespeare.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.
Equity encourages everyone participating in the auditions to wear a two-ply cloth face mask, surgical
mask, singer’s mask or respirator (N95, KN95 or KF94). Single-ply face masks, gaiters and bandanas
are not recommended. Singer’s masks can be found at www.broadwayreliefproject.com/singersmask.
Equity encourages members to prepare for their audition prior to arriving at the audition venue, to the
extent that they can (e.g., get dressed, hair/make-up, etc.) to avoid crowding in bathrooms and dressing rooms.
VIOLA - A young woman of aristocratic birth, who, having been washed up on the shores of Illyria
decides to make her own way in the world. She disguises herself as a young man, calling herself
Cesario, and becomes a page to Duke Orsino. Viola exhibits strength of character, quick wit, and
resourcefulness. Although her disguise puts her in an impossible position, she maintains self-control
and a quiet dignity that contrast with the over-the-top emotional performances of love and mourning by
the other main characters, Orsino and Olivia. While those two characters seem almost to be play-
acting, Viola truly feels pain when she believes that her brother Sebastian is dead and when her love for Orsino seems impossible. Her poignant plight is the central conflict in the play.
SEA CAPTAIN/FABIAN (Double cast) - The Captain of the ship that sank while carrying the twins Viola
and Sebastian. The captain survives along with Viola and assures her that the last he saw of
Sebastian, her brother was alive. Loyal, helpful, and a native of Illyria, he gives Viola information about
the region that helps her devise her plan to find work with Orsino. FABIAN - An attendant in Olivia's
household, presumably often participating in the antics of Sir Toby. Earnest and straightforward.
ORSINO - A powerful nobleman in the country of Illyria. Orsino is lovesick for the beautiful Olivia, but
becomes more and more fond of his new attendant, Cesario, who is actually a woman—Viola. Orsino
is a vehicle through which the play explores the absurdity of love. His constant, self-indulgent
complaints about his lovesickness also display his extreme self-centeredness and considerable ego. It
is the self-indulgence and the conquest that appeal to him.
OLIVIA - A wealthy, beautiful and noble Illyrian lady, Olivia is courted by Orsino and Sir Andrew
Aguecheek, but insists that she is in mourning for her brother, who has recently died. She and Orsino
are mirror characters in that each seems to enjoy wallowing in his or her own misery and self-
involvement. Viola’s arrival in the masculine guise of Cesario enables Olivia to break free of her self-
indulgent melancholy. Olivia seems to have no difficulty transferring her affections from one love interest to the next, however, suggesting that her romantic feelings do not run deep.
SEBASTIAN - Viola's twin brother whom she believes is lost at sea, and who likewise, thinks she's
dead. He is an aristocrat and capable of deeply felt emotion for his sister. The constant, powerful love
he shows while grieving and when reunited with Viola contrasts with Orsino's and Olivia's relatively
frivolous emotions. He is also the only major character in the play who is completely truthful. He is also
pragmatic, as when the beautiful, wealthy Olivia proposes to him, and he accepts, despite the fact that
he has never met her before.
MALVOLIO - The straitlaced steward—or head servant—in the household of Olivia. Malvolio is
supercilious and looks down on others, particularly those who engage in drinking and having fun.
Priggish and haughty, he is a self-righteous killjoy who annoys the other members of the household by
his constant condescension. In return, Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria, play a cruel trick on him, making
him believe that Olivia is in love with him. In his fantasies about marrying his mistress, he reveals a
powerful ambition to rise above his social class. However, Malvolio is not an evil character and his
eventual downfall should evoke some ambiguity as to its fairness. Though the prank on Malvolio adds
to the comic relief of Twelfth Night, it also reveals Malvolio's ambition, arrogance and deluded self-love
and he remains, in the end, bitter and lacking in personal insight.
FESTE (FOOL)- The clown, or fool, of Olivia’s household, Feste is a free-spirited singer who moves
between Olivia’s and Orsino’s homes. He earns his living by making pointed jokes, singing songs,
being generally witty, and offering good advice and he functions, in a sense, as a Greek chorus. In
spite of being a professional fool, Feste is the wisest character in the play, highlighting the foolishness
of the others. But he is a sympathetic rogue and not judgmental or condescending. Some singing
required. Ability to accompany self on guitar, a plus.
SIR TOBY BELCH - Olivia’s uncle/cousin. Olivia lets Sir Toby live with her, despite his rowdy
behavior, practical jokes, heavy drinking and late-night carousing. He has managed to finance his
excessive eating and drinking by latching on to the rich but clueless Sir Andrew. Carefree and
insolent, Toby represents the chaotic spirit, and is a foil for the controlling, self-righteous Malvolio.
MARIA - Olivia’s clever, feisty and daring maid, she is protective of the delinquent Toby, whom she
loves. Unlike, Malvolio, Maria succeeds in bettering her social position through her insight and wit and
is essentially the gears that keep the household running.
SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK - A friend of Sir Toby’s and an aristocrat, Sir Andrew attempts to court
Olivia, but he doesn’t stand a chance. He wants to regard himself as witty, brave and good at
languages and dancing, but it is his money that keeps him in Toby’s, and thereby Olivia’s, good
graces. A clueless innocent.
ANTONIO - A man with a dubious past who rescues Sebastian after his shipwreck. Steadfast, earnest
and loyal but having had some run-ins with the law, Antonio has become very fond of Sebastian,
caring for him, accompanying him to Illyria and furnishing him with money. Antonio’s attraction to
Sebastian, however, never bears fruit. Despite the ambiguous and shifting gender roles in the play,
Antonio’s love for Sebastian cannot be fulfilled.
CURIO – Gentleman serving Orsino. Member of the aristocracy devoted to Orsino’s service. May be
double cast with ANTONIO.
OFFICER – Official police of Illyria.
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