Auditions for the 2020 season of Shakespeare On The Green: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shakespeare In Love, and the Shakespeare On Tour production of Macbeth.
Dates of Audition
1/4/20
1/5/20
Location
Actor’s Equity Member Center
557 W Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60661
Time(s)
Non-Equity Callbacks (*see preparation)
Saturday & Sunday, January 4 & 5, 2020
By appointment
Other Dates
Shakespeare On The Green: 5/26 – 7/12 (Performances: 6/25 – 7/12);
Shakespeare On Tour: 8/31 – 11/06 (Performances: 9/18 – 11/06)
Personnel
Artistic Director: Alan Klem;
Director (MND): Amy Lane;
Director (SiL): Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek;
Director of Education: Katie Becker Colón
Seeking
Equity and non-equity actors for Nebraska Shakespeare’s 2020 season, seeking male and female performers to comprise the principal and ensemble roles.
Preparation
Please bring two copies of your headshot and resume, stapled together. Prepare one comedic Shakespearean monologues and a brief song excerpt (up to 16 bars).
*for the sake of time, to considered for an in-person callback non-equity members are asked to submit a video audition via backstage.com or to lmarsh@nebraskashakespeare.com.
To be considered for Shakespeare On Tour (non-equity only), please also prepare 14 lines of non-comedic Shakespearean text to present at call-backs.
Other
Nebraska Shakespeare seeks to hire a racially-diverse and gender-inclusive ensemble that reflects the diversity of our audiences.
To be considered for the Shakespeare On Tour production of MACBETH, actors should be prepared to provide their education/teaching experience.
Roles
Theseus Male. 30’s-40’s. Any ethnicity. The Duke of Athens. Recently won a war against the
Amazons and is set to marry their queen, Hippolyta, in a politically advantageous match. [Will double with Oberon]
Hippolyta Female. 30’s-40’s. Any ethnicity. Queen of the Amazons. Regal and graceful, strong and athletic, powerful. In an arranged marriage with Theseus but determined to make the match
successful. [Doubles with Titania]
Helena Female. 20’s. Any Ethnicity. Helena was previously betrothed to Demetrius and remains obsessively, even masochistically, in love with him even after Demetrius met and fell for Hermia. Helena is tall, depressed over a bad break-up, determined, enterprising, willing to risk it all for love.
Nick Bottom Any gender. 20’s-30’s Any Ethnicity. The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in the Quince’s play. Bottom is full of self-confidence and happy to give their thoughts, but frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses language. Their simultaneous nonchalance about Titania’s sudden love for them and unawareness that Puck has transformed their head into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of their foolish arrogance.
Oberon Male. 30’s-40’s. Any Ethnicity. King of Fairies. Proud, angry, and vengeful. Thinks he has power and control over Titania, and excited by her resistance. Fond of Puck, but not blind to his anarchic tendencies. Jealous of Titania’s attention to a young changeling child. [Doubles with Theseus]
Titania Female. 30’s-40’s. Any Ethnicity. Queen of Fairies. Proud, obstinate, and careful of her duties. Smart and loving. Has a history with Oberon that is based on mutual attraction, but also respect for the other’s power. [Doubles with Hippolyta]
Robin Puck Goodfellow Any gender. 20’s. Any Ethnicity. A Mischievous sprite with magical powers, who delights in playing pranks on the mortals. Puck’s enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and Puck’s antics – both those that are deliberate and those done by mistake - are responsible for complications that propel the story. [Might double with Philostrate]
Will Shakespeare Male. Late 20’s/Early 30’s. Caucasian. A passionate poet and playwright who
alternates between brooding over his writer’s block and boasting all the cocky confidence and charm expected from one of England’s most renowned playwrights. is searching for his muse, which he finds in Viola.
Kit Marlowe Male. Late 20’s/Early 30’s. Any Ethnicity. Will’s more successful fellow playwright and friend. Marlowe never suffers from the writer’s block that currently plagues Will. Smooth and charming, Kit is perpetually goodhumored and encouraging.
Viola De Lesseps Female. 20’s. Any Ethnicity. A noblewoman with dreams of being an actor, in a time when women were forbidden from the stage. Viola disguises herself as Thomas Kent in order to perform in Shakespeare’s latest play. Engaged to Lord Wessex, a man whom she hardly knows and cares even less for, Viola escapes to the stage where she thrives in reciting the playwright’s poetry and falls in love with Will.
Nurse Female. 30+. Any Ethnicity. A servant and friend for Viola. The Nurse helps her lady, with kindness and humor, to dress as an actor and avoid Lord Wessex.
Henslowe Male. 35+. Caucasian. The owner and manager of the Rose theatre, which will host
Shakespeare’s newest comedy. A businessman with increasing debt. His money frustrations make the plans and stories he spins as varied and inventive as the many endeavors he undertakes to save a dime and turn a profit.
Macbeth (NON-EQUITY) Male-identifying. Any ethnicity. A successful soldier. Deeply in love with his wife. Ideal actor will possess excellent facility with language and stage combat experience.
Lady Macbeth (NON-EQUITY) Female-identifying. Any Ethnicity. Intelligent, quick to action, committed and connected to her husband. Ideal actor will possess excellent facility with language.
Banquo (NON-EQUITY) Any Gender. Any Ethnicity. Straight-forward and earnest. Ideal actor will possess excellent facility with language and stage combat experience.
The Weyward Sisters (NON-EQUITY) Any Gender. Any Ethnicity. Imaginative, influential, and alert humans. Ideal actors will possess excellent facility with language and movement experience. Singing and instrumental music experience a plus.
Note:
The actor portraying Will Shakespeare may appear shirtless and/or in undergarments. The actor portraying Viola de Lesseps may appear in undergarments and/or shirtless - in chest binding - in scenes preceding and following implied intercourse.
Videos
