The Acting Company 2024-25 Season
About the project
Kent Gash, artistic dir.; Devin Brain, producing dir.; Amber Snead, CSA, Chad Eric Murnane, CSA, casting
Seeking Equity actors for roles in The Acting Company's 2024-25 season. All roles will be understudied.
Season
includes "Two Trains Running" (Lili-Anne Brown, dir.; August Wilson,
playwright; Amber Snead, CSA, Chad Eric Murnane, CSA, casting dirs.;
Nate Riccio, casting assoc. Rehearses Dec. 3-29; tech runs Jan. 2-17,
2025; opens Jan. 18 at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, CA; closes May 4 at
American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, CA); and "The Comedy of
Errors" (Devin Brain, dir.; William Shakespeare, playwright; Christina
Anderson, modern translation; Martine Greene-Rogers, dramaturg; Orlando
Pabotoy, movement-fights; Amber Snead, CSA, Chad Eric Murnane, CSA,
casting dirs.; Nate Riccio, casting assoc. Rehearses Nov. 5-27; tech
runs Jan. 2-17, 2025; opens Jan. 18 at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, CA;
closes May 4 at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, CA).
Roles in this project
Equity ActorsDates & Locations
Rehearses and runs in California.
Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 28-Dec. 2; Holiday Break: Dec. 22-26; Week Off: April 7-13, 2025.
Compensation & Contract
Key Details
- Aug 28, 2024: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT
Holding: Studio G
EPA
Procedures are in effect for this audition. An Equity Monitor will be
provided. Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
Audition
preparation instructions: Equity actors must prepare two brief,
contrasting monologues: one with heightened language and one
contemporary. At least one should be comedic. Also, bring a headshot and
resume stapled together.
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.
Additional Materials
Note: All roles will be doubled as both plays will run in rep on tour.
Seeking:
Track 1: To play Memphis Lee in “Two Trains Running” and Clown 7 (Dr. Pinch) in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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Memphis Lee: Male identifying character, 50s-60s, Black. Self-made
businessman who has seen his share of injustice and discrimination and
has managed a small piece of success. His restaurant is the backbone of
the community. Memphis has a hard time balancing his hopes and dreams
with his well-earned cynicism; juggling the injustices in life has made
him a little rough around the edges; exacting and unyielding, he has a
sense of determination that cannot be abated; though talkative,
opinionated, and a bit judgmental, he only takes what he’s owed and
treats people right, as best he can.
- Clown Seven (Doctor Pinch)/As
Cast: Bombastic, bold, and brilliant...this is a personality that
conquers every room it walks into, full to the brim with wise sayings
and erudite questions that he doesn’t come close to understanding. He is
the most courageous of cowards, the wisest of fools, and the most
learned idiot.
Track 2: To play Risa Thomas in “Two Trains Running” and Clown 5 (Adriana) in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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Risa (Clarissa) Thomas: Female identifying character, 20s-30s, Black. A
young woman who works for Memphis in his restaurant and deftly, if not
quietly, navigates all the men who frequent the diner; she has a quiet
control of herself, her body, and her womanhood, but her need not to be
defined by the standards of men and their desires has driven her to
permanently scar herself; she cares for the men in the restaurant and
has a particular softness for Hambone; even in these moments of
vulnerability, kindness, and sensuality, however, she maintains a
certain level of autonomy in a world which tries to determine her life
for her.
- Clown Five (Adriana and others): Bold and attractive,
this Clown knows what she wants and she pursues those desires with all
caution thrown to the wind. Her love can be jealous, but only because it
burns hot and at her core she lifts up those around her. She is the
leader of every committee, the belle of every ball, and hasn’t yet met a
wall she couldn’t push through.
Track 3: To play Sterling Johnson in “Two Trains Running” and Clown 3 (Antipholus of Syracuse) in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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Sterling Johnson: Male identifying character, 30s, Black. Recently
released from prison for a bank robbery, Sterling is a complex man whose
difficult and poverty-stricken upbringing has created in him a dark
sense of entitlement; he believes that the world owes him better than
what he got and the only way to get it is to take it. Sterling, like
everyone else, is seeking a way to take control of his life and his
unbalanced logic often gets him into trouble. He does, however, have a
deep sense of justice and injustice, and a clear need to protect those
he sees as more vulnerable than him. He is willing to put himself on the
line for others he deems worthy. Sterling sees the inner beauty that
lies beneath Risa’s scars and begins a romantic relationship with her.
He also recognizes that Hambone’s sense of purpose makes him “lucky.”
-
Clown Three (Antipholus of Syracuse and others): Attractive, charming,
this Clown is a lover - absurd in the depths of his passion for all the
loves of his life large and small, vain at times and yet utterly
authentic and heartbreaking at others. This is someone that has walked
the world looking for his other half...and not yet found it.
Track 4: To play Holloway (and Memphis U/S) in “Two Trains Running” and U/S Clown 3/Clown 4/Clown 5 in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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Holloway: Male identifying character, 70s. Another of Memphis’ few
remaining regular customers, he is the seer and knower. He is the elder
in the community and has coped all his life with the ravages of
injustice. He has become a humanistic sage, merely by his longevity. He
is a keen observer of the other characters and the economic system that
holds them in bondage.
Track 5: To play Wolf (and Holloway U/S) in “Two Trains Running” and Clown 1 (Dromio of Syracuse) in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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Wolf: Male identifying character, 20s-30s, Black. One of Memphis’
customers, and a slick numbers runner. He is a roving peddler of dreams;
his illegal trade allows a few fortunate winners to purchase coveted
material goods. He’s popular in the community, and although he relishes
the reputation his occupation fosters, he is disappointed in love: His
relationships with women are complicated and may be fabricated. He
carries all the anxieties with him that any number’s runner would, as he
is always either the bearer of the best or worst news.
- Clown One
(Dromio of Syracuse and others): Clever in the most foolish of ways,
almost as eager to make those around him laugh as he is to devour
everything that is set before him, this is a trickster hunting for his
next high...be that fun or food. Sly, but with the most golden of
hearts. An idiot, but only because he leads with his hope and his heart.
Track 6: To play West in “Two Trains Running” and U/S Clown 1/Clown 2/Clown 6 in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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West: Male identifying character, 60s, Black. A complicated, wealthy
funeral director who has gained his wealth, one could argue, at the
expense of others; the people in the community both respect him and are
critical of his choices; on one hand, he does a great deal of good for
people in their worst moments – treating them with a polite respect; on
the other hand, he is a clear hustler who attempts to conduct shady
business deals with Memphis and is accused of cutting corners and
fabricating fees to line his own pockets; it is remarked that his greed
could be motivated by the grief of losing his wife.
Track 7: To play Hambone in “Two Trains Running” and Clown 2 (Dromio of Ephesus) in “The Comedy of Errors.”
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Hambone: Male identifying character, late 40s, Black. A man whose
encounter with the injustices of the world has rendered his mind into a
deteriorated state; despite this, he takes care of himself, as he has no
known family; his persistence in the face of opposition is rivaled by
none of the other characters and it is this simple, direct, and keen
sense of what is right and wrong, coupled with his willingness to work
for what he is owed, that makes him a central and important figure in
the lives of those around him.
- Clown Two (Dromio of Ephesus plus
others): Foolish in the cleverest of ways, almost as eager to devour all
that is set before him as he is to make those around him laugh, this is
a trickster always hunting for his next high...be that food or fun. A
golden heart, but with the slyest of wits. An idiot, but only because he
leads with his heart and his hope.
Track 8: To play Clown 4
(Antipholus of Ephesus) in “The Comedy of Errors” and U/S
West/Sterling/Wolf/Hambone in “Two Trains Running.”
- Clown Four
(Antipholus of Ephesus and others): Attractive, charming, this Clown is a
lover - absurd in the depths of his passion and blind to everything
outside of his own desires. Arrogant at times, callous at others, and
yet at the core is someone longing for the other part of himself, a part
he doesn’t even know is real.
Track 9: To play Clown 6 (Luciana) in “The Comedy of Errors” and U/S Risa in “Two Trains Running.”
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Clown Six (Luciana plus others): Quietly brilliant, this Clown listens
before she acts. She is the clever confidant, waiting for her chance to
leap into the spotlight because she sees the truth in the world around
her and is eager to embrace it. Her heart is open so wide that sometimes
it threatens to trip her.
