Tag Archives: casting

Now Casting: 40th Anniversary production of landmark play “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove”

The Fountain Theatre is now casting for all roles in its 40th Anniversary production of Jane Chambers’ landmark play, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. The play ran for two sold-out years at the Fountain Theatre from 1981-1983 in a groundbreaking production starring Jean Smart. The 40th Anniversary production will be performed outside June 17 to August 27 as an immersive experience on the Fountain’s outdoor stage directed by Hannah Wolf.

Storyline: Set in 1980, a group of queer women spend their summers together in a remote seaside town on Long Island. Their lesbian enclave is disrupted when Eva, a naïve straight woman recently separated from her husband, stumbles unaware into their circle and falls for the charming, tough-talking Lil. This heartfelt landmark play in lesbian history, bursting with friendship, laughter, love, and hope, brings well-rounded, three-dimensional characters to the stage to transcend stereotypes and preconceptions.

NOW CASTING

LILIAN (LIL) ZALINSKI – Late 30s/early 40s, any ethnicity, woman. The only single resident of Bluefish Cove (for the moment). Lil is dry, sarcastic, headstrong and a bit of a ladies’ lady. Her lust for women equals her lust for freedom. She’s slept with most everyone in the cove. Lil is suffering from a terminal cancer that progresses throughout the show. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, cuddling, hand holding, and lying in bed together (role does not contain simulated sex).

EVA MORGOLIS – Late 30s/early 40s, white (the script mentions that she has blue eyes), woman. Recently divorced after 12 years of marriage. She’s nervous, curious, worries about what others think about her and likes having a plan. She starts the play heterosexual but is willing to explore her wants and desires with Lil. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, cuddling, hand holding, and lying in bed together (role does not contain simulated sex).

KITTY COCHRANE – 40s, white, woman. “Literature’s most credible women’s libber.” She’s a former OBGYN, current feminist writer and public figure in the women’s movement. She speaks before she thinks, is possessive and takes up a lot of space in any room that she’s in. She’s publicly in the closet and is partnered with Kitty (after a failed relationship with Lil). Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, cuddling, hand holding, and lying in bed together (role does not contain simulated sex).

ANNIE JOSEPH – Late 30s/early 40s, any ethnicity, woman. Famous sculptor, Lil’s oldest friend. She’s the core of the group, steady and patient with the others. She doesn’t care what others think about her. Annie’s married to Rae and presents as butch or stud. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.

RAE – Late 30s/early 40s, any ethnicity, woman. Has two grown children from a previous marriage and went through a rough divorce when she came out. Rae struggles with feminism and her love of hosting. Married to Annie for 9 years. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.

RITA SANDERSON – 30s, any ethnicity, woman. Trained as a teacher but was outed by her father. She’s punctual, levelheaded and to the point. She’s Kitty’s secretary and lover. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.

DONNA ATTERLY – 20s, any ethnicity, bisexual, woman. Donna’s newer to the group. She’s high femme and Sue’s sugar baby. She likes to gossip, is driven by her insecurity and feels like she has something to prove to the group. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.

SUE MCMILLAN – 50s, any ethnicity, woman. She’s the eldest of the group and remembers that in every minute. She’s insecure about the age gap, her body and herself. Sue comes from old money, she spends most of her time traveling and has never worked. She’s working through her relationship/dependence on Donna. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.

Producer/Theatre Company: The Fountain Theatre
Artistic Director: Stephen Sachs
Managing Director: Simon Levy
Director: Hannah Wolf
Writer: Jane Chambers
Casting Director: Stephen Sachs, The Fountain Theatre
Audition Date(s): April 7 – 10, 2023
Callback Date(s): April 14 – 15, 2023
Rehearsal Date(s): May 8 – June 13, 2023
Preview Date(s): June 14 – 16, 2023
Opening Date(s): June 17, 2023
Closing Date(s): August 27, 2023
Rate of Pay: AEA 99-Seat Contract

Submit to: Actors Access, Breakdown Express, or email casting@fountaintheatre.com

NOW CASTING: Child actress to play ten-year-old Emily in staged reading of “Roe” on Outdoor Stage

The Fountain Theatre is seeking a skilled young actress for the role of Emily in the fast-moving staged reading of ROE by Lisa Loomer. Vanessa Stalling directes the large cast in ten public performances presented on the Fountain’s Theatre’s Outdoor Stage June 25 to July 10, in response to the looming Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade.

ROE is A powerful, poignant, and often humorous play that cuts through the headlines to reveal the real-life women behind Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that gave women the right to safe, legal abortion. A fast-moving, fair-minded look at the complicated human beings behind the case, the challenging years that followed the court’s fateful decision, and the polarization around the issue in America today.

Note: The script contains profanity (not spoken by the child actress), adult themes, and mature material.

NOW CASTING:

EMILY: 7 to 10 years old, white female. Sweet, earnest, loving, open, devoutly Christian.

Rate of Pay: AEA 99-Seat Contract

Submission Deadline: 06/07/2022. Actors will be asked to submit self-tape auditions.

This casting notice has been released on Breakdown Serives and Actors Access.

Submit headshot & resume to: casting@fountaintheatre

NOW CASTING: L.A. Premiere of “If I Forget” on Fountain Theatre Outdoor Stage directed by Jason Alexander

The Fountain Theatre is now casting the Los Angeles Premiere of Steven Levenson’s funny and poignant play, IF I FORGET, directed by Jason Alexander (TV’s Seinfeld). Steven Levenson is the author of TICK, TICK… BOOM!, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, and FOSSE/VERDON. IF I FORGET will be performed on the Fountain Theatre’s Outdoor Stage in East Hollywood.

Storyline:
Los Angeles Premiere. A funny and powerful tale of a family and a culture at odds with itself. In the final months before 9/11, liberal Jewish studies professor Michael Fischer reunites with his two sisters to celebrate their father’s 75th birthday. Each committed to their own version of family history, they clash over everything from Michael’s controversial book, to whether they should sell the family business. Secrets and long-held resentments bubble to the surface as the three negotiate – with biting humor and razor-sharp insight – just what they’re willing to sacrifice for a chance at a new beginning.

Producer/Theatre Company: The Fountain Theatre
Artistic Director: Stephen Sachs
Director: Jason Alexander
Writer: Steven Levenson
Casting Director: Simon Levy, Jose Fernando
Lead Producers: Simon Levy, James Bennett
Auditions: April 18-19, 2022
Rehearsals: June 13 – July 19, 2022
Previews: July 20 – 22, 2022
Opens/Closes: July 23, 2022 – September 10, 2022

LOU FISCHER
65 to 75 years old, male. (to play 75) Smart, sensitive, caring. He is capable of deep feeling but can be distant as is typical of men of his generation. Holds disturbing secrets from the war. A Jewish WWII veteran, proud of his family and Jewish heritage. Suffers a debilitating stroke during the course of the play. A man of quiet dignity. An untapped well.

MICHAEL FISCHER
45 to 50 years old, male. Lou’s son. A Jewish Studies professor who happens to be an atheist. A cynical, avowed liberal whose intellect and passions coupled with his ego and neurosis often cloud his better judgment and his better angels. Proud, defiant, stubborn and yet fearful and ultimately a bit lost. He struggles to make his heart as potent as his mind. A brilliant, if tortured, soul.

HOLLY FISCHER
45 to 52 years old, female. Lou’s oldest daughter and Michael’s older sister. (should read slightly older than him). Her dress and manner reflect a lifestyle that connotes a degree of financial success and social influence. She thinks highly of herself and freely speaks her mind, oftentimes at the expense of others. Though brash and biting, she means well and genuinely cares for her family. She is driven, fierce – but the bark is far worse than the bite.

SHARON FISCHER
38 to 40 years old, female. Lou’s youngest daughter. Sweet to the point of almost seeming simple. A natural giver, reflected in being a kindergarten teacher and Lou’s primary caregiver. She is also a bit high strung and desperate to have a family of her own at this later stage of her life. She harbors unspoken resentment toward her siblings for making her the de facto nanny and nurse. Though fragile and brittle, she spends much of the play struggling to assert herself and fight for the things she wants and believes in.

ELLEN MANNING
40 to 43 years old, female. Michael’s wife. Not Jewish. Kind, calm, and the voice of reason when tensions arise between Michael and his siblings. She is supportive of her husband’s career and beliefs though keenly aware and nervous of their offensiveness. She determinedly suppresses her fear and anxiety about her daughter’s mental illness. She is a woman very much on the edge and holding on with all the grace she can muster.

HOWARD KILBERG
50 to 55 years old, male. Holly’s husband. Jewish. A corporate lawyer. Successful and affable but a bit of a dolt. He is socially awkward, never sure of where he stands in anyone’s esteem. He is mild-mannered, even kindly but uncomfortable in his skin. And he harbors a secret that he greatly fears will ruin his life if revealed.

JOEY OREN
16 to 20 years old, male. (to play 16) Holly’s son. A smart and socially awkward teen. Has some behavioral issues; not violent, just acts out to get attention. He acts indifferent toward his family but can’t help revealing genuine concern during trying times. Takes refuge in gaming. An awkward kid, probably somewhere on the spectrum.

Please submit electronically via Breakdown Express/Actors Access or email casting@fountaintheatre.com. First round of auditions will be self-tape of Sides, which will be made available by the casting coordinator. Then there will be an in-person audition at the theatre. Then a callback.

NOW CASTING: LA Premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s timely and riveting “The Children”

The Fountain Theatre returns to indoor performances in October with the Los Angeles Premiere of the acclaimed Tony Award-nominated drama The Children by Lucy Kirkwood. With case numbers of the Delta variant trending downward in Los Angeles, the Fountain plans to reopen its indoor stage in October with all health and safety guidelines in place after nineteen months of closure due to the pandemic.

The Children is set in a small cottage on the east coast of England, where Hazel and Robin, two retired nuclear scientists in their mid-sixties, are living. A recent disaster at the local nuclear power station where they used to work has devastated the area, and they live under the threat of radiation pollution. Electricity and water are rationed, and they keep a Geiger counter to check for signs of radiation. However, Hazel is determined to preserve some semblance of normality and live the healthiest life she possibly can. So, Robin now farms, while Hazel practices yoga and devours salad. But when Rose, a former colleague whom they haven’t seen for 38 years, suddenly turns up, she disrupts their precariously ordered existence. Rose is determined to fix the problems they have caused for the next generation, even if it means certain death. Without ever mentioning climate change, Lucy Kirkwood’s brave, funny, humane, and chilling play asks us to confront the responsibility each generation must face for how it leaves the world. What is our responsibility to the future? Especially as we get older. What legacy, future, do we leave our children?

NOW CASTING

[ROSE] 64 to 68 years old, all ethnicities female. LEAD. Nuclear scientist/engineer. Sharp wit. No-nonsense. Strong-willed. Independent. A survivor. But these are shields to hide regrets and deep pain. Never married. Never had children. Lived in America for many years. A city person. She’s on a mission to save the world, to be accountable. She has many secrets, including being the former lover of ROBIN. She’s come to visit HAZEL and ROBIN after 38 years, out of the blue, with a request, with one of those secrets that is the turning point of the play.

[HAZEL] 64 to 68 years old, all ethnicities female. LEAD. Nuclear scientist/engineer. Retired. Has lived in the countryside most of her life. British droll sense of humor. She’s the homemaker, the caretaker. She believes in routine. She believes routine and salad and yoga will keep her and ROBIN and the world safe. She just wants everything to be nice, to be okay, to be controllable. But when that’s challenged by ROSE, she can be a fierce, formidable foe. Married to ROBIN for 40 years. Mother of 4. Grandmother. She will do anything to keep everyone safe. And she will not let ROSE steal ROBIN from her… and she will not let ROSE’s secret mission destroy her world.

[ROBIN] 64 to 68 years old, all ethnicities male. LEAD. Nuclear scientist/engineer. Retired. Down-to-earth. British droll sense of humor. Has that lived-in look. Husband of HAZEL. Married for 40 years. Father and grandfather. Former lover of ROSE. He’s the jokester. The little boy. He needs to turn pain and discomfort into humor and playfulness whenever possible. He’s also a workaholic. Always got to be doing something. Working the former farm. Taking care of the animals. Fixing the cottage. Can’t sit still. Like ROSE, he, too, has secrets… but ROSE’s secret request forces him to confront a moral dilemma that will change everything.

Producer/Theatre Company: Fountain Theatre
Artistic Director: Stephen Sachs
Director: Simon Levy
Writer: Lucy Kirkwood
Casting Director: Stephen Sachs
Audition Date(s): Sept. 2, 2021
Callback Date(s): Sept 7. 2021
Rehearsal Date(s): Sept 13, 2021
Preview Date(s): Oct. 20, 2021
Opening Date(s): Oct. 23, 2021
Closing Date(s): Dec. 19, 2021
Rate of Pay: AEA 99-Seat Contract
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Submit to: Actors Access or email casting@fountaintheatre.com

Now Casting: L.A. Premiere of ‘An Octoroon’ opens new Outdoor Stage at Fountain Theatre

The Fountain Theatre is now casting roles for its Los Angeles Premiere of the Obie Award-winning play, An Octoroon, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The production will launch the new Outdoor Stage at the Fountain Theatre. Judith Moreland directs.

Rehearsal Dates: 5/12/2021 – 6/10/2021

Preview Dates: 6/11/2021 – 6/16/2021

Opening Date: 6/18/2021

Closing Date: 9/19/2021

Performance Schedule: Fridays – Mondays 7pm

ROLES:

[BJJ/George/M’Closky]

30 to 45 years old, Black/African American male. A frustrated contemporary playwright.  Probing, idealistic, quick-witted, mocking. Puts on whiteface to make sense of Boucicault’s 19th century melodrama, playing both the cartoonish white villain (M’Closky) and the white hero (George) who falls in love Zoe. Seeking a skilled versatile actor who moves well. Strong sense of comedic timing a must. 

[Assistant/Pete/Paul]

30 to 45 years old, male. Native American, Asian, Middle Eastern or South Asian. Seeking fearless versatile actor to don blackface to play older slave Pete (offensive caricature —think Stepin Fetchit) and Paul (cartoonish pickaninny-type slave child—think Alfalfa from Our Gang). Actor must find the humanity in these disturbing stereotypical characters. 

[ZOE]

25 to 35 years old, female. Caucasian, Biracial, or multi-racial. White in appearance, Zoe is The Octoroon (person 1/8th Black by descent) of the title. Raised as a white-passing free woman but legally a slave. Educated, kind-hearted, dutiful, loyal – yet filled with self-loathing. Treated as though she has no mind of her own and no right to make her own decisions. Seeking classically-trained actress to bring heart to Zoe’s tragic journey.

[DORA]

30 to 40 years old, Caucasian female. A fading Southern Belle. Self-absorbed, privileged, spoiled, a wealthy plantation heiress vying for George’s affection.  Actress must have strong comic timing.

[MINNIE]

35 to 50 years old, Black/African American female. House slave on the plantation, new at the job. Brash, unfiltered, no-nonsense, opinionated. A gossip. A slave, yet her language is modern. Must have strong comic timing.    

[DIDO]

35 to 45 years old, Black/African American female. Long-time house slave on the plantation. Wise, responsible, dry, with a sly sense of humor. Knows her place, as well as where the bodies are buried. A slave, yet her language is modern. Must have strong comic timing. 

[GRACE]

25 to 30 years old, Black/African American female. Pregnant domestic slave. Jaded, cynical. Not afraid to call things out with her own realistic spin, stand up for herself, or use her fists if she needs to.  Yearns to run away, even though she is pregnant. A slave, yet her language is modern. Must have strong comic timing.   

STORYLINE:

An Octoroon is a play about a play. A modern-day Black playwright is struggling to find his voice among a chorus of people telling him what he should and should not be writing. He adapts his favorite play, The Octoroon by Dion Boucicault, a 19th-century melodrama about illicit interracial love written seven years after Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Black Playwright quickly realizes that getting white, male actors of today to play evil slave owners will not be easy. So, he decides to play the white male roles himself – in whiteface. What ensues is an upside down, topsy-turvy world where race and morality are challenged, mocked and savagely intensified. A highly stylized, theatrical, melodramatic reality is created to tell the story of an octoroon woman (a person who is ⅛ black) named Zoe and her quest for identity and love. Racial stereotypes are brutally satirized. Funny and profoundly tragic, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ An Octoroon is a whirlwind of images and dialogue that forces audiences to look at, laugh at, and be shattered by America’s racist history. Winner of the OBIE Award for Best New American Play.

To submit: Via Breakdown Services and Actors Access.

Questions? Email us at casting@fountaintheatre.com

Meet the young cast of the West Coast Premiere of ‘Hype Man’ at Fountain Theatre

hype man- fb event photo

Matthew Hancock, Clarissa Thibeaux, Chad Addison in rehearsal for “Hype Man”

Three young actors. Different personal backgrounds. A trio of distinct professional credits in stage, TV and film. Somehow, under guidance from director Deena Selenow, they must instantly create a close bond to portray a rocketing hip hop band on the brink of national attention in the Fountain Theatre West Coast Premiere of Hype Man by Idris Goodwin, opening February 23.   

Meet the talented cast of this funny, powerful and thought-provoking new “break beat play” the Boston Globe describes using “hip hop culture as a crucible where issues of racial identity, gender inequity, ambition, and friendship collide.”

Chad-Addison-1

Chad Addison

Originally from outside Boston, Chad Addison  has been in LA for 13 years. He’s excited to be working in his first play with The Fountain Theatre and to be able to dive into such a poignant piece of art. Music has always been a passion for him, so it’s an honor to combine the two in such a way. He was last seen on stage in the play Connect at Theatre 68. Aside from theater, he’s been pursuing TV/Film. Some notable credits include FOX’s 9-1-1, Most Likely to Die (on Netflix), NCIS: New Orleans, Grimm, Grey’s Anatomy & Bones. He was also a producer/actor on the independent film Paint It Red, which is now streaming on demand. 

Matthew Hancock

Matthew Hancock

Matthew Hancock is excited to be back at the Fountain. Favorite theatre credits include: the Los Angeles premiere of the NAACP and Ovation Award nominated The Brothers Size (Oshoosi), I and You (Anthony), Trans Scripts (Zakia). Matthew has recurred on I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime), Emmy Nominated Giants (Youtube), Five Points (Facebook Watch). In addition,  he has appeared in Snowfall (FX) and Prince of Peoria (Netflix) While not on the stage or in front of the camera, Matthew enjoys musical endeavors as Michael Siren.   He is a LA Drama Critics Circle, Stage Raw award winner and Ovation Nominee for Hit the Wall (Carson).  Matthew holds a BFA from Adelphi University (cum laude). To his incredibly supportive Family, Thank you. Follow Matthew on Instagram: @imatthewhancock.

Clarissa_Thibeaux

Clarissa Thibeaux

Clarissa Thibeaux is an LA based actor/writer/producer working in television, film, theater, and new media. You can catch Thibeaux in Marvel’s Runaways as Xavin on Hulu. Previously, you may have seen Thibeaux in Echo Theatre Company’s production of The Found Dog Ribbon Dance as Trista, or in the horror films Flight 666, and Ice Sharks.  She graduated with her B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Diego State University. Thibeaux currently resides in West Hollywood, CA enjoying every opportunity that comes her way.

 

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Playwright Martyna Majok destabilizes assumptions about disability with “Cost of Living”

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Martyna Majok

Martyna Majok  won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her original play Cost of Living. Staged at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) last summer, after a brief run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, the play opens at the Fountain Theatre on October 20.

Cost of Living tells two parallel, relationship-driven stories. John hires a caretaker, Jess, and the pair chip away at their judgmental personalities, slowly becoming friends; and Eddie looks to reconcile with his wife, Ani, after a prolonged period of separation. John has cerebral palsy (CP), a condition caused by abnormal brain development that is characterized by impairment or loss of motor function. Ani, because of a car accident, is a quadriplegic, meaning that all four of her limbs are paralyzed, although Majok’s script notes that “some of the fingers of one hand are partially functioning.”

Katy Sullivan

Katy Sullivan in “Cost of Living”, Manhattan Theatre Club.

Actress Katy Sullivan, who played Ani at MTC to great acclaim, is a bilateral above-the-knee amputee, a disability different from the character Ani’s quadriplegia. Sullivan will return to the role of Ani for the Fountain Theatre West Coast Premiere. Actor Tobias Forrest,  a quadriplegic, plays John.  Jess and Eddie are able-bodied characters played by Xochitl Romero and Maurice G. Smith.

The following conversation is an excerpt from a January 2018 interview with Majok conducted by Melissa Rodman, a Harvard College senior who wrote her thesis on staging disability in 21st-century American theater. Majok discussed how Cost of Living uses humor and sexuality to paint a picture of four messy, contradictory, funny, and flawed people, destabilizing assumptions about disability.

Melissa Rodman (MR): I was wondering if we could start off talking about Cost of Living and where the inspiration for the play came from, particularly the disabled characters.

Martyna Majok (MM): It started with a monologue. I was struggling economically. I always kind of have. I grew up with very little money, so for me, all the plays are about class. Cost of Living was about class; queens is about class. All these plays are in conversation with class, but America is so focused on identity. That is their lens through which they see just about every play. I don’t know if it’s the same for literature and things like that, but I think particularly for plays where you really have the bodies on stage.

So they said, “Oh, you wrote a play about disabled people or about disability.” I thought, “Well, no, it’s a play about class and loneliness, and it also happens to be told with two disabled bodies.”

So I had that monologue. I didn’t know what to do with it. What am I going to do with this 10-minute play? And, a few months later, I was asked for the 10-minute play festival to write about jobs. And so I thought about my most memorable job, and it was working with a man with CP, while I was in Chicago.

I went to the University of Chicago as an undergrad, and when I graduated, I ended up working for a graduate student at the same university. And so I wrote about that—I mean, I didn’t fall in love with him [laughs]—but I felt like this is a world that most people will not know about. And so, I went with that, and when we presented it, it was a really fascinating experience for me.

My play starts, and it’s just this woman standing onstage, speaking to someone offstage. And as soon as the character John enters in a wheelchair, everybody got so quiet. You felt them feel nervous. And it was so palpable to me. I didn’t know what it was. Were they nervous that I was about to make fun of a disabled character? Were they nervous at just the image of a disabled body?

Tobias

Tobias Forrest co-stars as John at the Fountain Theatre

I have a friend who says that disability is like a walking reminder of mortality, that when somebody looks at a disabled body, they’re thinking about the fallibility of their own body and death. I’m thinking about that, and I didn’t know, and I thought, “Oh god, my play’s gonna tank.”

And as soon as John has the first joke, the audience was like, “Okay, okay. We can laugh.” But it was like they were still kind of feeling it out. But because he had the control in the scene, and he had the jokes, and he was in charge, people felt comfortable.

And they could laugh and kind of grow with the people. So I thought, “This is fascinating. I have to make a play that put two disabled bodies onstage.”

The stories about disabled characters that I had seen tended to be one of two kinds: one was the “Oh he’s gonna run the marathon,” that sort of an inspirational story, where disabled characters just are such saints that they almost aren’t actual people. So there’s a distance already there.

And the other is the dying-with-dignity narrative, which I think is very dangerous. It makes it seem like there’s only two options. You either have to be an inspirational amazing-genius-achievement person, or you must want to kill yourself. I wanted to make sure that I countered that and offered another narrative, and also for them to have humor and sexuality.

MR: I noticed while reading the play that the stage directions and descriptions of the real physical interactions between the characters really come across. I was wondering how your experiences informed your scripting the play?

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Martyna Majok

MM: There are so many things, like how do you shift your weight to be able to accommodate a body being moved from a wheelchair? There are so many specific things, that I would just walk the actors through it. I can’t imagine writing that or trying to figure that out without having experienced it.

The first time I went in, and kind of got trained—I think it was my first day—and the guy, who I was working for with CP was clearly so used to training people how to help him, and so he walked me through it. And so onstage, I walked them through it.

And then for the quadriplegic character, Ani, I had to do more research on my own.

I never wanted to rely on an actor doing my dramaturgy, so I researched as much as I could with that, and talked to people. The two were kind of a combination of past experience and research outside.

MR: That makes sense. I’m thinking more about the playwright’s notes at the beginning, which are very extensive. What was going through your mind when saying Ani and John have to be disabled people playing these characters?

MM: I mean, it’s funny. It became such a big thing. I had just written it thinking, “Well, of course. Like, of course. Did you guys ever think that you had to cast it differently?”

It blew my mind, but then of course I remembered celebrities like Eddie Redmayne and Sam Claflin, the Me Before You actor, played disabled people.

MR: The Jake Gyllenhaals.

MM: Jake Gyllenhaal. People will look at plays and think, ‘Well, at one point he walked, so we have to cast a celebrity and CGI [computer-generated imagery] his legs.

You could CGI the legs onto someone with a disability, if you would like to, to be able to actually give these people opportunities to represent themselves onstage in their own stories. But I think a lot of people will cop out in that way, because it’s economic, like you’re saying.

It’s a risk to cast an unknown actor, disabled or able-bodied. And I understand that, but also if you continue to not let disabled actors play disabled characters—or any character, to be honest—then they’re not going to get the exposure and the experience to then become the Jake Gyllenhaal. R. J. Mitte from Breaking Bad, he’s now an offer-only actor. He’s somebody who was cast in Breaking Bad, who has CP, and now he’s a name. Now more opportunities are open to him, and people consider him for larger roles.

Because it’s not my identity, because I’m not a disabled person, I felt like it would not have been right if I had also taken—not just the identity I wasn’t—but to have it told with people for whom that it’s not their identity.

I think people have been using the excuse, “We just don’t know any disabled actors.” We did a lot of casting. I knew Gregg, who played John at MTC, from like six years before I wrote the play. I didn’t write it for him, but after I had written it, I thought, “Oh, I know somebody who can do this.”

For Ani, it was not difficult to find a disabled actor, it just was difficult to find the right actor, in the way that it is for any role. The most difficult thing was finding somebody who could be brash and have humor and be believably working class, and that was harder than it was to find a disabled actor.

Katy Sullivan wall lean

Katy Sullivan

MR: And when you had this team, what did you think about, in terms of actually staging the disability with these four bodies that were assembled? Did things change from script to stage? And then, of course, there are the two iterations, at Williamstown and at MTC.

MM: It’s interesting, ’cause when you see Katy in a wheelchair, you see that she doesn’t have legs and doesn’t have knees. Sullivan was born without knees and legs. So people kept calling the character she played, Ani, a double amputee.

There’s all these things on the Internet, “The play’s about a double-amputee.” I’ve tried so painstakingly to specify the character Ani is a quadriplegic, not a double-amputee. But they’re gonna see what they’re gonna see. From the Williamstown production to the MTC production, the rewrites that I made in between were clarifying exactly what the disability is.

I can say, ‘cerebral palsy,’ and people who don’t know anybody with cerebral palsy might not know exactly what that means. Some people think it’s like an accident versus neurological birth disability. And so, I decided, “Okay, I’m meeting the audience where we’re at.”

I want everyone to come in with a common knowledge. I want them all to feel safely taken care of, and that they’re all on the same knowledge plane. So I think I assumed more people would know more than they did about CP and would listen to more of the language versus see Katy and assume she’s in a wheelchair because she’s a double amputee.

Most of the rewrites were actually about the Jess character. The rewrites tended to be me having to explain how somebody who went to Princeton could end up sleeping in their car. ’Cause this was unbelievable to an audience. [laughs] And so I had to put in clues about how things broke in her life along the way, that she would end up being there.

At one point when I was working on the one for Williamstown, I asked Gregg to describe to me what his body felt like to him, and then asked his permission if I could use some of that language. And so that’s the part [in the play] where he’s talking about his body.

He walked me through what it would feel like to kind of walk, for him specifically, because he went through a lot of dance—physical dance—training, and things like that that enabled more mobility than for somebody who didn’t go through that kind of training. And so he walked me through what the body feels, and I thought that was interesting and important, ’cause I also didn’t know what it feels, literally what it feels like, and we’re talking about bodies. And so, in that sense, that was a really great collaboration.

And, I mean, the stages were different. Williamstown has a raised proscenium, so at one point they just realized, because the actors are in motorized wheelchairs, if they go out of control, they’re going to end up in the audience. [laughs]

You do have to kind of change things a little bit, but it’s fine. There’s ways, you know, it’s just part of it.

MR: You mentioned different kinds of audience perceptions of all of the characters. Can you talk a bit more about the audience response and how that factored into some of the staging choices?

MM: I think most of them had to do with responses to class, I guess.

There was an interesting experience Gregg had after a show.

Katy comes out, and she has her prosthetic legs on, and she doesn’t enter in the [prop] wheelchair. And Gregg enters walking, also without his prop wheelchair.

There was somebody who came up to him after the show, and said, “I’m so glad that you’re not actually disabled. Oh my God! Thank God!” And he told them he actually is disabled, that he does have CP. But this response of “Thank God! Thank God it was just pretend!” That was really interesting.

I was at some of the talkbacks, and I think people were surprised at the humor. They were expecting a certain kind of story.

With the last three plays I’ve done, which all have serious capital letters—they’re about poverty and immigration and disability—people are assuming that that’s gonna be a sad story [laughs], or it’s just gonna be a super serious story. I’ve learned to train audiences early on that they can and should laugh.

So I front-load a lot of jokes that I usually give to the person that is the “other,” that’s gonna be perceived as the “other,” so that they’re the ones who are in control of the humor and driving it, and the audiences connect with that person.

MR: Are there any other things that you wanted audiences to take away from the characters?

MM: I think the one about suicide or the idea of giving up never came into the conversation. Sexuality was a big one. I wanted to have sexy scenes and have a person taking agency with their own sexuality and pleasure. Hopefully, it’s like a widened lens that somebody has about another person’s life. It’s a wider empathy that they have.

I have a lot of friends who are disabled. I have a huge group of playwriting friends, but part of that group is people with disability. And so they will tell me about people assuming pity for them, and that gaze, that was something I did not want at all present in it.

People will say, “Oh, you poor thing,” or “That must be so hard,” and they’re assuming that they’re suffering daily and every minute and are thinking about their disability all the time. And I wanted to add more in the lives of these characters than just that.

This post originally appeared in Public Books

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NOW CASTING: Four roles (two disabled) for Pulitzer Prize winner ‘Cost of Living’ at Fountain Theatre

costofliving-season-thumbnail2

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. West Coast Premiere at the Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles.

STORYLINE: Achingly human and surprisingly funny, Cost of Living is a haunting, rigorously unsentimental play about the forces that bring people together and the realities of facing the world with physical disabilities. Unemployed truck driver Eddie is struggling to rebuild a relationship with his estranged wife Ani, recently wheelchair-bound with a spinal cord injury. Jess, in a job that she desperately needs, is trying to navigate her duties with John, her new boss with cerebral palsy. But, who is really caring for whom? By shattering stereotypes, the play reveals how deeply we all need each other.

SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY TO: Stephen Sachs  casting@fountaintheatre.com
Submission Deadline: 08/24/2018

Producer/Theatre Company: Stephen Sachs, Fountain Theatre
Director: John Vreeke
Writer: Martyna Majok

Audition Date(s): 08/27/2018 – 08/29/2018
Rehearsal Date(s): 09/17/2018 – 10/16/2018
Preview Date(s): 10/17/2018 – 10/19/2018
Opening Date(s): 10/20/2018
Closing Date(s): 12/16/2018

4-show week. Performances Fridays 8pm, Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm, Mondays 8pm.

Roles:

[EDDIE] 40 to 50 years old, Black/African American male. Ani’s ex-husband; an unemployed truck driver who doesn’t allow himself the luxury of self-pity; funny, engaging and playful; kind, would have made a great uncle for someone; working class, rough around the edges. Seeking actors of color for this role.

[ANI] Seeking an actress who is a wheelchair user or with mobility disability for this role. 35 to 45 years old, open ethnicity, female. Eddie’s ex-wife; working class from North Jersey; she has a spinal cord injury because of a recent car accident and now uses a wheelchair; quadriplegic, though has some function in one hand; intense and brusque; hilariously foulmouthed, it’s her way or the highway, and she won’t hesitate to tell you so; a strong sense of self; dry sense of humor. This role requires partial nudity. 

[JESS] 25 to 30 years old, ethnicity open, female. John’s new caregiver; down-to-earth, working class; first-generation from an immigrant family; went to Princeton but has fallen on hard times. Overworked, under- qualified, and nearly homeless, she has a lot of potential but is working three jobs and still living paycheck-to-paycheck; a tough cookie, skittish, perhaps a bit too quick to defend herself. Seeking actors of color for this role.

[JOHN] Seeking a disabled actor for this role. 25 to 30 years old, male. A good-looking and very intelligent doctoral student; has cerebral palsy; uses a wheelchair and requires the assistance of a part-time caregiver. A rich grad student at Princeton, has the confidence and polish of a guy who comes from money; quick witted with a blunt sense of humor; he has a slight speech impediment due to the tension of his cerebral palsy.  This role requires nudity. 

SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY TO: Stephen Sachs  casting@fountaintheatre.com

Now Casting: World premiere ASL/Spoken English love story “Arrival & Departure” at Fountain Theatre

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Deanne Bray and Troy Kotsur

The Fountain Theatre is now accepting submissions from hearing actors for the world premiere of Arrival & Departure, a funny and poignant new play written and directed by Stephen Sachs that will blend American Sign Language and spoken English. 

Two lead roles have been cast. Deaf actress Deanne Bray (TV’s “Sue Thomas”) will play Emily, and acclaimed Deaf actor Troy Kotsur (Cyrano, Big River) is Sam. Bray and Kotsur are real-life husband and wife, and will co-star on stage for the first time.

Set in New York City, Arrival & Departure is a re-imagined modern-day Deaf/hearing stage adaptation of the classic 1945 British film, Brief Encounter. In Sachs’ new spin, a Deaf man and a hard-of-hearing woman, married to different people, meet accidentally in a NY city subway station. A friendship develops over time, escalating into a passionate love affair that both deny themselves to consummate. An unforgettable love story inspired by one of the most beloved romantic movies of all time. A fast-moving innovative new production blending sign language, spoken English, open captioning and cinematic video imagery. 

Now casting the following roles for hearing actors:

RUSSELL – 25 – 35, African American, a uniformed MTA security officer working the NY subway system. Big-hearted, open spirited, warm and friendly, a guy you instantly like. Hopelessly romantic and in love with Myra, the counter girl at the Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the train station.    

MYRA – 20 – 30, Puerto Rican, works at the Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the subway station. Sassy, tough, funny, a straight-talker. A hard-edged survivor.  She protects her oft-broken heart by not trusting Russell’s romantic advances, finally allowing herself to be loved.     

JULE – 13, daughter of Emily (hard of hearing) and Doug. Caught n the explosive transition between girl and woman, Jule is fiery, emotionally high-strung, sarcastic and fiercely insecure. Sensing her parents’ marriage may be failing, she fights wildly with her mother, pushing her buttons, yet aching only to be loved, feel safe and belong.    

DOUG – 45 – 55. A hardworking, well-meaning Christian man who still can’t figure out the track his own life has taken.  A handsome husband and father, Doug loves his wife and daughter, pushing to keep things as they are, yet trying to understand why his home life is changing. Married quickly and unexpectedly to a hard of hearing woman, Doug struggles to overcome his own hidden prejudices as he fights to save his family.   

COMMUTER 1 – 35 – 45, versatile ensemble member to play various roles. Voice actor to character of deaf film teacher Sam (lead), College Clerk, university teacher Jeff, ensemble.  Familiarity with sign language a plus but not necessary.

COMMUTER 2 – 35 – 45, versatile ensemble member to play various roles. Voice actress to character of hard of hearing Emily (lead), church friend Marjorie, ensemble. Familiarity with sign language a plus but not necessary.

Auditions: May 14 – 24
First rehearsal: Mon, June 4, 2018
Opens: July 14, 2018
Ends: September 30, 2018

Contract: AEA Los Angeles 99-Seat Agreement

Pay: $10.50/$12.00 per hour for rehearsals/performances.

Email headshot and resume: casting@fountaintheatre.com

Or mail to: 

Stephen Sachs
Fountain Theatre
5060 Fountain Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90029

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NOW CASTING: Mexican shop owner in world premiere of new play ‘Runaway Home’ at Fountain Theatre

RUNAWAY HOME title imageThe Fountain Theatre is now casting the following role for its upcoming world premiere production of Runaway Home by Jeremy J. Kamps, directed by Shirley Finney.

[ARMANDO] 35 to 45 years old, Mexican male. Owns and runs the small local store in the Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans. Has two daughters in Mexico. Guarded, vulnerable, empathetic, longing, wistful, independent, self-sufficient, courageous, inner-turmoil, soft but with a temper. He offers Kali a job in his store, trying to help the young runaway girl, which leads to a harrowing but hopeful end.

STORYLINE: Set in New Orleans, Lower 9th Ward, three years after Hurricane Katrina. In this funny and deeply moving story, 14 year-old Kali embarks on a journey. Rhyming, stealing, and scamming her way through her still-destroyed neighborhood, engaging the lively folk who remain and running from her worried mother, Kali picks through the wreckage of what used to be her life and is forced to confront the cost of moving forward and embrace the loving power of family.

Rehearsals start August 7th. The production opens September 16th and runs to November 5th.  The Fountain Theatre operates under the new AEA 99 Seat Agreement.  

Email submissions to casting@fountaintheatre.com