09/15/2021
Looking for Male Actors:
DESTINY THE DRAG QUEEN - Someone who has done or currently does drag shows.
MECHANICAL MAN - Actor proficient on the guitar.
POLONIUS - Age 40 plus, comfortable with Shakes-speak.
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VIRTUAL AUDITIONS FOR A LIVE IN-PERSON SHOW
AUDITIONS FOR
THE HAMLET EXPERIENCE
a full length theatre play by James Broderick
performed live @ at the Latea Theatre in Manhattan
Directed by Ted Wrigley
(rehearsals will be in New Jersey)
For anyone that was not able to make our in-person auditions this past Saturday, we will be taking appoinments for Zoom auditions until Wednesday Sept 15th. You can email [email protected] to set up a time, and we will send you the full script to review.
There will be three performance dates (Nov. 4, 6, & 7, 2021) at the Latea Theatre in Manhattan (107 Suffolk St.). Part of the New York Winterfest Theatre Festival. All rehearsals will be in New Brunswick, NJ until tech week. (Most rehearsals will be Saturday & Sunday Afternoons with some Friday nights)
Non-union. Not paid.
* All actors must have proof of vaccination.
PLAY DESCRIPTION:
The Hamlet Experience is a 75-minute contortion, that conveys the essence of Shakespeare’s play — its major characters, its basic plot points — while “updating” Hamlet’s crisis through modern, experimental theatrical devices. The play not only conveys the story, but the almost five centuries’ worth of critical comment, theatrical lore, and cultural associations attached to it. The Renaissance meets the modern world. Drag queens mingle with Elizabethan courtiers, little girls interrogate coroners, Polonius channels rockabilly crooners. Through it all the play’s forebear haunts the foreground while a Mechanical Man keeps time in the background. So what’s it all mean? The director has no idea, the actors have lost their place, the writer expects the plot to be clear. Or not to be. Dark fun!
This is an exciting ensemble-driven show, looking for actors who are willing to play multiple parts, improv, and will help craft the “feel” of the true experience. Think Sleep No More—but if the writers really hadn’t slept. All actors will be in most scenes, and any minor roles will be combined.
ROLES:
• The Conductor - Actor of any gender, any age. Major role. Looming, brooding presence, a Shakespearean fool—with a dark side. They serve as an “Emcee” to the dramatic action, and outwit the audience at every turn. Otherworldly, austere, and mysterious. No singing required, but some simple movement and choreography.
• Mechanical Man/Shakespeare – Male or female, any age. Robot like guitar player, appears in two scenes to provide musical accompaniment. No lines, but a haunting, cyborg like presence. Basic guitar chords required. - Shakespeare - Genius, perhaps a smidge evil. He’s Shakespeare, for God’s sake! Resentful at what has become of his magnum opus, and out for revenge.
• Polonius/Barnardo/Audience Member #1/Passenger #1 – Male Actor, late 30s and above. Featured role. Pompous, avuncular, but also a good dancer and singer. Loves Elvis Presley and does an imitation of him. Doting father.
• Hamlet/Audience Member #4 – Male Actor, 20s or above. Major role. Inquisitive, playful, but with a dark side. Comfortable with some Elizabethan poetry.
• Claudius/Francisco/Audience Member #2 – Male actor, age 40+. Regal, royal, though a bit of an ineffectual buffoon. Also has a dark side. Adept with voices and able to manipulate a puppet.
• The Director/Tour Guide/Audience Member #3/Young boy -Male actor, ages 22+. Beleaguered, frustrated, confused, and emotionally exhausted. Running on the energy equivalent to a new parent who has just taken home triplets. Simple stage combat skills required. Should also be able to play a young boy.
• Destiny, a Drag Queen - Drag artist or actor of any gender, any age. Major role, leading the Greek Chorus and taking the audience throughout the play. Sassy, self-assured, confident, and above all, earnest. Singing required, as well as some movement and simple choreography, as well as simple stage combat.
• Ophelia/Gloria/Waitress/Passenger #4 - Female actor, ages 18-35. Featured role. Self-assured, strong-willed, and a bit of a diva. Wide eyed sincerity with a touch of brashness, as well as a healthy dose of self-awareness. Some singing/dancing required. Characters range to snarky New York waitress.
• The Indignant Spectator/Coroner/Passenger #2 -Male actor, aged 40+. Supporting character. Professorial, intellectually inflexible, passionate about Shakespeare, and not at all pleased at what is unfolding before him. Also must be able to play serious, bureaucratic.
• Gertrude/Melanie Thorndyke/Winnifred/Passenger #3 -Female character actor, ages 30+. Supporting Role(s). Strong comedic skills and comfortable playing characters from Elizabethan England as well as modern day. Improv and impressions (no matter how good they are) are a plus.
• Stage Manager/Felicity/Young Girl - Female actor ages 18-35. Supporting role. Organized, fastidious, snarky, and witty. Strong comedic skills needed as well as vulnerability and authenticity. Also should be able to play a child.
• Tourist #1/Noble #1/Ticket Vendor #1/Keesha -Female actor, ages 30+. Sarcastic, Grouchy, but has a softer side. Featured role.
• Tourist #2/Noble #2/Ticket Vendor #2- Male or Female actor, ages 18-25. Naïve, starry eyed, hopeful ingenue. Featured role.•
