Auditions: 

·        November 11 & 12th – 2:30 – 5pm

·        November 18 & 19th – 2:30 – 5pm

·        Call backs: Thanksgiving weekend as needed.

Cast Kick Off:  Saturday December 16th 9am-12 noon.

·        Intros, Scripts, scheduling and read through.

Rehearsals:

·        Character development 12/17-1/2.  TBD on live rehearsals or 1:1-character meetings

·        January 3rd – February 15th M, W, Th weekday rehearsals 7-9pm and Sat, Sun from 11-2

·        Q2Q run through slated for Feb 3rd or 4th.

·        All Cast - Mandatory Tech Week: 2/10- 2/15, 6:30pm till done with full run through.

Performances:

·        Week 1:  Feb 16, 17th @7:30pm, and 18th, Sun matinee- 2pm

·        Week 2:  Feb 22, 23, 24th @7:30pm and 25th, Sun matinee – 2pm

·        Week 3:  Feb 29, Mar 1,2nd @7:30pm and Mar 3rd, Sun matinee – 2pm.

·        Call times for the cast are 1 hour prior to show start except for opening night which is 1.5 hrs. in advance.

CHARACTERS

Notice: Double casting may occur. Characters will be played as gendered, but Actor gender does not matter.

THE PLAYWRIGHTS

WILL SHAKESPEARE, is a passionate poet and playwright who alternates between anxiously brooding over his writer’s block and boasting all the cocky confidence and charm expected from one of Elizabethan England’s most reknowned dramatists. A friend to, and playful competitor of, Kit Marlowe, Will is a sensitive soul searching for a muse – which he finds, both theatrically and romantically, in the equally fervent Viola

KIT MARLOWE, Will’s more successful theatrical cohort, never suffers from the writer’s block that plagues his pal – he always knows exactly what Will should write or say next. Smooth and charming, Kit is perpetually good-humored and encouraging – the best kind of friendly competitor to Shakespeare’s protagonist.

DE LESSEPS HOUSE:

VIOLA DE LESSEPS, a noblewoman who fiercely dreams of becoming an actor, Viola disguises herself as Thomas Kent in order to perform, illegally, in Shakespeare’s latest play. Engaged to Lord Wessex, a man she hardly knows or cares for, and restricted by a society that bases her worth solely on her marriage prospects, Viola escapes to the stage, where she thrives in reciting the playwright’s poetry and subsequently falls in love with Will. Rebellious and passionate, Shakespeare’s verse should roll off this devotee’s tongue, and she should embody a sense of playfulness and determination in her attempts to play a man.

NURSE, a devoted servant to Viola, helps her lady, with kindness and humor, to dress as an actor and avoid the priggish Lord Wessex.

SIR ROBERT DE LESSEPS, Viola’s father, thinks of his daughter only as a piece of property to be given away to the odious Lord Wessex.

LORD WESSEX, an insufferable and cash-poor nobleman engaged to Viola, is smarmy with the Queen, but hateful to nearly everyone else. A shameless misogynist, Wessex desires Viola only for her father’s wealth.

CATLING, is a guard at De Lesseps Hall.

GUARDS (2) patrol De Lesseps Hall.

THE ROSE THEATRE

HENSLOWE, is the owner and manager of the Rose Theatre, which will host Shakespeare’s newest comedy. Alas, the frustrated Philip Henslowe must continually hound the ever-pondering playwright for the play. A slippery equivocator, his increasing debts and frustrations are ripe fodder for a comedic actor.

FENNYMAN, is a producer of plays – aka “the money.” A ruthless loan shark with no sense of humor (to Henslowe’s great dismay), Hugh Fennyman cuts an imperious and intimidating figure. However, his enthusiasm – and resulting stage fright – at playing the supporting role of the Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet endears him to his fellow players and audiences alike.

LAMBERT & FREES, no-nonsense and of few words, are Fennyman’s flunkies who forcefully help the producer collect debts owed to him.

RALPH, a tavern server with actorly ambitions, plays Juliet’s Nurse and Petruchio, a member of Tybalt’s gang with only one line, in Romeo and Juliet

NOL, an amateur actor, plays Benvolio, Lord Montague’s nephew and Romeo’s cousin, and Sampson, a servant to the Capulets.

ROBIN, a male actor, plays Juliet’s mother, Lady Capulet. He can also play ABRAHAM, one of Montague's servants.

ADAM, an actor, plays Gregory, a servant to the Capulets; and Servingman.

JOHN WEBSTER, is a street urchin who aspires to be an actor and possesses an unsettling fondness for plays featuring pain and gore.

WABASH, Henslowe’s tailor, is an aspiring actor who stutters; he delivers the prologue to Romeo and Juliet.

THE ADMIRAL’S MEN:

NED ALLEYN, the lead actor of the Admiral’s Men, plays Mercutio, Romeo’s kinsman and close friend. Self-absorbed and a bit reckless, this pompous actor agrees to take the role only when he thinks the play’s title is Mercutio.  

SAM, a sweet young actor who plays Juliet, causes panic in Shakespeare’s company when his voice changes the day of Romeo and Juliet’s first performance.

PETER, an actor, plays Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin.

THE PALACE:

EDMUND TILNEY, Lord Chamberlain and obsequious courtier to Queen Elizabeth, manages court entertainment. Strict and exacting in his position, Tilney is deferential to the Queen and censorious to Will and his plays.

QUEEN ELIZABETH I, England’s shrewd monarch who loves the theatre but demands comedies that incorporate dogs, sternly commands her courtiers and playwrights alike. A daunting presence, the Queen delivers her proclamations drolly and fairly.

THE TAVERN:

The ROWER/BOATMAN is a chatty aspiring playwright.

SERVER/WAITER

BARTENDER/BARMAN

MOLLY & KATE are barmaids who flirt with Will and the other tavern patrons.