Seeking ensemble for new play Hephaestus

Overview:

• Venue: Laguardia Performing Arts Center (part of the Rough Draft Festival)
• Union Status: NON-UNION
• Producer: Theater in Asylum & LPAC
• Writer: Willie Johnson
• Director: Paul Bedard
• Choreographer: Katie Palmer
• Auditions by appointment on Thursday 1/16/2020 from 6-10pm
• Callbacks on Saturday 1/18/2020 from 10am-12pm
• Rehearsal dates: 2/10/2020-3/10/2020
• Opening date: 3/11/2020
• Closing date: 3/13/2020
• Rate of pay: $200 stipend
• Location: NYC

Casting for a workshop presentation of Willie Johnson’s Hephaestus. Seeking an ensemble that will play multiple roles, are comfortable with abstract movement and manipulating the set throughout the show. The piece features modern language and frequent direct address to the audience. All ages, races, and people with dis/abilities are encouraged to submit.

To submit, please email a headshot and resume to [email protected] and specify your availability for both the audition day (Thursday, January 16, 2020 from 6-10pm) and the callback day (Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 10am-12pm). Each audition slot will be 10-20 minutes. Audition is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from us.

For the audition, please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue that employs direct address to the audience. 

Description of Hephaestus
God of fire, god of the forge, the worker god: Hephaestus. At once a meditation on labor, dis/ability, and beauty, Hephaestus interrogates our relationships to our bodies, and our ideas of beauty and divinity. Drawing on texts ancient and new, Hephaestus explores the limitations of the body and the self, and our desire to transcend them. Learn more here.

Casting Breakdown (please note there will be extensive double-casting)

• HEPHAESTUS: The god of fire, metalwork, and craftsmen. His legs are disabled and he walks with crutches.
• AUTOMATA: Three golden women who serve as Hephaestus’s assistants in his workshop.
• HERA: The queen of the gods, Hephaestus's mother. 
• DIONYSUS: The god of wine and theater. 
• APHRODITE: The goddess of love and beauty. 
• PROMETHEUS: A titan.
• ARES: The god of war.
• IO: A wandering maiden who has been turned into a cow.
• ATHENA: The goddess of wisdom and Hephaestus's sister.
• KRATOS: A servant of Zeus.
• BIA: Another servant of Zeus.
• THETIS: Goddess of the sea, Hephaestus’s caretaker, mother of Achilles.

Theater in Asylum (TIA) is a New York-based theater company founded in 2010 to provide asylum to highly charged subjects and characters. With an ensemble-driven process and performance, we investigate to inspire curiosity, empathy, and action. We seek a freer world and believe theater is both the means and the ends. http://www.theaterinasylum.com/

The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC), the largest theatre complex in Western Queen, has played a key role as a cultural bridge between artists and audiences for nearly 40 years. Dedicated to amplifying the voices of emerging storytellers from all over the world, LPAC produces vital, high-quality and culturally relevant theatre, dance and educational programing for New York City audiences and beyond. https://lpac.nyc/