Shakespeare in Love
Based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall
Directed by Johanna Spencer
Open Auditions: October 21, 22 @ 6:30 PM
Callbacks October 23 @ 6:30 PM
Rehearsal Timeframe: November-January
Evening Performances (7:30pm): January 17, 18, 24, 25
Matinee Performances (2:30pm): January 19, 26
Content Label: PG—Shakespearean insults, suggestive content, discussions of death
The Majestic Theatre (a division of the City of Corvallis Parks and Recreation department) is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion and to creating a safe place for actors of all backgrounds to explore their craft. We are particularly eager to work with artists of color and other artists from marginalized communities. All auditions are free and open to the public. This audition is for an amateur, volunteer production. The Majestic Theatre staff and volunteers do not discriminate on the basis of age, national origin, race, gender, ethnic background, ability, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or any protected class.
Auditions will be held in person at the Majestic Theatre.
SHOW SYNOPSIS
Young Will Shakespeare has writer's block. The deadline for his new play is fast approaching, but he's in desperate need of inspiration. That is, until he finds his muse... the feisty, brilliant and beautiful Viola. This crafty young woman is Will’s greatest admirer and will stop at nothing (including breaking the law) to appear in his next play. Against a bustling background of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics, Will’s love for Viola quickly blossoms, inspiring him to write his greatest romantic masterpiece.
FROM THE DIRECTOR Johanna Spencer
Looking for strong actors with a sense of play who can deliver this stylized period dialogue with confidence and lean into the ample comic opportunities with wit and aplomb. We are also looking for singers and musicians. Please contact our music director, Kim Hall, if you play a musical instrument. You will not be required to play a musical instrument at the audition. We are also auditioning for actors who can sing. Oh, and a dog.
PREPARATION NOTES
Example: You do NOT need to prepare a monologue. If you wish to be considered for a singing role please prepare a 1-2 minute folk song (Greensleeves/Scarborough Fair or something you choose) You may either tape the piece in advance and send it to the director, Johanna Spencer, or be prepared to sing at the audition. Either provide your own accompaniment or sing acapella.
Wear comfortable clothes to audition; be ready to move as part of your audition.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
To encourage the strength that comes with greater diversity on our stages, all roles are available for any race, ethnicity, and ability.
WILL SHAKESPEARE
Character Age: 20-35
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting.
Ability/movement/intimacy: On stage for the majority of the play, lots of movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements. Down on the floor at times. Intimacy choreography with the actor playing Viola—preferably kissing with bodily contact.
Character: A passionate poet and playwright who alternates between anxiously brooding over his writer’s block and boasting with all the cocky confidence and charm expected from one of Elizabethan England’s most renowned 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.
VIOLA DE LESSEPS
Character Age: 20-35
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Female-presenting.
Ability/movement/intimacy: On stage for the majority of the play, lots of movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements. Down on the floor at times. Intimacy choreography with the actor playing William—preferably kissing with bodily contact.
Character: 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.
FENNYMAN
Character Age: 25-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Any; pronouns are he/him and cannot be changed.
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for much of the play, but few movement requirements. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: 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.
HENSLOWE
Character Age: 25-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Any; pronouns are he/him and cannot be changed.
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for much of the play, but few movement requirements. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: 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.
NURSE
Character Age: 25-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Female-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for much of the play, but few movement requirements. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: A devoted servant to Viola, she helps her lady with kindness and humor to dress as an actor and avoid the priggish Lord Wessex.
KIT MARLOWE
Character Age: 25-40
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for much of the play, but few movement requirements. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: 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.
LORD WESSEX
Character Age: 35-60
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for much of the play, lots of movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements.
Character: An insufferable and cash-poor nobleman engaged to Viola, he’s smarmy with the Queen, but hateful to nearly everyone else. A shameless misogynist, Wessex desires Viola only for her father’s wealth.
RICHARD BURBAGE
Character Age: 25-50
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Any; pronouns are he/him and cannot be changed.
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for much of the play, lots of movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements.
Character: Lead actor of the Chamberlain’s Men, a rival troupe of the Admiral’s Men, and owner of the Curtain Theatre. He becomes enraged and instigates a sword fight with Will when he discovers the playwright gave Romeo and Juliet to the Admiral’s Men.
THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS MAY BE DOUBLED:
SIR ROBERT de LESSEPS
Character Age: 40-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: Viola’s father; thinks of his daughter only as a piece of property to be given away to the odious Lord Wessex.
ADAM
Character Age: 20-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement required. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: An actor, plays Gregory, a servant to the Capulets; and Servingman.
FREES
Character Age: 20-50
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement required. Could be a musician/singer
Character: No-nonsense and of few words, he’s one of Fennyman’s two flunkies who forcefully help the producer collect debts owed to him.
LAMBERT
Character Age: 20-50
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement required. Could be a musician/singer
Character: No-nonsense and of few words, he’s one of Fennyman’s two flunkies who forcefully help the producer collect debts owed to him.
JOHN WEBSTER
Character Age: 15-25
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Any. Pronouns are he/him
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement required. Could be played by an actor using a mobility device.
Character: A street urchin who aspires to be an actor and possesses an unsettling fondness for plays featuring pain and gore.
NOL
Character Age: 20-50
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements.
Character: An amateur actor, plays Benvolio, Lord Montague’s nephew and Romeo’s cousin; and Sampson, a servant to the Capulets. Could be a musician/singer.
RALPH
Character Age: 20-60
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements.
Character: 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.
WABASH
Character Age: 30-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement. Could be playde be an actor using a mobility device.
Character: Henslowe’s tailor, is an aspiring actor who stutters; he delivers the prologue to Romeo and Juliet.
NED ALLEYN
Character Age: 20-40
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements.
Character: 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.
PETER
Character Age: 20-40
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement. Comfortable with stage fight movements.
Character: An actor; plays Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin.
SAM
Character Age: 15-25
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Male-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement.
Character: 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.
EDMUND TILNEY
Character Age: 35-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Any, pronouns are he/him
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement required.
Character: 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
Character Age: 25-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Female-presenting
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, some movement.
Character: England’s shrewd monarch who loves the theatre (but demands comedies that incorporate dogs) and sternly commands her courtiers and playwrights alike. A daunting presence, the Queen delivers her proclamations drolly and fairly.
BOATMAN/ROWER
Character Age: 20-70
Character Race: Any
Character Ethnicity: Any
Desired Actor Gender: Any
Ability/movement/intimacy: Onstage for some of the play, little movement required.
Character: A chatty aspiring playwright.
SUPPORTING CAST PLAYING MULTIPLE ROLES:
Creative character-actors for development of multiple roles. Being able to utilize movement and change voice to demonstrate different characters is a must.
Age: 16 and up
Race: Any
Ethnicity: Any
Ability/movement/intimacy: Mobility for quick entrances and exits, down on the floor at times, comfortable with stage fight movements, some lifting and moving of small set pieces (table, chairs, etc.)
Other ACTORS, including two who play VALENTINE and PROTEUS in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
BARTENDER - Gender - Any
CATLING - Gender Male presenting - A guard at De Lesseps Hall.
GUARDS (2) patrol De Lesseps Hall. - Gender: Any
Burbage’s HEAVIES (2) do his dirty work for him. - Gender: Any
MOLLY & KATE are whores who flirt with Will and the other tavern patrons. Gender: female-presenting
MISTRESS QUICKLY, is the wardrobe mistress at Whitehall Palace. Gender: female-presenting.
SERVER/WAITER - Gender: any
ROBIN - Gender: Male-presenting. Plays Juliet’s mother, Lady Capulet. He
can also play ABRAHAM, one of Montague's servants. Could also be musician/singer.