Auditions
Senior Studio Productions Audition Information
Tuesday January 16, 2024, 6 - 9 pm, Room 111 in Spingold.
Callbacks will be held on Thursday, January 18.
Please prepare a one-minute monologue for auditions.
Individual show descriptions and character breakdowns are included at the bottom of this page.
Auditions are open to all Brandeis students, regardless of racial, cultural, and individual identities. We value diversity in casting. No experience required.
Show Descriptions & Casting Information
Felicity Hyams’ Senior Thesis Production
Description: Felicity Hyams seeks actors for a World War 2 story following a group of American soldiers, exploring the downtime between the fighting and the relationships forged while overseas. Where the glamorization of war meets reality.
Content Advisory: This piece contains violence, strong language, death and racism.
Characters: Looking to cast 1 female role and 4 male roles. All genders welcome to apply.
● Woman - Young woman with a stereotypical American 40s look.
● Tim-Tim - Gruff, slightly heavy-set. In his early thirties. Rough exterior but cares a lot about his
fellow soldiers, even though he doesn’t always show it.
● Peter - The youngest. Barely eighteen. Eager to please. Small build, but capable fighter.
● Hopkins - Captain. Oldest man on the squad, late thirties or forties. Still extremely agile and strong.
Cares a lot about his men, perhaps too much.
● Jim - Team medic. Late twenties. Japanese American. Trustworthy.
Noah Leikind’s Senior Thesis Production
Description: Noah Leikind seeks actors for a staged reading of his senior thesis. In 1930s Germany, a young Jewish girl and her family face the rise of Nazism. As friends turn their backs on them and the local government works to Aryanize their business, the family must figure out a path forward in a world that no longer welcomes them. Based on the true story of the playwright’s family. Please note: As this is a staged reading, it will have a short and less intensive rehearsal process.
Content Advisory: Antisemitism is a core theme in the piece, some antisemitic rhetoric and language will be used. Although the play takes place before the Holocaust, there will be references to it at the end of the play.
Characters: Seeking 4 female-presenting actors and 2 male-presenting actors. All actors will play multiple roles (with the exception of the actor who plays Ellen). Characters include:
● Ellen Sonder - A young German-Jewish girl
● Lore Sonder - Her big sister
● Arthur Sonder - Their father, the owner of a department store
● Friedel Sonder - Their mother
● Omi - Friedel’s mother
● Opi - Omi’s father
● Frederick - The family’s driver
● Frau Müller - The Sonders’ downstairs neighbor
● Herr Müller - Frau Müller’s husband
● Herr Weber - The father of Ellen’s friend across the street
● Several S.S. officers
Yijia Yu’s Senior Thesis Production: Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language
Description: Yijia Yu seeks actors for Mountain Language, written by Nobel winning British Playwright, Harold Pinter. Mountain Language is a one-act play that takes place in an unspecified totalitarian regime. The play revolves around the suppression of language and the cultural identity of a group of people who speak a language referred to as Mountain Language. In this oppressive society, the ruling authorities systematically deny this group the right to use their native tongue. The play explores the profound impact of language deprivation, the dehumanization of individuals, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of oppression.
Content Advisory: The play contains strong language related to political and sexual abuse.
Characters: Seeking 2 female-identifying actors, 2 male-identifying actors, and 1 non-binary actor to play the following characters:
● Young Woman - An intellectual coming to the prison to visit her husband
● Elderly Woman - A matriarch of a family that is from Mountain, Mother of the prisoner. She speaks the
Mountain Language.
● Sergeant - The military leader who is in charge of the prison room
● Officer - A civil servant, An intellectual. An information collector
● Guard - A civil servant. A loyal advocate of the state
● Hooded Man - Young woman’s husband, who “accidentally” came to the prison
● Prisoner - A son, a husband, A middle-aged man that speaks both the language of the capital and
Mountain Language.
Nico Miller’s Senior Thesis Production
Description: Nico Miller seeks actors for a Hamlet derived piece. Hamlet tells the story of the Prince Of Denmark who is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father. This ghost incites him to avenge his unjust murder, leading to the downfall of families, relationships, and an entire kingdom. This work will be a series of vignettes taken from the original work with a focus on blurring gendered and sexual roles. In particular, this piece is an exploration into how supernatural manifestations unfurl questions of identity in the rigid world of the Shakespearean Canon. For the audition, a contemporary monologue will be accepted, but be prepared for use of classical language in callbacks and the final play. More information to be given during and after auditions.
Content Advisory: This piece contains death, violence, and suggestive language.
Characters: Seeking 2 male presenting actors and 2 female presenting actors to play:
● Claudius/the Ghost: Prince Hamlet’s uncle and the new reigning monarch. will also play the Ghost of
Hamlet’s father
● Gertrude: Hamlet’s mother and the Queen of Denmark
● Ophelia: Daughter of a nobleman, romantically involved with Hamlet
● Horatio: Hamlet’s closest friend and confidant.
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Ticket Reservations
Tickets to all Department of Theater Arts Productions are now FREE for all audience members, but must be reserved via Eventbrite. Reservations will be available starting one month prior to opening night. If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Production Manager Shelby Art-Koljonen.Department of Theater Arts
Spingold Theater Center
MS 072
Brandeis University
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02453
781-736-3340
theater@brandeis.edu