Theater Arts Productions

Auditions

Spring 2026 Auditions

All performers are eligible for 2 academic credits.

If you have an audition conflict, please email JB Barricklo at jbbarricklo@brandeis.edu.

Small Mouth Sounds

Written by Bess Wohl
Directed by Samantha Richert Boehm
April 17 - 19, 2026

Auditions: Thursday, February 5, 2025 from 6:00 - 9:00pm
Callbacks: Saturday, February 7 from 8:00pm – 9:30pm
Performances: April 17 - 19, 2026

If you have an audition conflict, please email JB Barricklo at jbbarricklo@brandeis.edu.

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Audition & Callback Information - Small Mouth Sounds

Auditions will take place in the Laurie Theater on Thursday, February 5, 2025 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm - you must sign up for an audition slot on Eventbrite.

Callbacks will take place Saturday, Feb. 7 from 8:00 - 9:30 pm.

Everyone auditioning must fill out an Audition Form, linked here. You must confirm you have read the play before accepting any role.

PERUSAL SCRIPT

EVENTBRITE LINK

What to Prepare for the Audition - Small Mouth Sounds

For the audition, please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue of your choice. Contemporary preferred with a preference to strong character choices. Bonus Points if it aligns with one of the characters in the play.

Also please be prepared to:

Complete an activity in silence. Choose from one of the following:
1. Stretch or Warm up of some kind
2. Mimed completion of a daily activity or task (think out of the box for this one!)
3. Runway walk of a chosen character from the show
  *Callbacks will consist of partnered moments with a variety of actors throughout the session. These moments will include ones from the play as well as improvised to showcase creative choices and impulses.

Note from the Director:

I encourage you to READ THE PLAY beforehand! I like to work collaboratively, through attention to impulse and instinct with respect to storytelling and the playwright's words. I value fun, curiosity, passion and play through hard work, respect and dedication. How we move says a lot, what we say says a lot, and what we don’t say says so much more. There’s a lot of silence in this play and silence can be uncomfortable. Intimacy can be uncomfortable. These characters are embarking on a journey out of agony to find inner and outer peace and making their own individual sacrifices to do so. We’ll play into the character descriptions as much as possible, with flexibility in aging, physical characteristics etc., and there will NOT be nudity in the show. I work within a consent-based practice to honor boundaries and create an ensemble that strengthens communication and human connection. If there’s anything you'd like to add or let me know about how you might be involved in this production by playing a particular role or concerns you might have please feel free to let me know. Likewise, if there is a character you do NOT want to be considered for, please let me know!

Show Synopsis and Info - Small Mouth Sounds

In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat, run by an unseen teacher, or guru. When the layers of their daily lives are shed, from their designer clothes to sexual proclivities, their despair is primal. These strangers – partners Joan and Judy, former child actor Alicia, outdoors-hating Ned, gorgeous yoga teacher Rodney and Jan, a Pastor who hails from a small town in Finland and who has over-estimated his English language skills – must confront internal demons.

Both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward humor, this strange and compassionate play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.

From the Playwright:

This play was inspired by a silent spiritual retreat the author attended in upstate New York. Like that retreat, much of the action of the play happens without words, so extensive character descriptions are provided. Even though these descriptions will remain a mystery to the audience they should be able to follow the main story lines, and yet be given room to make – and revise – their own assumptions about who the characters are.

Everyone in this play is in some kind of agony. In this way, they are not unlike the rest of us. They have come to this retreat in the hope of finding some kind of relief. This desire should feel very immediate and present throughout the action of the play.

Characters

TEACHER – Played by a disembodied, androgynous voice with a strange, slightly accented way of talking.

JOAN – Late 40s, wears a lot of clothes and jewelry from India.

JUDY – Maybe 50, is Joan’s partner.

ALICIA – 30-ish, strawberry-blonde (sometimes more strawberry, sometimes more blonde) from Southern California.

NED – Somewhere in his 40s, has had a severe run of bad luck worse than the worst country-western song.

RODNEY – Mid-30s, ageless, fit, gorgeous, grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and teaches yoga in New York and the Hamptons (in the summer).

JAN – 50-ish, is from a small town in Finland.

Department Audition Policies

Department Information and Conflict Acknowledgement

In consultation with the Center for Spiritual Life at Brandeis, the Department of Theater Arts has updated its auditions and casting with regards to religious observance and our production season. The Department invites and encourages all students to audition, including students who have religious observances which may have previously prevented them from participating as actors in our productions. Requests for religious observances will not adversely affect casting decisions. Please know that accommodations for religious observances – such as but not limited to Shabbat observance, religious services and prayer times, private spaces for prayer, private bathroom space, clothing/costume adjustments, and dressing room assignments – will be made to the best of our abilities. In a situation where additional expertise is needed about a student’s request for a religious accommodation, the Department will consult with the Center for Spiritual Life.

Conflict Policy

Students cast in a production with the Department of Theater Arts are expected to attend all rehearsals unless they have an academic conflict or an accommodation as detailed above. In general, rehearsals are held weekday evenings and weekend days. Cast members are expected to arrive on time to all rehearsals and performances. At the beginning of the rehearsal process, all academic conflicts must be communicated to the Stage Manager. Should other conflicts arise, the Stage Manager and the Director have the discretion to decide upon conflict approval on a case-by-case basis, based on the size of the actor’s role, nature of the conflict, and timing in regards to the rehearsal schedule. Tech Week conflicts, other than academic or accommodation-related, are not permitted. While it may be that a weekly schedule is utilized, the Daily Call (your daily specific schedule) will be sent out each night with 24 hours’ notice.

Any questions or concerns regarding the conflict decisions of the Stage Manager and Director should be brought to Cameron Anderson, Chair of the department.