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Black Cat Theatre is seeking main cast and understudies for Elephant in the Womb by Katy Smith, co-directed by Jared Sheldon and Sara BenBella. Elephant in the Womb is an absurdist piece that follows PeeWee, a nonbinary clown and unborn soul, as they rehearse their act and interact with souls and creatures passing through the liminal space PeeWee calls home.
This show will be produced at Theatre Wit. Submissions are open until June 2nd at 11:59 pm, with the option to audition in person on June 2nd at City Lit Theatre (1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave).
In-person auditions and callbacks will all take place at City Lit Theatre in the Edgewater Presbyterian Church (1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave)
In-person auditions:
June 2nd, 6-10 pm
Callbacks*:
June 6th, 12-4 pm
June 7th, 6-10 pm
*Callbacks will include a movement call and reading sides from the script. Actors will be called for a one-hour slot within the callback times, depending on availability.
Rehearsals will take place at The Edge Theatre’s facilities (5451 N Broadway), and performances will be at Theatre Wit.
If you would like to audition in person, please sign up for an audition slot here AND fill out the google form with your information.
Material to Prepare:
Please prepare a contemporary monologue no more than 2 minutes in length. Optionally, you can also prepare a demonstration of a special skill (playing of an instrument, short drag performance, this can truly be anything you want! Take the opportunity to show yourself off!)
Time Commitment:
Time Commitment:
Script reading: June 29 at 6pm, location TBD
Rehearsals at The Edge Theatre: July 13-August 22
M, T, W evenings 6-10 pm
Sa afternoons 11am-3pm
Tech at Theatre Wit: August 24-27 times TBD (tentatively 6 pm-11 pm)
Performances at Theatre Wit: August 28-September 13
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, curtain 7:30 pm
Sunday matinees, curtain 2:30 pm
There will be a guaranteed understudy performance, date TBD.
Character Type/Restrictions:
Note on casting: All characters in this play can be portrayed by any ethnicity. The actors' gender identities do not need to match those of the characters, except for PeeWee, for whom we will consider only trans and nonbinary actors. All characters can be played by actors of any age, including when age is specified in the breakdown. BIPOC and LGBT actors are highly encouraged to submit.
Actor 1: PeeWee
PeeWee: They/them. A genderqueer clown. Unborn soul. An artist, desperate for limelight and stage time. Trying to put together the perfect act. Spends the entirety of the play on stage. This role calls for physical intimacy; an intimacy coordinator will be provided. Seeking actors with strong movement skills.
Actor 2: Dilan, creature
Dilan: She/her. Lost in more ways than one. Unremarkable and remarkably lonely until she finds a kindred soul in PeeWee. Desperate for connection. This role calls for physical intimacy; an intimacy coordinator will be provided.
Creature: Part of an ensemble of strange figures made up of hands. More hands than they are faces. Seeking actors with strong movement skills.
Actor 3: Poppy, Walls, creature
Poppy: She/her. A little girl. Runs recess like the Navy. Eager to play with a reluctant PeeWee.
The Walls: She/her. Disembodied voice. The uterine lining. Has been here the whole time. Grows fed up with watching PeeWee’s internal conflict. She’s girlypop.
Creature: Part of an ensemble of strange figures made up of hands. More hands than they are faces. Seeking actors with strong movement skills.
Actor 4: Edwood, creature, Rubber Man
Edwood: He/him. An old man (in spirit if not in body) with impossibly crooked fingers. He’s lived many lives. Builds and plays guitars, completely at peace with the unending quality of life and death. Guitar skills required.
Creature: Part of an ensemble of strange figures made up of hands. More hands than they are faces. Seeking actors with strong movement skills.
Rubber Man: A puppet piloted by Actor 4. A six-foot-tall man made of rubber. Does not speak and only moves when something is wrong.
Actor 5: Mom, Mother
Mom: She/her. Disembodied voice. Safety and beauty personified. Caring and nurturing, wants PeeWee to live their best possible life. This role will be a pre-recorded voiceover.
Mother: She/her. A magnificently fabulous drag clown. Your inner critic personified. Sexy, scary, and self-assured. Puts on a drag performance as part of her track, which will be collaboratively devised during the rehearsal process. We strongly encourage drag artists to submit; if auditioning for this role, please submit a short drag-style performance as your special skill demonstration (self-tape, past performance, etc.).
Understudy 1: Covers Actor 1 (PeeWee)
Understudy 2: Covers Actor 2 (Dilan, creature) and Actor 3 (Poppy, creature, Walls)
Understudy 3: Covers Actor 4 (Edwood, creature, Rubber Man) and Actor 5 (mom, mother)
For questions, comments, and concerns, or to request a full copy of the script, please reach out to Cailyn Murray at casting@blackcattheatrechi.com
To apply for this job please visit docs.google.com.