The Unknown Variable

  • Non-Equity
  • Anywhere

Website Momentary Theatre

Pay Rate: $1750
Audition Date and Time: Video Submissions accepted with in-person callbacks planned for 9/15
Contact Person Email: contact@thisismomentary.com

In Nahal Navidar’s The Unknown Variable; a determined young girl contacts the President, Santa Claus, and God to determine the unknown variable – when her bābā will be granted a visa from the United States so they can be reunited. The play is written from lived experience and the production will highlight historical context to build community and conversation around the state of immigration today.

Material to Prepare:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rMBEIMomEl3GRhxEmroJFQOz4_KiUBTXVejUDno0kp0/edit?tab=t.0

Time Commitment:

[subject to artist availability]:

- Rehearsals begin November 30
- Tech week starts December 29th
- Performances run from January 8 though February 1 (19 total)

While rehearsals run through the holiday season and actors will be expected to remain in Chicago, key holiday dates will be dark.

Character Type/Restrictions:

Momentary Theatre is seeking actors of color (preferring Middle Eastern identity) for the role of Bābā and Āvā:

  • Bābā is an Iranian father who ages from his 40s to 60s over the course of the play. A mathematician and professor, he is a source of warmth and joy; a nature lover, fun, down-to-Earth, and eternally optimistic.
  • Āvā is an Iranian child who ages to adulthood over the course of the play. Naturally curious and bright, her light is displaced by self-doubt and distrust for the higher powers that separated her from her father for so long. She is determined, grounded, resilient, and thoughtful.

Some Farsi is spoken. Pronunciation support will be provided by the production team for performers who are not native or learned speakers of the language.

To apply for this job email your details to contact@thisismomentary.com