OJ Audition Form

CHARACTERS:

NUT: “A young trans-masculine person. Tough and masculine.” The playwright has indicated that Nut can be played by a trans actor and/or a non-binary actor. At one point in the script, a reference is made to Nut imagining his skin as “darker more olive” than it is in actual life, but race is not designated in the original character description, and actors of all races and ethnicities will be considered for this role if they are interested in it.

JULIUS: “Nut’s father, a man in his fifties - sixties.” Implied at one point in the script as white, but the race is not indicated in the official character description, and actors of all races and ethnicities will be considered for this role if they are interested in it.

FRANCE: “Nut’s mother, a woman in her fifties - sixties.” Race/ethnicity not specified by the playwright. 

CRIMP: “Nut’s sister, a woman in her mid-thirties. Feminine sexuality, but tough working class.” Race/ethnicity not specified by the playwright. 

OL BOY: “A young man in his early twenties. He’s a hyper-masculine figure of Nut’s creation.” At one point, Ol Boy embodies a drag king version of himself, and the production team has envisioned his hyper-masculinity as also being drag-like in the rest of his appearances onstage. Ol Boy could be played by anyone of any gender; the actor must be willing to explore and embody multiple degrees/forms of hyper-masculinity. Race/ethnicity not specified by the playwright.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAY

“Nut grew up the youngest child of Julius, a Vietnam vet, in 1980s and ’90s working-class America. As Julius suffers the toxic effects of Agent Orange, Nut worries their time together may run out before they can embrace something essential about their relationship. Paging through forgotten photo albums and acting out old war movies about brothers-in-arms, Nut leaps through time and memory, tracing the complex intimacy between father and child when the child is transgender, fighting for a mutual recognition before it’s too late.”

CO-DIRECTORS' CASTING CONSIDERATIONS:

Auditions will welcome performers of any race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, ability, body physicality, religious affiliation, form of neurodivergence, nationality, citizenship status, etc. We will use the information in the character descriptions below as our primary guide for casting, and, as we do, we will actively aim to work against forms of exclusion and historical underrepresentation and to feature the most diverse cast possible. Performers in each role must be willing to carry out actions in the script as they are described. Regarding the gender of specific characters, the script provides information through pronouns, description, and other dialogue. Pronouns indicated in dialogue will not change in performance. When pronouns are indicated, the performer will be asked to craft a performance that in some way responds to those pronouns as one of many truths about the character. We’ll be dedicated to more or less capturing gender dynamics that are indicated, as gender is an integral factor in the relationships depicted.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

All who audition must be committed to helping maintain a mutually supportive environment, one that is characterized by open-mindedness, kindness, and respect for the full personhood of all members of the team.

AUDITIONS: Tuesday, August 27th, 6-10 PM | MUND 125

Each actor auditioning is asked to prepare a 60-second monologue from a contemporary play (1955-present). Even if you do not have a monologue prepared, please still feel warmly welcomed to audition; in that case, we will give you something to read right there in the moment.

CALLBACKS: Wednesday, August 28th, 6-10 PM | MUND 125

The stage manager Charlote Froiland, cfroiland@luc.edu, will notify you if you are called back.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Rehearsals Begin: 8/30/24
Tech: 9/19/24 - 9/25/24
Performances: 9/26/24 - 9/28/24 and 10/1/24 - 10/3/24 at 7:30PM, 9/29/24 at 2:00PM. 

This project conflicts with rehearsals for Mainstage Show THE RESISTABLE RISE OF ARTURO UI and Second Stage Project TROJAN WOMEN: REWORKED.