The Neighborhood of the Loners - Audition Form

DESCRIPTION:

Once–out of a desire to be completely alone–a woman built a house in a forest on top of a mountain. Eventually word of that isolated house reached the ears of many other solitary beings–many loners–who decided to build their own houses in that place: the Neighborhood of the Loners, where residents could be alone without having to comply with social protocols. For a time, everyone lived in peace, respecting their mutually desired solitude. Now, however, news has reached the loners that one of them has been poisoned! Forced by circumstance to meet and interact for the first time, they set out to solve the mystery: who poisoned Miss Pérez? Absurd, sharply funny, and brutally relevant, The Neighborhood of the Loners is a tragicomedy for our times.

DIRECTOR'S CASTING ASSUMPTIONS AND/OR REQUIREMENTS:

Auditions for all roles in this play will welcome performers of any race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, ability, body physicality, religious affiliation, form of neurodivergence, nationality, citizenship status, etc. This play is Uruguayan in origin, but in this case the characters need not all be played by Uruguayans or even all individuals of Latinx/e or Latin American identities. Each individual role could be played by someone of any race/ethnicity. At the same time, bilingual Spanish-English lived experience, exposure to Spanish-language literature, and/or lived experience of Latinx/e or Latin American identities will all be considered especially valuable to this production for a wide range of reasons. Regarding gender, as noted above, these character descriptions note the pronouns in the current translation, which follows the original Spanish script as closely as possible, but the playwright has given the translator/director the permission to cast in a way that changes pronouns and keeps the roles quite open in terms of gender. In other words, upon casting, we may change several characters’ pronouns in the script, including options of she/her, they/them, and he/him. Performers in each role must be willing to carry out actions in the script as they are described. All actors are warmly welcomed to audition. We will actively aim to feature the most diverse cast possible. We are also in direct contact with the playwright herself, and we will not cast in ways that go against any indicated wishes on her part. 

AUDITIONS:

Tuesday, August 26th, 2025

6-10PM in MUND 409

Each actor auditioning is asked to prepare a 60-second monologue from a play written after 1850. Monologues written by playwrights associated with any of the following genres would be especially well-suited for auditioning for this specific play: Realism in the style of Anton Chekhov, Theatre of the Grotesque, Grotesco/Grotesco Criollo, Absurdism/Theatre of the Absurd, Existentialist Theatre. To give three examples of playwrights, monologues by Anton Chekhov, Samuel Beckett, or Griselda Gambaro would all be stylistically relevant, but students are also encouraged to investigate other playwrights associated with the genres of playwriting listed above. Any actor is also warmly welcomed to audition with a monologue from The Neighborhood of the Loners itself! NOTE: Kelly Howe (the director/translator) is more than happy to be helpful as you look for a monologue, as long as you contact with more than a few days of advance notice. Plus, 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 27th, 2025

6-10PM in MUND 409

The stage manager, Dean Morgan(dmorgan7@luc.edu), will notify you if you are called back.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Rehearsals Begin: Monday, September 15th, 2025
Tech: 10/16/25-10/22/25
Performances: 10/23/25 - 10/25/25 and 10/30/25 - 11/1/25 at 7:30PM, 10/19/25 and 11/2/25 at 2:00PM. 

This project conflicts with rehearsals for POTUS.

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.

 

CHARACTERS:

Please Note: The original play script does not include character descriptions. The character descriptions below have been created by the director/translator to facilitate students’ fuller understanding of the play. In addition, these character descriptions note the pronouns in the current translation, which followed the original Spanish script as closely as possible, BUT the playwright has given the translator/director the permission to change pronouns and keep the roles quite open in terms of gender. In other words, upon casting, we may change several characters’ pronouns, with options of she/her, they/them, and he/him.

Flores: a loner who might be a doctor and owns the house we’re in, the second one to be built in the Neighborhood of the Loners; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Pérez: a loner who has only a few hours to live and who founded this neighborhood-not-at-all-intended-to-be-a-neighborhood when she built her house on top a mountain in search of a solitary life; sometimes quotes Fernando Pessoa; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Peralta: a loner who’s not prepared to speak in public and doesn’t like anyone touching him; pronouns in the current script: he/him

Gutiérrez: a loner who’s terrified of not being chosen when teams are picked; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Domínguez: a loner who thinks this meeting makes no sense and, by the way, doesn’t like it one bit when their nap is ruined; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Galíndez: a loner who owns the neighborhood store that sells its products only via—you guessed it—contactless pick-up; prefers someone else speak first; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Ortiz: a loner who says she wants to hold everyone in the group equally accountable; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Benítez: a loner who has never forgotten that birthday party that went terribly, terribly wrong; pronouns in the current script: he/him

Fernández: a loner who can’t help but make suggestions that end up being taken, terrified of being haunted by family members who have died; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Nuñez: a loner who doesn’t want to leave a trace, “never defended anything,” and looks ahead to the peace and relief of “the great beyond”; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Olivera: a loner who loves spiders . . . no, we mean really, really loooooves spiders; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Suárez: a loner mathematician who finds it remarkably irritating to wait for people to finish their smoke breaks; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Medina: a loner who asks questions, notices details, and once yearned so much for love that he accidentally creeped people out; pronouns in the current script: he/him 

Álvarez: a loner who passionately defends smoking, thinks nostalgia is deadly, and is not interested in your advice; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Ramírez: a loner who’s already fed up with the expectation that everyone in the group has to speak, doesn’t trust the “masses,” and doesn’t want to be part of any “all”; pronouns in the current script: she/her

Pereira: a loner who holds a Bachelor of Arts and it shows . . . introspective, literary, philosophical; hopes to reach nothingness; pronouns in the current script: she/her