Open Auditions | MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Lafayette Theater Department announces
Open Auditions 

for 

Much Ado About Nothing

by William Shakespeare
adapted and directed by Professor Courtney Ryan
stage managed by Kate Stadter

“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.” Rumors fly in this Shakespearean battle of the wits between Beatrice and Benedick. There’s trickery and treachery aplenty, but, in the end, it’s Much Ado About Nothing. This queer reimagining of Much Ado is gender-inclusive, and all who audition can decide which roles they wish to be seen for. Our Lafayette production seeks to include actors of diverse races, nationalities, sizes, and abilities. The cast ensemble will include ~8-10 actors with the potential for double casting, and the production will run from March 6-9 in Weiss Theater.

Initial auditions may be submitted online by Nov. 20 as a one-minute classical, comedic monologue either from Much Ado (see monologues HERE) or from another classical play. You do not need to have the monologue memorized, and you may use your phone to film it. Be sure to state your name prior to delivering the monologue.

Alternatively, you may attend in-person auditions in the Studio Theater on Nov. 19 (Tuesday) anytime from 6-10 p.m. Callbacks will be held on Nov. 21 (Thursday) in the Studio Theater.  

 

AUDITION DETAILS

VIDEOS ARE DUE BY NOV.20TH AT NOON. Earlier submissions welcome. Submit all videos, along with your audition information and conflicts, via the submission form.

SUBMISSION FORM

All cast and crew positions are open, except for stage manager, and academic credit can be earned for roles onstage and off.
Depending on availability, we will have two rehearsals prior to the end of the fall semester, and we will rehearse Sunday afternoons and Monday through Thursday evenings from January 27-March 5, with additional times potentially added during the last two weeks before opening night. Night classes may be accommodated until the week before the show.

Casting Breakdown
All characters can be played by women, men, or nonbinary actors.

  • LEONATO, Governor, parent to Hero: ~40-50 years old, the party’s host; generally a supportive parent but beholden to purity culture
  • HERO, Leonato’s child: ~18-20 years old, kind and funny, a great sidekick to Beatrice
  • BEATRICE, cousin to Hero: ~20-25 years old, quick-witted, sharp, funny, in a love-hate relationship with Benedick
  • MARGARET: ~18-22 years old, Hero’s friend and co-conspirator
  • URSULA: ~18-20 years old, Hero’s friend and co-conspirator
  • PRINCE: ~20-25 years old, a prince, princess, or leader of the merry band of queer activists; stately and diplomatic, but able to have fun and be deceived
  • CLAUDIO: ~18-22 years old, a royal in the Prince’s merry band; falls for and becomes engaged to Hero but ruins it through jealousy and distrust
  • BENEDICK: ~20-25 years old, razor-sharp wit, mostly all bark but no bite, in a love-hate relationship with Beatrice
  • DON JOHN: ~18-23 years old, step-sibling to the Prince, resents the Prince for being in charge; villainous and set on revenge
  • BAROCHIO: ~18-25 years old, a loyal follower of Don John and part of his diabolical plot to ruin Hero.
  • CONRADE: ~18-25 years old, a loyal follower of Don John and part of his diabolical plot to ruin Hero.
  • DOGBERRY: 20-40 years old, a self-satisfied citizen constable, hilariously incompetent, and full of malapropisms; clownish
  • VERGES: 20-40 years old, Dogberry’s sidekick, sometimes a hype man and sometimes an upstager, equally as incompetent as Dogberry
  • GEORGE SEACOAL: 20-40 years old, appointed leader of the Neighborhood Watch because they’re literate; somewhat smarter than Dogberry
  • WATCHPERSON: 18-40 years old, in Neighborhood Watch, a follower; comedic
  • SECOND WATCHPERSON: 18-40 years old, in Neighborhood Watch, a follower; a comedic non-speaking role
  • SEXTON: 18-40 years old, works at the local church and transcribes the interrogation of Barochio and Conrade, no-nonsense, exasperated by Dogberry
  • FRIAR FRANCIS: 25-40 years old, is the voice of reason and offers a “solution” to the play’s major crisis; the role has the potential to be played in high drag
  • Messenger: 18-25 years old, part of the Prince’s merry band