THE FIRST DEEP BREATH - NYC EPA
National Black Theatre
**Updated breakdown and also note re ASM available**
AUDITION DATE
Thu, Nov 29, 2018
10:00 am - 6:00 pm (EST)
Lunch 1:30 to 2:30
CONTRACT
LOA-NYC $570.00/week
SEEKING
Equity actors for various roles. See Breakdown.
The PSM position has been filled. Currently seeking an ASM (see separate notice on Casting Call for info)
PREPARATION
SIDES WILL BE PROVIDED - In addition, all actors should be able to sing 16 Bars of a song (ex. Happy Birthday) , The Role of Dee-Dee should be prepared to sing 32 bars of a song (ex. Happy Birthday)
LOCATION
National Black Theatre
2031 5th Ave
New York, NY 10035-1503
Black Box Theater - 3R (3rd Floor)
PERSONNEL
Playwright: LEE EDWARD COLSTON II
Directed by: MALIKA OYETIMEIN
Produced by: NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE J0NATHAN MCCRORY
IN THE AUDITION ROOM - Malika Oyetimein - Director, Lee Edward ColstonII Playwright, Jonathan McCrory, Producer and Emana Rachelle, Producing Fellow ( PSM - Belynda Hardin) and a Reader.
OTHER DATES
29 Hour Reading - December 12 -16, 2018 - 6 hours rehearsal (estimation day time rehearsals)
29 Hour Reading - January 14 - 18 2019 - 6 hours rehearsals (estimation day time rehearsals)
Production Rehearsal: January 28 - February 9, 2019 |
TECH - Feb 10-12, 2019
Performances: Feb 13 - 17, 2019 ( Wed -Friday 730pm Sat. 2pm and 7:30pm & Sun @ 4pm)
OTHER
EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition.
An Equity monitor will be provided.
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.
Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
BREAKDOWN
Synopsis: Pastor Albert Jones and his family are planning a special church service to honor their late daughter Diane on the sixth anniversary of her passing. But when Abdul-Malik, the eldest son he blames for her death returns home from prison, the entire Jones family is forced to confront a hornet’s nest of long buried family secrets. Old skeletons claw their way to the dinner table picking at the scraps of Mother Bethel Baptist’s First family. With each member of the Jones clan desperately fighting to stay afloat, sometimes a family that stays together drowns together.
C H A R A C T E R S
(5 M, 3 W)
Pastor Albert Melvin Jones III, African-American, late fifties, Ruth's husband, head pastor of Mother Bethel Baptist Church and the Patriarch of the Jones family. A volcanic man whose love & passion for his family is often swallowed by deep heartbreak, longing and grief. He has never fully recovered from the tragic death of his eldest daughter. His words from the pulpit are equal parts fiery baptist sermon with the size and ferocity of Shakespeare, but with family, his words become sledgehammers and break others more than they mend. He is loneliness cloaked in a deep sense of responsibility, trying to remove the shame he feels from his failures as a father and husband by forging a new family legacy-- and he'll scorch anyone who threatens to get in the way of that-- even God.
Ruth Jones, African-American, late fifties, Albert's wife. The First Lady of Mother Bethel Baptist and the matriarch of the Jones family. Sometimes, she be real sweet. Other times, her mouth is a flame thrower. A God fearing woman struggling to hold on to herself. Her mind and memories are being devoured by Alzheimer's disease. There are days when she comforted by being surrounded by her loving family and others when she sees them as terrifying strangers she can no longer recognize. She is a woman imprisoned within her own mind desperately longing for connection.
Dee-Dee (Denise Jones), African-American, mid twenties to early thirties, Albert & Ruth's second twin daughter. The surviving younger identical twin daughter of the Jones family. A sweet young woman with a gospel singing voice that can shake heaven. She is the glue that holds her family together and the fire extinguisher that keeps them from burning themselves to the ground. Her love for her family is half the size of her heartbreak and exhaustion. She carries the full weight of her family's sins and secrets on her shoulders and it is crushing her. She is the strong friend everybody forgets to check on; everybody except for the love of her life-- her boyfriend and refuge, Leslie.
Abdul-Malik (Albert Melvin Jones IV), African-American, thirties, Albert & Ruth's eldest son. The eldest child/son of the Jones family. A deeply sensitive man who radiates the toughness of the streets. Recently released from prison, Abdul-Malik is street smart and fiercely private with a swagger as fresh as a new pair of Jordan’s. His heart is cavernous and full of dreams with secrets that occasionally climb out of his throat and saturate his words with a mixture of longing, hurt, charm, and when provoked, acid. Everything he remembers about his family has changed and he is scrambling to find his new place in the Jones household. He longs desperately to be embraced by a family he barely recognizes but, his crimes hang like a scarlet letter around his neck that his father will not let him forget that. He is a man searching for freedom and forgiveness-- both from himself and those he loves most.
AJ (Alexander Michael Jones), African-American, mid teens, Albert & Ruth's youngest son. The baby of the Jones family. AJ radiates boundless hope and optimism but often carries the weight of his older brother's absence from the family. He is a boy forced to grow up too soon. With the absence of Abdul-Malik, he has built a strong fraternal bond with Tyree, his older brother's best friend. He is a boy searching to get free of his family's trauma and define himself on his terms. His numerous college acceptances and scholarships only hide the fact the he is terrified to reject his father's aspirations for him and pursue his own ambitions while quietly rebuilding his broken heart.
Tyree Fisher, African-American or Latino, thirties, Abdul-Malik's long time friend, neighbor & friend of the family. Best friend to Abdul-Malik and play big brother to AJ, Tyree is the unofficial third son of the Jones family. The only thing Tyree doesn't share with the Jones family is DNA. Tyree is wise well beyond his years and often the container for other people's secrets and sometimes, their tears. His spirit is sage-like yet grounded in his deep sense of loyalty. He is a poet who often finds the words to heal everyone else's broken heart but his own.
Leslie Carter, African-American, thirties, Dee-Dee's fiancé & friend of the family. A God fearing man who wears his empathy & compassion on his sleeve. He loves Dee-Dee more than himself, more than life-- more than breath and he lets her know it, often. He hides his own grief behind his acts of service. Fractured by a recent tragedy, Leslie has a secret opportunity to rebuild the life he desires with the woman he loves, as long as she says yes.
Pearl Thomas, African-American, fifties, Ruth's younger sister & caretaker. She is the Original Auntie who always keeps it real. You just know her macaroni & cheese, potato salad AND her sweet potato pies are always on point. She's the auntie who slips you a balled up $20 bill in your hand along with a loving that's just between me and you wink. Her tongue is sharp and she wields it like a sword. She can speak life into you and snatch it out of you just as quickly. Her love for sister and her family often eclipses her love for herself. She sacrifices too much and often. She carries all the responsibilities of a family matriarch with none of the benefits. She is a woman who suffers in silence. Quite simply, she is searching for the boundless love she gives to everyone else.
Setting:
Mother Bethel Baptist Church & The Jones Residence,
Germantown, (Philly).
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to audition.
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