Theater J 2023-24 Season - Washington, DC EPA
Theater J | Washington, DC
Thursday, June 15, 2023
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (E)
Break: 1:00-2:00pm
To schedule an Equity audition appointment, please visit
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e48a4a823a6f94-theater4#/
SPT
$690 weekly minimum (Tier 8)
Equity actors for roles in Theater J 2023-24 Season (see breakdown).
Understudies are not sought at this time. Local actors are encouraged to attend. Theater J encourages performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to submit, as Theater J is committed to a multi-racial casting practice which accurately reflects our world’s, and Judaism’s, racial and ethnic diversity. Roles which are racially or ethnically specified in the production will be designated so. Theater J likewise encourages performers of all gender identities to submit.
Please prepare one monologue or two contrasting monologues of no more than 3 minutes total. Please bring a stapled picture and resume. Actors who cannot attend in person may submit videos via:
https://forms.gle/uwJwNSeNWKJZGtD17
Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington DC
1529 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20036-1466
Kay Community Hall
Producing Director: Kevin Place (in attendance)
Members of the artistic team may watch
submitted videos, including:
Artistic Director: Hayley Finn
Associate Artistic Director: Johanna Gruenhut
Casting Director: Jenna Place
See production dates in breakdown.
OTHER
www.theaterj.org
An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition. 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.
Like many other Jewish institutions, the EDCJCC has an enhanced security presence due to ongoing threats to the Jewish community. Upon entering the building, you’ll be greeted by a security guard and asked to pass through a metal detector, may be asked to sign-in with a government-issued ID, and may at times see security personnel throughout the public areas of the building.
The Edlavitch DCJCC serves a wide range of Jewish and non-Jewish clients. As part of our goal of
being an inclusive place for everyone, including observant Jewish people who use our building, the
Edlavitch DCJCC follows the practice of not allowing the consumption of visibly non-Kosher foods (ie
shellfish, pork, foods that mix meat and dairy—such as a cheeseburger) in public spaces within the
building.
By Jenny Rachel Weiner
Director TBA
First Rehearsal: 9/11/23
Performances: 10/11-11/5/23; Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 12 and 7:30,
Saturday at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30
Nothing says Jewish Christmas more than Chinese takeout. The food tastes even better this year for
actor Riz Golden-Kruger and her family – Riz finally got her big break, the starring role in a new
superhero franchise, The Chameleon. But when news leaks that could threaten to ruin Riz’s career,
she must decide to hide or fight for what’s right. Ignited by the fast-paced frenzy of social media, the
play rampages through questions of identity, representation, and the complications of assimilation.
The Chameleon is an outrageous, laugh-out-loud intergenerational world premiere.
Seeking:
Mitch (early sixties), a balding and impossibly excitable Jewish man, who has never fixed one single thing in the house though fancies himself “handy.”
Val (early sixties): observant, loving, and sharp as a tack. Built like a pot of soup. She is always cold, with some sort of oversized pashmina draped across her chest.
Stephanie (mid-twenties): the youngest of the two, the baby of the family. She graduated from Wesleyan last year with a degree in Feminist Theory, and has since been living at home trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.
Ruth “Riz” Stapleton née Golden-Kruger (approaching forty) is an American actress on the rise of massive, total, and all-consuming stardom. Up until recently, Riz had worked as a server and was in debt but two months ago, Riz booked the role of a lifetime...after she changed her last name, eliminated her curls, lost forty pounds, and got a nose job (to the devastation of her parents).
Bubbe Yetta Kruger (early nineties), Mitch’s mother. Was once a bull, is now a doe. Or at least appears to be. Sometimes she’s completely lucid, and when she is she’s funny, but when she’s not, she’s lost inside her world. Bubbe Yetta exclusively speaks Yiddish.
Maya (early twenties): Stephanie’s girlfriend, who lives in Brooklyn. Maya is passionate, body positive,
queer, and social justice forward. Maya is a beautiful embodiment of Gen Z.
Joaquin (early thirties): Riz’s very hot, very charming, very non-Jewish husband. Not the sharpest tool
in the shed. Is obsessed with getting the approval of Riz’s parents.
Philip (mid-twenties), Riz’s very junior agent at a premiere agency. She is his big break, his meal
ticket, and the way he will prove himself, so a lot is riding on Riz’s success.
SEE YOU TOMORROW
Written and Performed by Iris Bahr
First Rehearsal: 11/7/23
Performances: 11/14/23-11/22/23; Monday at 7:30, Tuesday at 7:30, Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 7:30, Saturday at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30
The storyteller moves from LA to Israel in 2021 at the height of the pandemic to take care of her
mother who had a stroke while we were chatting on video together in a play about love, grief, culture
shock, socialized medicine, caregiving and so much more...
Iris: The storyteller. This role is cast.
By Michele Lowe
Directed by Johanna Gruenhut
First Rehearsal: 11/6/23
Performances: 12/1-12/24/23; Tuesday at 7:30, Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 12, Saturday at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30
One Friday night in the Bronx, the unthinkable happens to Moses: he loses his family in a fire. Filled
with grief he tells God, “If you love me, forget me.” But G-d has other plans for Moses. If he can face
his worst fears and process his loss and guilt, great things are in store for him. Moses will take us out
of the crises around us and into a world where forgiveness, healing and change are possible. A one
man show about love, loss, and going it alone.
Seeking:
Man: A middle-aged man who tells the story of Moses.
Written and performed by Sun Mee Chomet
First Rehearsal: 12/28/23
Performances: 1/4-1/14/24; Tuesday at 7:30, Wednesday at 7:30, Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 12 and
7:30, Saturday at 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30
A hilarious and poignant one-woman show about one adoptee’s reunion with her birth family and how
this affected her sense of what it means to be a woman. Using text, music, and movement, the show
explores the questions: “What happens after reunion? What needs are met and left unmet?”
Specifically, Chomet shares her own reunion story. Universally, the play is about human longing to
know one’s past.
Seeking:
Sun Mee: the storyteller. This role is cast.
By Jonathan Spector
Directed by Hayley Finn
First Rehearsal: 1/2/24
Performances: 1/31/24-2/25/24; Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 12, Saturday
at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30
Am I in charge of my choices? How could anyone think or do that? What is happiness? In the midst of
a lecture, a psychology professor’s marriage fractures, sparking a theatrical study of three characters
as they become entangled in a search for self-discovery. With inspiration from the research of Nobel
laureate Daniel Kahneman, the characters search for answers in the science of decision-making. They
learn that, in Kahneman’s words, thinking can be “fast or slow,” emotional or deliberate, drive-like and
intuitive, or calculated. Part mystery, part love story, part philosophical quest, This Much I Know spins
our axis of belief and understanding.
Seeking:
A/LUKESH - Male, 50s, South Asian. Speaks with a British accent. Also Joseph Stalin, Brajesh Singh,
and ensemble.
B/NATALYA - Female, 40s, Any ethnicity (the only relevant character fact is that she has one Russian
grandparent). Speaks with a non-descript American accent. Also Svetlana Alliluyeva (daughter of
Joseph Stalin), H.G. Wells, & ensemble.
C/HAROLD - Male, 20. White. Speaks with a very slight North Florida twang. Also a member of the
ensemble.
By Sharyn Rothstein
With music by Joel Waggoner
Based on the film by Joan Micklin Silver and the novella Yekl by Abraham Cahan
Director TBA
First Rehearsal: 2/26/24
Performances: 3/27/24-4/21/24; Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 12, Saturday at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30
Hester Street is set in the late 19th century, depicting the transformative journey of Gitl, a young
Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe, as she navigates the challenges of assimilation and cultural
clashes in New York City's Lower East Side. Separated from her husband, Jake, who has already
adapted to the American way of life, Gitl faces a tumultuous path filled with language barriers, societal
expectations, and the contrasting customs of her old and new worlds. With remarkable resilience, Gitl
strives to find her voice and redefine her identity, ultimately exploring themes of love, independence,
and the pursuit of the American dream in a deeply moving narrative that beautifully captures the
immigrant experience.
Seeking:
Gitl Podkovnik: a tired, observant young woman who’s just arrived in America with her young son in search of her husband. She is scared by what she finds in the new world.
Mrs. Kavarsky: the middle-aged landlady from down the hall. She likes to get involved in the lives of her tenants.
Mamie: young and beautiful, stylish and enterprising. She’s a firecracker.
Jake Podkovnik: formerly Yankel. Handsome, well-dressed, with only the slightest whiff of immigrant about him.
Bernstein: a pious, kind man who’s had a hard go at life in America. He works at the factory with Jake.
Joey (age 5-7): Formerly Yossele, he is Gitl and Jake’s son.
Joe Peltner: a dance teacher who runs a dance academy for immigrants. He sings and plays the accordion.
Ensemble: Four ensemble members. Fanny, Rose, Rabbi's Wife, Grocery Owner, The Boss, Jake's Father (a ghost), The Greenhorn (Schloime Navasky), Immigration Officer, Love Potion Peddler, Lawyer, Rabbi, Zalman, and assorted peddlers.
By Lauren Yee
Directed by Dan Rothenberg
First Rehearsal: 5/6/24
Performances: 6/5/24-6/30/24; Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 8, Friday at 8, Saturday at 2 and 8, Sunday at 2 and 8
When a young woman moves in with her boyfriend expecting domestic bliss, their new house reveals
the magical tale of its previous inhabitants: an old hat-maker and his long-suffering wife, who runs
away with his favorite hat. This sweet and surreal story bends time and space to redefine the idea of
family, home, and true love itself.
Seeking:
HETCHMAN: Our hero. He wears a hat. Curmudgeonly.
HETCHMAN’S WIFE: Wife of Hetchman. Nondescript. Does she have a name? Who knows.
MECKEL: Hetchman’s neighbor and only friend. Meckel is cheerful, popular, and kind. He is the
opposite of Hetchman.
VOICE: A young woman.
WALL: A wall. Probably female. The wall is realized in the play as an unseen voiceover. Note: The
actor playing the wall does not appear on stage.
GABE/GOLEM: GABE: Voice’s boyfriend. Easygoing in a way Voice has never been. GOLEM: A
golem, a la the Jewish golem of Prague. Only makes sounds but does intuit what is going on. Eats a
lot. Made of mud and crap. Has a male presence.
Note: HETCHMAN, his WIFE, and MECKEL, despite being “old,” are not necessarily old old. They are
old in the way your math teacher could be fifty or ninety. Ageless.
Videos
