Auditions

AUDITION FORM Audition Materials: Scripts and Scenes

Fall Mainstage Productions:

  • Sweat
  • Anything Goes

Spring Mainstage Productions:

  • As You Like It
  • López Danza Theatre Project

Spring Mainstage Productions:

Sweat:

  • By Lynn Nottage
  • Directed by Brandon A. Wright
  • October 24-27, 2024

Auditions:  

  • August 24 & 25, 2024
  • Perform one monologue of your choice
  • Students new to auditioning may read from a provided monologue available at the auditions, if they prefer

Callbacks:

  • August 27 & 29, 2024

Casting: 

All roles available and open to all races, religions, body types, sexualities, gender identities and expression.  People of color are strongly encourage to audition - we strive for inclusive representation and celebrate opportunities for under-represented groups as we build diverse ensembles reflective of the society within which we live. Actors earn 4 credits of Theatre Practicum.

Schedule:

Rehearsals:

  • September 3-October 23
  • Rehearsal Schedule Details Made Available at Later Date

Performances: 

  • 8 p.m. Oct. 24, 25, 26 and 2pm Oct. 26 and 27 in Chamber Hall

Roles/Character descriptions：

  • EVAN: (male-identifying, MUST be portrayed by an actor of African-American/African descent) – Firm, direct and no-nonsense; a career parole officer; he is committed to helping his parolees succeed through a mixture of tough love and challenge; he can more than take care of himself.
  • JASON: (male-identifying) - A steel worker with deep working class roots, he is proud of his blue collar heritage – his life will be spent in the factory; youthful, tough, funny and charismatic; in prison he hardens into a supremacist, his optimism transforming into rage.
  • CHRIS: (male-identifying, MUST be portrayed by an actor of African-American/African descent) – Jason’s best friend; charismatic, youthful, warm; a steel worker with aspirations to educate himself and find a life beyond the steel plant; eventually hardened into a disillusioned ex-con; he turns to religion to help him fight his darkness within
  • STAN: (male-identifying) – Friendly but stern, a former steel worker who was injured at the plant; is now the bartender at the local bar that the plant workers frequent; he has watched the lives of his customers play out and is deeply empathetic with their struggles; but his word is the rule of law; it would be a mistake to cross this man.
  • OSCAR: (male-identifying, MUST be portrayed by an actor of Latin/Hispanic descent) – A busboy at the local bar; he keeps to himself, always conscious that in this community of the disenfranchised and powerless he is at the bottom of the heap.
  • TRACEY: (female-identifying) – A steel worker and true company loyalist. She has given her life to the line; funny, brassy, bossy, opinionated and fiercely loyal; Cynthia’s best friend.
  • CYNTHIA: (female-identifying, MUST be portrayed by an actor of African-American/African descent) – fA steel worker; focused, ambitious, and sturdy; despite the derision of her colleagues, she applies for a promotion and finally escapes the line and becomes a floor manager. Loyal. Tracey’s best friend.
  • JESSIE: (female-identifying) – A steel worker; former hippie, with a warm disposition and easy access to her humor; drowns her sorrows in booze.
  • BRUCIE: (male-identifying, MUST be portrayed by an actor of African-American/African descent) – Chris’ father and Cynthia’s estranged husband; a former textile factory worker, now a smooth-talking heroin addict.

Plot synopsis:

Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, Sweat tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat. Winner of a 2017 Pulitzer Prize

Director’s Note:

SWEAT is one of the contemporary canon’s most compelling works. In the devastating drama (set in one of the poorest cities in the US), Lynn Nottage tells the story of a group of blue-collar factory workers in Reading, PA. As they struggle to keep themselves and their families afloat, an oncoming financial crisis threatens tragic outcomes for these characters.  

Actors of the global majority are strongly encouraged to audition. Our production will honor Nottage’s intent for the characters’ identities. Acting experience is not required to audition.

Suggested audition material will be provided closer to the audition date, and actors are invited to use their own audition material.

Director: Brandon A. Wright bawright@binghamton.edu

Production Stage Manager: Olivia O’Brien oobrien@binghamton.edu

Stage Manager: TBA

More Audition info soon!

Further Information on Auditions

It is the auditioner’s responsibility to become acquainted with the roles, the nature of the production, and the scope of commitment prior to casting. It is strongly recommended that auditioners read scripts and production materials before the first audition. Links to the script will be posted above. 

Who can audition for a theatre production? EVERYONE!

Any and all registered Binghamton University students are welcome to audition for all Theatre Department Productions. We do NOT require that an auditioner is a Theatre Major or Minor. We hold open auditions for our MainStage and Studio Shows. Always arrive a few minutes early to fill out paperwork/discuss logistics ahead of time. See below for our casting policy.

Here's some tips for auditioning from our directors:

  • Choose a song that you feel passionate about. Something that makes you say to yourself "I have to do this!" Practice, practice, practice.
  • Ask friends and family to listen to you do your material. Listen to feedback but only use that which you feel certain in your heart you can apply to your work.
  • Sing while you do the dishes, while you drive, while you do the laundry, when you take a walk. Sing your song hundreds of times.
  • Know, deep within you that the people who are auditioning you want you to be great. They are not looking for your problems but rather your promise!

Casting Policy for Binghamton University Students:

Eligibility: Any person is eligible for auditioning and casting who will be registered for four or more semester hours of credit in any course taught in the University, other than the production itself, during the semester in which the production for which the auditions are being held is performed. Simply stated, one must be a registered student during the semester of performance. However, under certain conditions, Theatre faculty members or persons designated as "Artists in Residence" may be cast.

Note: All students are expected to familiarize themselves with and to take full advantage of the actor training sequence of classes offered by the department so that their acquired skills and abilities will make them more competitive and more readily recognizable to the faculty.

Representation, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in casting and production: 
The educational mission of the Binghamton University Theatre Department is to provide equal opportunities and apprenticeship experiences to students without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, nationality, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We believe that theatre is stronger when our season selection, casting process, and production needs are filled inclusively. Inclusivity will take many forms, including the variety of stories we choose to tell, assembling diverse artistic teams, making production assignments available to as many students as possible and engaging in color conscious casting.

Color-conscious casting “intentionally considers the race and ethnicity of actors and the characters they play in order to oppose racism, honor and respect cultures, foster stronger productions, and contribute to a more equitable world. Without it, we risk perpetuating a system that privileges whiteness with greater access and opportunity, and appropriates the cultures of communities of color.” (American Theatre) Likewise, we practice an attitude of respect, and opposition to bias and discrimination regarding gender and gender identity, including (but not limited to) trans and gender queer identities. 

Where a playwright’s intention calls for casting actors of a particular race, ethnicity, and/or gender, the director and/or casting agent must do all within their power to adhere to the playwright’s intention. If an actor of the appropriate race, ethnicity, or gender is not found, the director will initiate a conversation with the department to discuss what the next appropriate steps would entail. Steps may include, but are not limited to, seeking permission from the copyright holder for alternative casting permission, or canceling the production. At the same time, we encourage an experimental learning environment in which all directors stretch beyond historical expectations, casting traditions, or commercial conceptions of “type,” especially in cases where race, gender, ethnicity, or identity may not appear to be a major thematic element of the production.