EgoPo Classic Theater and Theater in the X are currently casting Philadelphia-based performers for the principal roles in Plum Bun. Rehearsals begin March 27th, 2023 and performances running from April 19th through April 29th, 2023. Character breakdowns are listed below. Ensemble auditions will be held at a later date.
Plum Bun is a new theatrical work adapted from Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Harlem Renaissance novel by Walter DeShields and Lane Savadove with dramaturgy by Dr. Lisa Bratton (Assoc. Professor of African American Studies, Tuskegee University) and directed by Walter DeShields. It is produced by EgoPo Classic Theater in partnership with Theatre in the X.
***Please note that the play confronts racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, classism, and privilege in the 1920s, and the script includes racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynist language.
Submissions will be open until August 26th, with auditions taking place in person on Thursday, September 1st from 1pm-8pm at Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine St) with callbacks to be scheduled within the next two weeks. Callbacks will be conducted in small groups in person.
Rehearsals begin March 27, 2023. Expect a mix of late afternoon and evening rehearsals.
Performances begin April 19th and run through April 29th, with 5-6 shows per week at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American Street in Philadelphia.
Non-union performers will be compensated within a weekly range of $200 to $300 per week. Equity actors will be hired on a Special Appearance Tier II contract.
Please read more about EgoPo’s Covid Policies at https://www.egopo.org/covid-policies.
For the audition, please select a monologue from the show that matches the character for whom you would like to submit. Monologues can be found at https://tinyurl.com/42yxmhz7
Principal Roles Available
Angela Murray: 20s. Mixed, white-passing woman. An ambitious and cosmopolitan art student. Leaves her family in Philadelphia to pass for white in New York’s Greenwich Village. Eventually embraces her heritage.
Virginia (Jinny): 20s. Angela’s younger sister. Black woman. School teacher and homebody. Cannot pass like Angela and is more committed to building a life in Philadelphia.
Mattie: Angela’s mother. 40s-50s. Mixed, white-passing woman. Former maid and assistant to a white actress.
Junius: Angela’s father. 40s-50s. Black man. Former private coachman and master carpenter. (will read the DuBois monologue)
Anthony Cross: 20s-early 30s. Mixed, white-passing man of black hispanic descent. A portrait painter living in Harlem who hides his heritage. Falls in love with Angela, but believes she is white and won’t accept him. In a relationship with Jinny while she is sick.
Roger Fielding: 20s-early 30s. Rich, attractive, and charismatic white man. Part of New York’s social elite. Persuades Angela to be his mistress.
