Description:

Chicago Shakespeare Theater is holding auditions for Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet.

SHORT SHAKESPEARE! is a 75-minute abridgment followed by a 15-minute Q & A. It performs on weekdays at Chicago Shakespeare for students and at 11 a.m. on Saturdays for family audiences. There will be no tour.

Characters
DIRECTOR'S NOTE: I have included character gender here, but excited to consider actors of any gender expression/identity for all roles so long as they're comfortable performing the character's prescribed gender/age. Similarly with age, I care more about whether the actor can play the age described than if they're actually the "right" age. Open to all ethnicities and races for all roles. SEEKING ACTORS WITH LOCAL HOUSING ONLY AT THIS TIME.

ROMEO - teens/20s, male; Only son of Lord and Lady Montague. A lover, not a fighter. A hopeless romantic with a sensitive soul. Plagued with deep feeling, but naive to the world. Dives fully and passionately into every new experience and does nothing halfway. Emotional. Obsessive. Impulsive. A boy with a thundering heart. Requires fight skills (rapier/dagger). Requires great facility with heightened text.

JULIET - teens/20s, female; Only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. The perfect "good girl" daughter, desperate for her own life. Stricken with impatient desire, but naive to the world. She wants what she wants and she wants it now and is willing to abandon everything to get it. Tactical. Unafraid. Rash. A girl with a screaming spirit. Requires great facility with heightened text.

MERCUTIO/As Cast - 20s/30s, male or gender non-conforming The Prince's kinsman and best friend to Romeo. Both a lover and a fighter. Sex positive, queer af, intimidatingly self-assured. Witty and charming, brings the party wherever he goes, and will fight for his right to party when and how he pleases. Wild. Exuberant. Volatile. Makes his own rules. Requires excellent fight skills (rapier/dagger) as well as excellent use of heightened text.

TYBALT/As Cast - 20s/30s, male; Cousin to Juliet and nephew of Lord and Lady Capulet. A fighter, not a lover. King of the playground. Hot-headed defender of Capulet pride and honor, who demands them for himself. A bully. Always looking for a fight, always expecting one. Bold. Brash. Infallible. Follows no rules.

FRIAR LAURENCE/As Cast - 60s+, male; The town friar. Romeo's confidante and mentor. Honest and caring, insightful and sage, desires healing above all. Wants to repair the world, and will bend and break the rules in order to do so. A voice of reason in an unreasonable world, always seeking solutions. Believes in the power of love. The father Romeo lacks.

NURSE/As Cast - 60s+, female; The family nurse. Juliet's confidante and carer. Bawdy and playful, worldly and wise, desires happiness above all. Wants what's best for Juliet and is willing to run through fire for her. Outspoken in a world that wants her silence, always seeking contentment. Believes in the power of the heart. The mother Juliet never had.

LORD CAPULET/As Cast - 40s/50s, male; Head of the Capulet household. Juliet's Father and Tybalt's uncle. The king of his own castle, who knows what's best for everyone and acts accordingly. Fiercely protective and possessive of his house and name. Loves his family with a watchful eye and an iron fist. Like a domineering general, he demands complete submission and absolute respect. Hates Montagues.

LADY CAPULET/As Cast - 30s/40s, female; Wife of Capulet and Juliet's mother. A trophy wife. Obsessed with keeping up appearances to please and appease the men in her life. Loves her daughter with a cool detachment and an icy grip. Like a show dog trainer, she has exceedingly high expectations and rewards obedience. Hates Montagues.

BENVOLIO/As Cast - 20s, male; Romeo's cousin and friend. A peacekeeper and helper. Benevolent. Down to earth. Loyal to Romeo and the Montagues, but not afraid to defy them for the sake of peace. A rule-abider. Requires fight skills.

MONTAGUE/As Cast - 40s/50s, male. Head of the House of Montague. Romeo's father. A man of action. Fights his own battles, and refuses to stand back and let others fight for him. Does whatever needs to be done for his family. A fighter who's raised a soft boy, he loves his son, but is confounded by him and keeps his distance. Hates Capulets.

PRINCE/As Cast - 40s-50s, male; Highest word in the land. Fighting to maintain order above all else in a community refusing to abide his rule. Tired. Angry. Frustrated. A leader forced to be an enforcer. Threatens, polices, and punishes his subjects into submission because finding peaceful resolution has failed.

PARIS/As Cast - 30s, male; Nobleman of Verona, kin to the Prince and Mercutio. A perfect gentleman. Kind. Gracious. Thoughtful. Forthright. Respectable. Easy to love. The man you write home about. Almost too good to be true. In love with Juliet.

BALTHASAR/As Cast - teens/20s, male; Romeo's servant and young friend. Aids and helps Romeo however he can. Willing to fight for the Montagues, but protective of Romeo above all else. Requires strong fight skills.

Director: Mikael Burke
Casting Director: Bob Mason
Casting Associate: Alexis Taylor

Pay: Contract: TYA. $574/wk minimum, plus health and pension for AEA