Description:

Tin Drum Theatre Company is holding auditions for Winter Garden, by Steve Needham; directed by Jason Palmer.

Synopsis: November 25, 1864. A Nation divided. Claims of a stolen election. Families torn asunder. Abraham Lincoln has just been re-elected. The Civil War that has claimed more than half a million lives, and set brother against brother is finally nearing an exhaustive end. Amidst this turmoil, legendary stage actor Edwin Booth has gathered his brothers Junius and John Wilkes for a blockbuster benefit performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Edwin and Junius hope the shared stage might heal their strained family ties with their brother, John. However, they soon find their house to be more divided and the situation more volatile than anyone had imagined. Will the better angels of their natures prevail, or will their family legacy be destroyed?

Performance Stipend: $250

CAST BREAKDOWN

Junius "June" Brutus Booth, Jr.
Caucasian Male; Age range: 30-45
Description: The eldest Booth brother, June is a theater manager and occasional actor who recently returned home after many years out West. He is a jack-of-all-trades in the theater world, known for his perseverance and ability to get the job done despite any perceived lack of inherent acting talent. June is confident and sure of himself, distinctively lacking the vanity that characterizes his brothers. Although criticized by his brothers for his absence during some trying years for the Booth family, he has returned with the hope of seeing family differences reconciled.
Key Traits: Practical, grounded, patient, reliable, perseverant, confident, unassuming.

John Wilkes Booth
Caucasian Male; Age range: 20-30
Description: The youngest Booth brother, John is a rebel known for his attractiveness, vanity, volatility, ambition, insecurity, and idealism. Despite his outward confidence, John's inner life is tumultuous, characterized by a dark and secretive side that fuels his rebellious nature. He is educated but never really excelled in school. His mother's favorite son, he has a strong send of pride and self-assurance, but he struggles with the pressure of living up to his family's illustrious legacy and egalitarian ideals while struggling to escape the long shadows of his more successful and famous father and older brother Edwin. John's complex personality blends charm with a darker, more secretive side. He sees himself as the defender of his family's name and honor, a role that puts him directly at odds with Edwin.
Key Traits: Attractive, athletic, vain, volatile, ambitious, insecure, idealistic, secretive.

William Stuart
Open Ethnicity Male; Age: 30-50
Description: The manager and promoter of Edwin Booth's Theater, The Winter Garden. William is Edwin's confidant and is experienced in wrangling dramatic personalities, ensuring that the show will go on no matter the circumstances. He is a grounding figure in the face of exasperating circumstances, often able to say things to the Booth brothers they cannot, or will not, say to each other. William is an adventurer, a risk-taker, an entertainer, a raconteur, and a savvy businessman all rolled into one. Although the tempest may rage around him, William never loses control of the helm.
Key Traits: Solid, reliable, supportive, practical, confident, resourceful, empathic, insightful.

Edwin Thomas Booth
Caucasian Male; Age: 30-40
(NOTE - this role has been cast)
Description: Edwin Booth is America's greatest tragedian, a man deeply connected to his craft and haunted by the legacy of sheer talent and insanity left behind by his father, Junius Booth. Edwin is at the peak of his career but is troubled by the shadows of his family's past and the political unrest of his time. He is introspective, passionate, and intellectual, constantly seeking deeper meanings in Shakespeare's works and from life itself. His relationship with his brothers, particularly John Wilkes Booth, is fraught with tension and unresolved conflicts.
Key Traits: Introspective, sensitive, passionate, proud, intellectual, emotional, conflicted.