In Response takes the news of our times straight from our streets and our screens, and builds awareness and promotes activism so that people feel empowered to make change. That is the power of the performing arts in 2025.
This year’s theme is RISE UP! and the production includes spoken word pieces, short plays, monologues and musical performances.
Many actors will take on more than one role when possible so please be prepared to read for multiple roles. We do NOT require any memorization, just feel comfortable with the material/character.
At least 8 members of the cast will also perform in a musical number and should be in the following vocal range, so please notify us if you’re a singer and what your range is when submitting. There are three solos that can be M or F. The range is C3-Bb3. The chorus ranges are: Sop =C3-D4; Alto=C3-C4; TENOR = C2-G3; BASS = C2-D3.
Equity 99 Seat Plan Contract
Auditions:
Thursday, August 7th, 6 - 9:30 pm and
Saturday, August 9th, 10:30 am - 3:30 pm
Location: Stella Adler Theatre
Callbacks: TBD, but via Zoom
First rehearsal: Sept. 3, 2025
First Preview: Oct 4, 2025
Opening: Oct. 10, 2025
Closing Nov. 2, 2025
No show on Halloween
Artistic Producers of Festival:
Sarah Allyn Bauer & Veronica McClelland
Directors:
Kimba Henderson, Raf Mauro, Jaimyon Parker, Veronica Thompson, RJ Wayne, Karis Clark
Produced by:
Towne Street Theatre @ Stella Adler/LA
Pay rate rehearsals and performances:
Minimum wage ($17.81) per Equity
Use the button below to send in your Submission. Be sure to include the role(s) you're interested in along with a headshot and resume.
All actors should be prepared to read for other roles if requested the day of the auditions.
PLAYS & ROLES
A GENTILE MENSCH
By Anita Yellin Simons
Logline: In 1950 La Jolla, California, three scientists and professors at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography discuss academic and religious freedom during the height of the Red Scare in America. All characters are real people and the story is based in truth.
ROGER REVELLE: Male, White, 40. Oceanographer & Director of Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO), very tall.
WALTER MUNK: Male, Austrian Jew, about 33. Oceanographer and professor at SIO; speaks with Austrian accent
ED GOLDBERG: Male, Jewish, 30. Marine chemist, new professor at SIO.
A NEW AMERICA
by Reginald Edmund
Logline: A Black man, haunted by a family curse of entrepreneurial sorrow, finds his American Dream shattered by racial hatred during a pandemic, only to discover renewed hope and a "New America" through the unexpected kindness of his community.
DEREK: Black, Male, 50 and up.
FOR THE LOVE OF D’ARTAGNAN
by Roland Ponce Rusinek
Logline: In a near-future America, a desperate queer writer must plead for mercy when a government worker arrives to cut his internet, only to discover that survival, rebellion, and maybe even love can come from unexpected places.
JOE: Male-presenting, 20s and up, Any Ethnicity
Description: Gay/Queer. A high-strung, passionate writer who teeters between anxious desperation and wry humor. He’s both fragile and fierce, struggling to survive under a regime that has criminalized his very existence. Requires emotional range, rapid shifts in tone, and sharp comedic timing.
THE WORKMAN (David): Male-presenting, 20s and up, Any Ethnicity
Description: Appears calm and hetero-presenting, but harbors depth, kindness, and a secret past. Grounded, warm, quietly subversive. Former journalist turned utility worker. Must play authority and vulnerability with equal weight, and have gentle chemistry with Joe.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
by Stephen Blackburn
Logline: In the twilight of Reconstruction, civil rights icon Frederick Douglass— widower recently married to a much younger white woman—grapples with memories of betrayal when a letter from estranged ally Elizabeth Cady Stanton reopens old wounds and rekindles a bond forged in justice, broken by history, and tested by love across color and cause.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: African-American male, (historically) aged 66
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON: White female, (historically) aged 69
HOLD THE LINE
spoken word piece
by Sharon Langley
Logline: A spoken word poem which highlights the long overdue promise of voter equality in the face of voter suppression and intimidation. Resistance will help us hold the line and rise up.
WOMAN: non-white, any age
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
by Rich Rubin
Logline: A priest and his immigrant parishioner confront the new American reality.
FATHER JOE: male, 40-50, any ethnicity; an American (native-born) Catholic priest
CARLA: female, mid-20s, Latina; a non-citizen immigrant from Honduras
NOTHINGS
spoken word piece
by E Talley II
Logline: The Way & The Truth will set you Free in the 2020s to be.
Black Man: Any age and type
RUMBLINGS
by Kimba Henerson
Logline: On the day of his second inauguration, President Donald J. Trump pardoned 1500 perpetrators of the January 6th Capitol attack and called them patriots. True patriots buried in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery would like a word.
*Note: All characters are based on historical figures.
RUFUS: White, 60s, Spry, an ex-Union general
MEDGAR EVERS: Black, 30s, Civil Rights Icon
BRIAN: White, 30s, Fit, a national guard member
THE RIGHT TO LIFE
by Shanelle Darlene
Logline: Time: A dystopian present. Place: America’s hottest game show. The prize? The Right to Life.
ZARA/CONTESTANT #1: Female, non-white, 18 to play younger, a young girl who is quiet and shy, but determined. She represents the refugee/immigrant movements.
AMERICA/CONTESTANT #2: Female, any ethnicity, 20’s-30’s, an in-your-face type of woman, rebellious and direct. She represents those trying to survive on the streets.
SHADIA/CONTESTANT #3: Female, Middle Eastern, 20’s-30’s, an intelligent, quick on her feet type of woman. She represents the Palestinian liberation movement.
HOST: Male, preferably white, 20s-40’s, a loud, abrasive, charming man who enjoys the torturing of others. He represents what America is and will be.
Use the button below to send in your Submission. Be sure to include the role(s) you're interested in along with a headshot and resume.
All actors should be prepared to read for other roles if requested the day of the auditions.
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