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Call for Actors

If We Were Birds
by Erin Shields

Mainstage Theatre
September 22 - October 7, 2023

Alumnae Theatre Company is seeking submissions from emerging and experienced non-union performers for the Mainstage production of If We Were Birds.

If We Were Birds is a riveting re-imagining of Ovid's masterpiece "Tereus, Procne and Philomela.” When King Pandion marries his daughter Procne off to war hero King Tereus, Procne returns with him to Thrace and is separated from her beloved sister Philomela. After years of isolation in a foreign land, Procne begs Tereus to fetch her sister for a visit. When confronted with Philomela's beauty, Tereus's desire triumphs over reason, igniting a chain of horrific events. A harrowing exploration of violence and revenge, this adaptation features a chorus of ravaged women, each a victim of a 20th-century conflict: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nanking, and Berlin.

CONTENT WARNING
The following show contains triggering subject mature such as coarse language, mention of suicide, and theatrical representations of violence including murder, rape, and cannibalism.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS

PHILOMELA: (Early 20s) Female Identifying, ANY ETHNICITY, the youngest sister, curious, bubbly.

PROCNE: (Mid-late 20s) Female Identifying, ANY ETHNICITY, the eldest sister to Philomela.

TEREUS: (Late 20s-early 30s) Male Identifying, ANY ETHNICITY. A war general, King of Thrace, he returns from a successful campaign and is rewarded by the King of Athens with Procne for a bride.

PANDION: (30s-40s) Male Identifying, ANY ETHNICITY, the King of Athens and father to Procne and Philomela.

CHORUS: Female Identifying, ANY ETHNICITY, must have a background in movement (dance, physical theater, etc.). The chorus is made up of five specific roles (The Bleeding One, The Young One, The Pregnant One, The Pious One, The One with Dwindling Dignity), and each character is rooted in and inspired by testimonials of women survivors from specific 20th-century conflicts: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nanking, and Berlin. The Chorus women shift between an active role in the story line as slave women and a passive role as birds watching the story unfold.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please send self tape submission to auditions@alumnaetheatre.com as one combined PDF and include the following:

A resume and headshot
A link (Google Drive/YouTube/Vimeo) to your self tape
Contact information (including email address, phone number, and mailing address).
Optional: An artist’s statement (200 words or less) highlighting any dance, physical theatre, mask work, or singing experience you may have.

Alumnae welcomes voices from diverse communities, and encourages submissions from equity-seeking groups, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Trans, Nonbinary, Queer, Disabled, and intersections of those identities.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE
11:59pm on Friday, June 16, 2023.

IMPORTANT DATES
Callbacks: June 26 - possibly July 1 and 2, if needed.
Rehearsals: August 1– September 6
Performances: Week 1: September 22 - September 29 and Week 2: September 30 – October 7

Alumnae Theatre Company thanks everyone for their submissions, but only those selected for callbacks will be contacted. If We Were Birds is a non-union, non-paying volunteer opportunity.

SIDES
Click HERE for sides.