The Laramie Project – Auditions
Twin City Theatre Company announces auditions for The Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project, with director Mathew Green.
In October 1998 in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was tied to a fence post, severely beaten, robbed, tortured, and left, alone, to die. His body — battered, bloody, barely clinging to life — was discovered eighteen hours later. He was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. He
died five days later. The reason for this brutal crime? Matthew Shepard was gay.
The hate crime attracted vast attention worldwide, bringing sexual discrimination and violence to the forefront of public discourse. The Tectonic Theater Project, led by their founder Moisés Kaufman, traveled to Laramie in the aftermath of the murder with the intent of creating a theatrical portrait of a town coming to grips with horrible, hate-fueled violence. Over the course of a year and a half, the group interviewed over 200 subjects, some directly related to the case and some regular citizens of Laramie. Out of these interviews, journal entries, and found texts, The Laramie Project was born. Hailed as one of the most captivating and encompassing pieces of contemporary theatre, the play shocks, challenges, and moves all who watch it as it reveals the lowest depths of hatred and greatest heights of compassion that lies within all human beings in any seemingly average community.
AUDITIONS
When: Saturday, May 31, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Where: Champaign Public Library, Robeson Pavilion Room C
Audition Time Sign Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4FACAB2BA1F9C34-56846759-thelaramie
Audition Form: https://forms.gle/YPn7MwJgVwrh5TUH6
CALLBACKS (if necessary)
When: Sunday, June 1, 1: 00 PM – 3:30 PM
Where: Champaign Public Library, Robeson Pavilion Room C
CASTING
– Casting 8 actors. Roles open to all races and gender identities.
– All actors will be required to play multiple characters. Therefore, for audition purposes, each actor should choose two of the available sides to read. Actors need not choose their sides based
on age or gender.
– All roles are available to any actor. Bring your “A” game.
– No memorization is necessary, but actors should be familiar with the characters. A criterion of the audition will be the actor’s ability to make each character distinctive.
– Each audition slot will be a single actor and last 6 minutes.
Audition Sides: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1L1oMufJW0FoGjii1VXeOJmnLBKVpsBaQ?usp=sharing
Breakdown of roles/characters:
ONE – Stephen Belber, Doc O’Connor, Matt Galloway, Anonymous Friend of Aaron McKinney, Bill McKinney, Andrew Gomez, Fred Phelps, Mormon Spiritual Advisor, Conrad Miller, Narrator, Ensemble.
TWO – Amanda Gronich, Eileen Engen (Act One), Marge Murray, Baptist Minister, Trish Steger, Shadow, Newsperson, Narrator, Ensemble.
THREE – Reggie Fluty, Rebecca Hilliker, Waitress, Newsperson, Narrator, Ensemble.
FOUR – Moisés Kaufman, Philip Dubois (Act One), Stephen Mead Johnson, Murdock Cooper, Jon Peacock, Dennis Shepard, Harry Woods, Narrator, Ensemble.
FIVE – Andy Paris, Jedadiah Schultz, Doug Laws, Dr. Cantway, Matt Mickelson, Russell Henderson, Aaron McKinney, Philip Dubois (Act Two), Kerry Drake, Narrator, Ensemble.
SIX – Greg Pierotti, Sgt. Hing, Phil LaBrie, Father Roger Schmit, Rulon Stacey, Detective Sgt. Rob DeBree, Jonas Slonaker, Narrator, Ensemble.
SEVEN – Barbara Pitts, Catherine Connolly, April Silva, Zubaida Ula, Sherry Aanenson, Lucy Thompson, Eileen Engen (Act Two), Narrator, Ensemble.
EIGHT – Leigh Fondakowski, Zackie Salmon, Alison Sears, Romaine Patterson, Aaron Kreifels, Tiffany Edwards, Narrator, Ensemble.
COMMITMENT
– Starting June 9, rehearsals will be held Monday through Thursday 6:30 – 9:30 PM, with the specific schedule determined by those of the cast members. It may be that not every actor will need to be at every rehearsal. No conflicts will be allowed for tech week and performances August 3 -17.
Note: There will be no rehearsals July 11 through July 20.
– Tech week begins Sunday, August 3. Tech/Dress rehearsals are scheduled for Monday August 4 through Thursday, August 7
– Performance dates: August 8, 9, 16, 17 at 7:30 PM; August 10, 17 at 2:00 PM.
Questions? Please contact [email protected]