Casta
by Salvage Vanguard Theater
Mar. 19 (2019)
Casta is inspired by a series of casta paintings by Miguel Cabrera, a mixed-race painter from Oaxaca. Casta paintings were a unique form of portraiture that grew in popularity over the 18th century in Nueva España/colonial Mexico. The paintings depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy defined by Spanish elites. When a lowly apprentice is commissioned to paint a casta series for a wealthy patron, he tries to conform his work to a set hierarchy. The images revolt, illuminating a complex portrait of fluid Latinx identities.
Open Auditions for Casta by Adrienne Dawes
Tuesday March 19th, 2019, 5 pm - 10pm
Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd. , Austin, TX 78704
Salvage Vanguard Theater announces open auditions for the world premiere of Casta by Adrienne Dawes. Casta will be directed by Jenny Larson and feature music by Graham Reynolds.
Type of Actor(s): Non-Equity, Austin LOCAL (must live or have housing and transportation within 50 miles of Austin, TX).
Roles Available**: 1 Female Ensemble, 3 Male Ensemble
Female Ensemble (1): AfroLatina/x, mid20s-40s, bilingual or Spanish speaking skills preferred.
Male Ensemble (3): Latino/x, AfroLatino/x, Mixed-Race, 20s+, bilingual or Spanish speaking skills preferred. Some roles require singing.
**All Ensemble Actors must be strong dramatic actors with some experience in comedy (sketch/improv). The ensemble plays a wide variety of roles including some child characters performed with puppets. Prior puppetry experience is not essential but preferred (all performers will be trained in the specific puppetry techniques to be used in the project). Training or experience in dance or movement is an asset. Bilingual performers strongly encouraged to audition.
To Audition: Email a headshot and resume to jenny@salvagevanguard.org to confirm an audition spot.
Auditions will be held on Tuesday March 19th 5-10pm.
Call-backs will be held on Friday March 22nd, 5-10pm.
Dates & Compensation: Rehearsals begin late September. Performances November 1-21, 2019 (Saturday & Sunday daytime shows, one Thursday evening Nov 21st). All actors will be paid a stipend.
ABOUT ADRIENNE DAWES: Adrienne Dawes is an award-winning playwright and producer originally from Austin, TX. Adrienne has been a Literary Fellow in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship (George Kaiser Family Foundation), a NALAC Fund for the Arts grantee, a selected playwright in the 2018 Fornés Playwriting Workshop (University of Notre Dame), and a recipient of the Stanley and Evelyn Lipkin Prize for Playwriting (Sarah Lawrence College. Adrienne is a member of the Dramatists Guild, ScriptWorks, and a company member of Salvage Vanguard Theater. In 2019, Adrienne will be an Alice Judson Hayes Fellow (Ragdale Foundation) and a playwright-in-residence with Crosstown Arts and PlySpace.
ABOUT JENNY LARSON: Jenny Larson has served as artistic director of Salvage Vanguard Theater, an experimental new works company in Austin Texas, since 2008. Jenny holds a BA from St Edwards University in Austin. She has directed over 18 world premiere productions. She was named Best of Austin “Theater Director” by the local entertainment weekly paper Austin Chronicle in 2016. Jenny’s devised collaboration with artist Hannah Kenah, Guest by Courtesy, has played the international Fusebox Festival in 2013, the SHE MAKES THEATER festival in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2013, and the Brooklyn Yard in 2016. She was awarded Best Director of a Drama from the B Iden Payne Committee in Austin for her work on AM I WHITE by Adrienne Dawes in 2014. In the spring of 2017 she was an Artist-In-Residence at the Drama League in New York. The summer of 2017 Jenny was an Artist-In-Residence in Kokkola, Finland with the Drake Art Centre. She is currently an MFA candidate at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC in the Department of Theatre and Film.
ABOUT SALVAGE VANGUARD THEATER
Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) based in Austin TX, is a nonprofit organization that provides accessible, affordable, artistic exchange between a diverse, inclusive community of artists and audiences through high quality experiences that foster experimentation and generate conversation. Visit www.salvagevanguard.org or contact Jenny Larson for more information: 512-474 7886 or jenny@salvagevanguard.org
