Old Times AND A Comedy of Errors
by Austin Shakespeare
Dec. 11 (2016)
Austin Shakespeare auditions will be for three middle-aged actors for Harold Pinter’s Old Times to run February 15 - March 5, 2017 for 13 performances at the Long Center’s Rollins Theater and Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors to be performed at Beverly S. Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater, for 17 performances May 3-29, 2017.
Austin Shakespeare welcomes professional actors (Equity/Non-Equity) for open auditions at 2:30 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2016 by appointment only at Austin Playwrights Studio 5555 N Lamar Bldg K, Suite 125. Actors of all ethnicities are welcome. By appt only: auditions@austinshakespeare.org
Auditioners should prepare a 1 to 2-minute piece of heightened language; including pieces from this season’s plays. Audition speeches should be memorized or read with familiarity. On occasion, Austin Shakespeare uses cross-gender casting. Also, age range noted in character descriptions is a matter of appearance. Auditioners should familiarize themselves with the plays they are auditioning for.
All roles open for Pinter’s Old Times. For The Comedy of Errors, the roles of Egeon, Courtesan, Dr. Pinch and Solinus the goldsmith are already cast; all other roles are open.
Austin Shakespeare’s productions are professionally directed and designed; all actors are paid. Pinter’s Old Times is directed by Austin Shakespeare Artistic Director, Ann Ciccolella and Shakespeare in Zilker Park, The Comedy of Errors, is directed by guest Robert Ramirez, head of acting at UT Austin.
Pinter’s OLD TIMES
Deeley - man 40s-50s
Kate - Deeley's wife 40s-50s
Anna - Kate's Old Friend 40s-50s
Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Duke of Ephesus
Emilia – Egeon's lost wife, now Lady Abbess at Ephesus
Antipholus of Ephesus – twin master
Antipholus of Syracuse – twin master
Dromio of Ephesus - twin servant
Dromio of Syracuse – twin servant
Adriana – wife of Antipholus of Ephesus
Luciana – Adriana's sister
Nell/Luce – maid to Adriana
Balthazar – a merchant
Abbess
Angelo - goldsmith
ANN CICCOLELLA, Artistic Director, Director of Old Times. Ann Ciccolella joined Austin Shakespeare as Artistic Director in August 2007, following an eight-year tenure at Austin’s ZACH Theatre as managing director, and executive director at Austin Circle of Theaters for nine years. Ciccolella led the Renaissance Theater Company for ten years, producing and directing Off-Off Broadway shows. Prior moving to Austin, Ciccolella served for three years as associate director for SHAKESPEARE ON WHEELS from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country. In 2013, she directed Off-Broadway for Austin Shakespeare, a new adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem by Jeff Britting at the Baryshnikov Arts Center.
ROBERT RAMIREZ, Director of The Comedy of Errors. Robert has worked as Voice/Text/Dialect coach at a number of theaters including Illinois Shakes, American Players Theatre, and the Krannert Center for the Arts. This winter he will be Voice and Text Directing two productions for Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has performed as an actor with the New York, Utah, Illinois, Great River, Alabama, Baltimore and Wisconsin Shakespeare Festivals. Robert is the Head of the Acting Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas Austin.
AUSTIN SHAKESPEARE
Austin Shakespeare’s mission is to present professional theatre of the highest quality with an emphasis on the plays of William Shakespeare, bringing to the public performances that are fresh, imaginative, thought-provoking, and eminently accessible, connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today. Founded in 1984 Austin Shakespeare is the only professional classic theatre company in Central Texas. Austin Shakespeare also brings professional actors and directors directly into the classroom throughout Central Texas.
