Description:

SHORT SHAKESPEARE! is a 75-minute abridgment followed by a 15 minute Q & A for middle school and high school students, wit public performances on Saturday on CST. Performances play at CST and on tour. Seeking actors who embrace the educational nature of this program and production.

Characters:
ROMEO - male, 16-22, idealist, stubborn, passionate, struggling, intelligent but also immature. Must be excellent with classical text and possess fight skills.

JULIET - female, 13, forthright, un-jaded, passionate, articulate, hormonal, brave. Must be excellent with classical text and have a deep emotional well.

NURSE - female, late 30s - early 50s, nurse/companion to Juliet, excitable, sentimental, has wisdom but also indulges in silliness, especially sexual innuendo. Strong sense of both comedy and tragedy.

BENVOLIO - male/female/non-binary, 18-22, cousin to Romeo, a diplomat and a peacekeeper, but also a young man who's part of the gang, and wants to fit in. Fight skills required. Possible Romeo understudy.

MERCUTIO - male/non-binary, 20-25, friend of Romeo, witty, reactionary, independent, highly sensitive under the bravado. Excellent text and very strong fight skills required.

TYBALT - male, 18-25, Juliet's cousin, impetuous, fiery, combative, fiercely loyal. Very strong fight skills required. Role may be doubled with a character TBD.

FRIAR LAWRENCE - male, 35-50, a thinker, caretaker, and rebel. Has a connection with Romeo, and developments one with Juliet. Compassionate, brave.

PARIS - male, 20s, kinsman to the Prince, well-meaning, sincere, conventional, potentially a sycophant. Must possess strong fight skills. May possibly double with another character TBD.

MONTAGUE - male, 40s/50s, father to Romero, a concerned father, passionate and stubborn. Cover for Lord Capulet. Role may be doubled. Excellent text skills required.

CAPULET - male, 40s/50s, father to Juliet, an old-style patriarch, wanting the best for his family, but only on his terms. Excellent text skills required.

LADY CAPULET - female, early 30s, mother to Juliet, wedded young and full of struggle. Passion and hope has become jaded. Has a strained, distant relationship with her daughter. Excellent text skills required.

BALTHASAR - male, 16-22, Romeo's servant. Excellent fight skills required. Will understudy and possibly double.

PETER - male, 16-25, Capulet servant. Comic. Excellent fight skills required. May understudy and possibly double.

PRINCE - male/female, early 30s-50s, Prince of Verona. Commanding stature and strong text skills required. May double as another character.

Pay: $650/week AEA; $500-$550/Week NON-AEA

Time Commitment:
Previews begin: mid-January 2021
Opens: late January 2021
CST Close: mid-March 2021
Tour Close: late March 2021

Day time rehearsals. Performances during the day at CST on Navy Pier, and then on tour to area schools. Mainly a daytime commitment.