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Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Book by Jessie Nelson
Based on the original screenplay by Adrienne Shelly
Audition Dates:
Saturday, Sept. 21: 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 23: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
*Saturday, Sept. 28 (Callbacks): 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. *By invitation only.
Creative Team:
Director: Alex Rodriguez
Music Director: Liz Stinman
Choreographer: Madison Roman
Associate Director: Breanna Carodine
Artist Stipend: $700.00
* In the event of additional performances, actors will receive an additional stipend amount per show at the completion of the run. Please see our Actor Stipend Policy for more details.
Performance Dates: Jan. 24 – Feb. 16, 2025
Waitress will run in the Hawks Mainstage Theatre. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Rehearsal Length: 9 Weeks
First Rehearsal: Nov. 24, 2024
Tech Week: Jan. 19 – Jan. 23, 2025
*No attendance conflicts allowed after Jan. 11.
This production primarily rehearses Sundays through Fridays from 6:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Times will vary during Tech Sunday and tech week. The production will NOT rehearsal on the following dates:
Preparation:
Please prepare 16-32 bars (or approximately one minute of singing) of either a musical theatre or pop song in the style of the show or a selection from Waitress. Please have a second contrasting song prepared in the event the team would like to see/hear something else. An accompanist will be provided. Please make sure your sheet music is properly marked, printed and in a three-ring binder. Alternatively, a Bluetooth speaker will be available should you wish to use an accompaniment track.
Video Submissions:
We will accept video submissions from local actors who’re unable to attend the first audition. The deadline for all videos is Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Please include the unlisted/private link in your audition form. We expect all actors to attend callbacks in person.
Character Breakdown:
JENNA: Female-identifying , 20’s-30’s, any ethnicity. A woman stuck in her life as an unhappily married waitress in a small town. Finds some happiness and expression through her meticulous baking of pies and her friendships with her coworkers, Dawn and Becky. Lives her life paycheck-to-paycheck, day by day, and wants nothing more than to get away and start fresh, unbeknownst to her destructive husband, Earl.
DAWN: Female-identifying , 20’s, any ethnicity. She’s the youngest of the waitresses. Thick glasses, hair parted 14 centimeters to the left — eccentric is the nice way to say she’s slightly unusual, and not so slightly OCD. She sets the tables, painstakingly insuring each salt and pepper-shaker is equidistant from the napkin holder.
BECKY: Female-identifying, 30’s-early 50’s, any ethnicity. The oldest of the three waitresses. Irreverent, irascible, been there, made it back, and somehow kept her forward and sometimes wicked sense of humor. Excellent comedic timing.
DR. POMATTER: Male-identifying, 30’s-early 40’s, any ethnicity. Handsome, endearing, and neurotic. Has a warm, if clumsy, manner. Jenna’s gynecologist with whom an unexpected extramarital affair is born. Has a quirky sense of humor and a big heart, despite the fact that he’s contributing to the affair. Must have great comedic timing and must move well.
EARL: Male-identifying, 20’s-30’s, any ethnicity. Jenna’s husband. Peaked in high school, handsome in a gruff way, but that face is clouded with broken dreams, drowned with cheap beer. Just enough narcissism mixed with stupidity, to be a potent Molotov cocktail that can explode into unexpected anger one second and then turn into a sobbing mess the next. If you play guitar, please accompany yourself for your contrasting song.
OGIE: Male-identifying, 20’s – 30’s, any ethnicity. Strange, yet oddly lovable. Becomes slightly obsessed with Dawn (in a hilarious yet endearing way) after she goes on a 5-minute date with him. Quirky, incredibly persistent, and odd, yet kind. Excellent comedic timing.
JOE: Male-identifying, 50’s-70’s, any ethnicity. The owner of the diner where Jenna, Dawn, Becky, and Cal work. A seemingly old, curmudgeonly man who has a soft spot for Jenna (and her pie), but picks when that warmth allows itself to be shown. A sarcastically funny and no-nonsense guy with a keen ability to read people.
CAL: Male-identifying, any ethnicity, 30’s – 40’s. A chef at the diner. A “Salt of the Earth” guy’s guy surrounded by gals. Brash, impatient, unsentimental, but somehow charming. Great comedic chops.
LULU: Young girl, 4-5 years old. Jenna’s daughter. A sweet, carefree child who appears in the last scene of the show. Should be confident and be able to engage in a small amount of dialogue and movement on stage. *This role will be double cast at a later date.
NURSE NORMA/ENSEMBLE: Female-identifying, 40’s-60’s, any ethnicity. A registered nurse at the doctor’s office where Dr. Pomatter works. She is secretly aware of his affair with Jenna and is a fan of the pies she brings to the office. Must have excellent comedic timing and be able to play a range of other characters comprising the community in which the story takes place.
ENSEMBLE (7): All genders, all ethnicities, ranging from 20’s to 50’s. Must have excellent comedic timing and be able to play a range of characters comprising the community in which the story takes place. Must be strong movers with excellent voices.
Directed by TammyRa’ Jackson
Audition Dates:
Saturday, Oct.19: 12:30 p.m – 4:30 p.m
Sunday, Oct. 20: 12:30 p.m – 4:30 p.m
Monday, Oct. 21: 6:30 p.m – 10 p.m
*Thursday, Oct. 24 (Callbacks): 6 p.m – 10 p.m. *By invitation only.
Performance Dates: Feb. 21 – Mar. 23, 2025
Artist Stipend: $725.00
Dot will run in the Drew Studio Theatre. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Rehearsal Length: 6 Weeks
First Rehearsal: Jan.12, 2025
Tech Week: Feb. 16 – Feb. 20. 2025
*No attendance conflicts allowed after Feb.10.
Summary:
The holidays are always a wild family affair at the Shealy house. But this year, Dotty and her three grown children gather with more than exchanging presents on their minds. As Dotty struggles to hold on to her memory, her children must fight to balance care for their mother and care for themselves. This twisted and hilarious new play grapples unflinchingly with aging parents, midlife crises, and the heart of a West Philly neighborhood.
https://youtu.be/96emyeM0dJ0 (Humana Festival First Look: Dot by Coleman Domingo)
Preparation:
Actors will perform cold-readings from the script at initial auditions. Those invited to callbacks will received sides ahead of time.
Character Breakdown:
DOTTY: African American. 60s-70s. The matriarch of the Shealy Family. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease one year prior, her condition is progressing rapidly. She is, at her best, a force of nature. Strong, bold, witty, self-assured and a pistol. Her pride is her children, which she and her husband raised to be strong, passionate citizens of the world. Mother to Shelly, Donnie, and Averie.
SHELLY: African American. 40s. Dotty’s oldest daughter. Mother to Jason. She is the primary family caregiver to Dotty responsible for her safety and mental well being. She juggles being a mother, a public defender, a daughter, sister and caregiver. With so many roles to fulfill, she is at the end of her rope.
JACKIE: Caucasian. 30s-40s. Is a long-time neighbor and Donnie’s ex-girlfriend currently living in Harlem, New York. Her family was close with the Shealys growing up and she has not overcome the pain she experienced through her breakup with Donnie. Running away from her life in New York, she returns home to make a decision about her unexpected pregnancy.
DONNIE: African American. 40s. Dotty’s middle child. A musicologist and an independent music critic. He is married to Adam, the love of his life. He comes to grips with Dotty’s condition and is forced to face his past and his future through Jackie and Adam.
ADAM: Caucasian/Latin/Arab. 30s-40s. Donnie’s husband. A kind and generous spirit who’s having a bit of a midlife crisis that he isn’t very aware of. Comes to important realizations about his relationship with Donnie throughout the play.
AVERIE: African American. 30s. Dotty’s youngest child. She is very much a product of our modern culture. Boisterous, confident, and fame obsessed. She is the most guttural in the way she operates. Not afraid to speak her mind, she struggles to reconcile her new found responsibility in the face of her family’s changing needs.
FIDEL: A Kazakh. 20s-30s. A caregiver from Kazakhstan. He came to this country with absolutely nothing and forged a life for himself. Fidel is a quiet healing presence in the play that is always there. An unsung hero. He has forged an unlikely bond with Dotty—despite both their difficulties in expressing themselves. English is his second language. He is the only one who allows Dotty to express how she really feels because he is an outsider. He is also seeking what all of the characters are struggling to find: a new description of home.
Creative Bios:
Colman Domingo (Playwright) is an Academy Award nominated, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, Astra and Satellite Award nominated for his starring role as Bayard Rustin in the film Rustin. He received the Spotlight Award | Actor at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, as well as the Virtuoso Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Colman has received the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival Honor | Outstanding Performance and was honored by the Critics Choice Association with the Actor Award for Film in Rustin. Domingo starred as Mister in the The Color Purple musical motion picture. A two time Film Independent Spirit, Gotham, SAG, Critics Choice, NAACP Image, Tony®, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, Drama League and NAACP Theatre Award nominee for his work on stage and screen, Colman is an OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award winning actor, playwright, director and producer. Colman landed a historic double win of Lead Actor and Supporting Actor Awards at the 2024 NAACP Image awards. Domingo was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Production of a Play for the Pulitzer Prize winning play Fat Ham on Broadway. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama, a Hollywood Critics Association Award for Best Actor in a Limited Series/Anthology, and an Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his role as Ali in the HBO series Euphoria. Colman stars in an eight part limited series for Netflix entitled The Madness, directed by Clement Virgo, due in 2024. Mr. Domingo takes on a role of Joe Jackson in the Universal Pictures biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Domingo received his Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Ursinus College. Colman is on the Board of Directors of The Gotham Film & Media Institute, and has served as a Juilliard School Creative Associate and a faculty member of the Yale School of Drama. He has been honored with the inaugural Denver Film CinemaQ-LaBahn Ikon Film Award, the National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award, the Creative Coalition Television Humanitarian Award and the Atlanta’s Out On Film Icon Award. Through his award-winning production company, Edith Productions, Colman develops television, film, theater and animation projects.
TammyRa’ Jackson (Director) is an Award winning Storyteller, Actress, Director, Master Hair Stylist, Vocalist and Entrepreneur with a wide array of experiences, based here in Omaha, Nebraska. TammyRa’ has performed in many theaters throughout the Omaha/Lincoln area, including The Center Stage, The John Beasley Theater, Omaha Community Playhouse, Lincoln Community Playhouse, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Nebraska Shakespeare the Union for Contemporary Art and The Rose Theater. TammyRa’s performance credits also include short film, commercials both local and regional, as well as radio and television voice overs. She has worked with the Great Plains Theatre Commons (GPTC) since 2008 as both an actress and director. In 2022, she join GPTC as a Community Connector. During COVID, she started doing virtual shows with Playzoomers so that she was able to continue to share her talents with others and give back in her own way. TammyRa’ has performed in several shows at OCP and won an award for each performance. She won the CLARENCE TEAL AWARD for her first appearance in SOPHISTICATED LADIES. She also been the recipient of the Fonda/Mcguire Award two years in a row for THE COLOR PURPLE as Celie (2021-2022, Season 97) and PRETTY FIRE as Charlayne (2022-2023, Season 98). She was the Assistant Director for CONSTELLATIONS and Associate Director for FENCES.
American Mariachi
Saturday, Oct. 26 –12:30pm-4:30pm
Sunday, Oct. 27– 6pm–10pm
Monday, Oct. 28 –6pm–10pm
Callbacks (By Invitation Only)
Saturday, Nov. 2: 12:30pm–4:30pm
The Old Man and The Old Moon
Saturday, Nov. 23 –12:30pm-4:30pm
Sunday, Nov. 24– 11am – 3pm
Monday, Nov. 25– 6pm – 10pm
Callbacks (By Invitation Only)
Tuesday, Nov. 26: 6pm–10pm
Through upholding high ethical standards, demonstrating respect for all and consciously working to provide diverse representation, OCP is committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment in which all community members feel a sense of belonging and does not discriminate in casting practices on the basis of an individual’s ethnicity, age, gender, physical and cognitive ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, country of origin or other factors. Omaha Community Playhouse is committed to diverse and inclusive casting.
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