Theater J
Washington, DC

DESCRIPTION

Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA

AUDITION DATE

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM (E)

Lunch 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

AND

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM (E)

Lunch 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

APPOINTMENTS

To schedule an audition appointment, please go to: https://forms.gle/No2G9qenNgYx....

CONTRACT

SPT

$761 weekly minimum (SPT 8)

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in Theater J's 2025-26 Season (See breakdown).

Theater J encourages performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to audition, as Theater J is committed to a multi-racial casting practice which accurately reflects our world’s, and Judaism’s, racial and ethnic diversity. Roles which are racially or ethnically specified in the production will be designated so below.

PREPARATION

Please prepare two contrasting contemporary monologues of no more than 3-minutes total. Please bring your stapled picture and resume.

LOCATION

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington DC

1529 16th St NW

Washington, DC 20036-1466

Please enter on the Q street side of the building. 1st Floor.

PERSONNEL

Expected to attend:

Artistic Director: Hayley Finn (03.26 only)

Associate Producer: Charlotte La Nasa

See breakdown for production specific personnel.

OTHER DATES

See breakdown for production specific dates.

OTHER

An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition.

Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.

Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.

BREAKDOWN

Theater J 2025-26 Season

THIS MUCH I KNOW

By Jonathan Spektor

Directed by Hayley Finn

This production will take place at 59E59 Theaters, New York, NY

First day of Rehearsal in Washington DC: Monday, August 19th

First day of tech in NYC: Saturday, September 13th

Opening Night: Thursday, September 25th

Closing: Sunday, October 19th

Performances 9/13/25-10/19/25

Performance Scheule: Tuesday 7pm, Wednesday 7pm, Thursday 7pm, Friday 7pm, Saturday 2pm & 7pm, Sunday 2pm & 7pm

SYNOPSIS: Am I in charge of my choices? How could anyone think or do that? What is happiness? In the midst of a lecture, a psychology professor’s marriage fractures, sparking a theatrical study of three characters as they become entangled in a search for self-discovery. With inspiration from the research of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, the characters search for answers in the science of decision-making. They learn that, in Kahneman’s words, thinking can be “fast or slow,” emotional or deliberate, drive-like and intuitive, or calculated. Part mystery, part love story, part philosophical quest, This Much I Know spins our axis of belief and understanding.

SEEKING:

A/LUKESH - THIS ROLE IS CAST. M, 50s, South Asian. Speaks with a British accent. Doubles as Joseph Stalin, Brajesh Singh, and ensemble.

B/NATALYA - THIS ROLE IS CAST. F 40s, Any ethnicity (the only relevant character fact is that she has one Russian grandparent). Speaks with a non-descript American accent. Doubles as Svetlana Alliluyeva (daughter of Joseph Stalin), H.G. Wells, & ensemble.

C/HAROLD - THIS ROLE IS CAST. M, 20. White. Speaks with a very slight North Florida twang. Doubles as a member of the ensemble.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE

By Amy Herzog

Directed by János Szász

First Rehearsal: 9/30/25

Performances: October 29, 2025 through November 23, 2025

Performance Schedule: Wednesday at 12, Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30

SYNOPSIS: In a close-knit community, the Doctor for a local health resort discovers that the operation’s water source is contaminated. If revealed, the truth will cost those in power a fortune, and change many lives, including his own family's, for the worse. After jumping at the chance to get the word out and demand action, the Doctor is placed in an awkward position in the face of public fury.

SEEKING:

Dr Thomas Stockmann: Male 40s. An earnest, passionate, a man of science – employed by his brother as the Medical Director of the Baths. Discovers a toxic secret that threatens the health of his entire community. An idealist, he is eager to connect with new ideas and do what’s right, but also no stranger to impulsivity.

Petra Stockmann: Female early 20s. Thomas’ daughter, a schoolteacher. Bright, quick and self-confident, a little rebellious.

Peter Stockmann: Male 40s or 50s. The stiff and discerning Mayor of the town, and also Thomas’s brother and employer at the baths. Practical and calculating, always in control of himself and others, he is frustrated by his brother's disregard for politics.

Hovstad: Male 30s. The dynamic publisher of a liberal paper – he’s charismatic, wry, and enjoys needling authority. Comes from a lower-class background and worked his way up. At first proclaims his duty to the truth but ultimately acts on the best interests of his business.

Billing: Male 20s. Extroverted, mischievous. Works for Hovstad at the People’s Messenger.

Aslaksen: Male 50s or 60s. Chair of the Property Owners’ Association, and the printer for the paper. His political interests span multiple demographics – tradesman, property owners and he’s also a member of temperance society. As someone allied with both the common people and wealthy stakeholders, he is cautious; interested in progress, but wary of drastic action.

Captain Horster: Male 20s. A ships captain, and friend of Doctor Stockmann. Accustomed to hard work at sea, his view of the world. Deeply shy, easily embarrassed, but genuinely kind.

Morten Kiil: Male 60s or 70s. Thomas’s father-in-law, owner of the tannery contaminating the water for the Baths. Gruff and to the point, he has a bad history with the town council. He is discreet about his wealth.

CHANUKAH IN THE DARK

Written by Hayley Finn

First Rehearsal: Wednesday, November 5

Performances: 12/6/25 – 12/ 21/25

Performance Schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 12pm, Saturday & Sunday at 11am & 3pm

SYNOPSIS: Chanukah is the holiday Max loves most, and Max's grandparents always make it special. This year, an ice storm knocks out power in the neighborhood, and suddenly, what was a joyous holiday of latkes and family movies is launched into darkness. How will this family find a new way to celebrate Chanukah in the dark? A holiday story with songs.

Please note this project may be re-titled without substantive changes to the production, its characters, and casting needs.

SEEKING:

MAX: M or F 20s, An intelligent and imaginative 10-year-old.

SASHA: M or F 20s A college student. Artistic and warm. Would do anything for Max.

GRANDMA (AKA Shirley): F any age, A very hip grandma. She has an earthy quality. When she was younger, she was a folk rock singer, but gave all that up to be a teacher and moved from New York to Minnesota.

GRANDPA (AKA Sam): M any age, little nerdy but also hip in his own way. Not particularly spiritual but likes secular Judaism. Enjoys his own sense of humor and has a playful quality for an adult. The perfect match for grandma.

STORIES FROM THE BRINK

Written and performed by Iris Bahr

First Rehearsal 1/23

Performances 1/24 at 2pm, 1/25 @ 7:30pm, 1/25 @ 2pm

SYNOPSIS: One woman’s true tales of near death, unfiltered and in snackable form. Including, but not limited to: war zones, elder caregiving, a white water disaster, incompetent Scottish physicians, and a childhood in the Bronx that involved a Yeshiva by day and bacon and the Guggenheim by night.

Irish Bahr: THIS ROLE IS CAST. Bahr masterfully combines humor, pathos, and storytelling to take the audience on a journey that is funny, heartbreaking, and life-affirming all at once.

BIRTHRIGHT

By Jonathan Spektor

Directed by Hayley Finn

First Rehearsal: 2/10/25

Performances: 03/16/26-04/5/25

Performance Schedule: Wednesday at 12 and 7:30, Thursday at 8:00, Saturday at 2 and 8, Sunday at 2 and 8

SYNOPSIS: It’s summer, 2006, a group of six young American Jews, fresh out of college, meet on a Birthright Israel trip and become fast friends. They have all returned from the trip with a new commitment to their Jewish identity, to Israel, and to each other. As such, they briefly occupy a totally shared sense of reality; at the last moment of the 21st century, this was still possible. In 2007, Facebook comes online, the iPhone gets released and the ability of these friends – or anyone – to exist in a shared reality begins to fray. Over the next 18 years, through to Oct 7th and beyond, we watch as this group of friends comes together and breaks apart, wrestling each in their own way with this central question: Am I living the life I am supposed to be living as a Jew in America?

We meet these characters from their 20s-40s.

SEEKING:

CHAYA, This role is CAST. female, in search of community

ISABELLA, female, in search of justice

NOAH, male, in search of understanding

EMERSON, male, in search of serenity

ALONA, female, in search of home

LEV, male, in search of meaning

DEBORAH, 50s-60s female, Chaya’s mother, what’s with all the searching?

SALARY

SPT $761 weekly minimum (SPT 8)

UNION

AEA