AUDITIONS: August Wilson’s THE PIANO LESSON

AUDITIONS: August Wilson’s THE PIANO LESSON

Playing in the Long Beach Playhouse’s Mainstage Theater

By August Wilson

Directed by Rovin Jay

AUDITION DATES:  Jan. 2-4, 2025

• Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 – 7pm – 9pm: Open Call
• Friday,  Jan 3, 2025 – 7pm – 9pm: Open Call
• Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 – Noon – 3pm: Callbacks – By invitation only.

(Auditioners only need to come to one night of open call auditions.)

PERFORMANCE DATES:  Feb. 22 – Mar. 22, 2025

AUDITON NOTICE:

TITLE: August Wilson’s THE PIANO LESSON

AUTHOR: August Wilson

DIRECTOR: Rovin Jay

RUN:  February 22 – March 22, 2025

Fridays & Saturdays 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Special performances on Thursday and Sunday nights may be added for private parties and special events.

This is a volunteer community theater production.  Non-Equity.  There is no pay. 

AUDITION DATES:

Open Call:

Dates: Thursday, January 2 and Friday, January 3, 2025

(Auditioners only need to come to one night of Open Call Auditions.)

Times: 7pm – 9pm

Location: Long Beach Playhouse  

Callbacks: By Invitation Only.

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Times: 12pm – 3pm

REHEARSALS:

First Read-Through: Monday, January 6, 2025 at 7 pm 

Regular Rehearsal: Starting, Tuesday, January 7, 2025:

Mondays – Thursdays, 7pm – 10pm 

Saturdays, 10am – 3pm

Some Possible Sundays, 6pm – 9pm 

(Please see beginning rehearsal schedule BELOW for specific dates and times.)

Location: Long Beach Playhouse

NOTE: Open to working with some minor conflicts except for tech dates and performances.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

Bring a headshot and resume. 

Please prepare a 1 min. monologue from an August Wilson play. 

Sides for cold readings will also be available at the auditions.

SHORT SYNOPSIS:  

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama explores an African-American family’s struggle with their heritage and legacy through the story of a brother and a sister fighting over an invaluable family heirloom – a piano intricately carved with their family’s history. 

CASTING THE FOLLOWING ROLES:

NOTE: All roles are of Black/African descent.

BOY WILLIE (M, 30s, Black/African descent.) Berniece’s brash, impulsive, and fast-talking brother. Coming from Mississippi, Boy Willie plans to sell the family piano and buy the land where his ancestors once worked as slaves. (Ability to play the piano a plus, but not necessary to be cast in part.)

BERNIECE (F, 30s, Black/African descent.) Sister of Boy Willie. Strong-willed and emotionally complex. She blames her brother for her husband’s death, remaining skeptical of his bravado and chiding him for his rebellious ways. (Ability to play the piano a plus, but not necessary to be cast in part.)

LYMON (M, 30s, Black/African descent.) Boy Willie’s longtime friend. Lymon is more taciturn than his partner, speaking with a disarming “straightforwardness.” Fleeing the law, he plans to stay in the North and begin life anew. He is obsessed with women.

DOAKER (M, 40s-60s, Black/African descent.) Berniece and Boy Willie’s uncle. Wise and grounded, Doaker has spent his life working for the railroad. Like Wining Boy, he is a member of the family’s oldest living generation. 

WINING BOY (M, 40s-60s, Black/African descent.) A charming, former musician who drifts in and out of his brother Doaker’s house whenever he finds himself broke. He recounts anecdotes from his travels and, along with Doaker, provides a connection to the family’s history. (Ability to play the piano a plus, but not necessary to be cast in part.)

AVERY (M, 30s, Black/African descent.) Fervently religious, he is a preacher who is trying to build his congregation. Avery moved north to court Berniece after her husband died. He is honest and ambitious and has found opportunities unavailable to him in the rural South.

MARETHA (F, 11, Black/African descent.) Berniece’s daughter. Curious and lively, Maretha symbolizes the next generation of the Charles family.

GRACE (F, 20s-30s, Black/African descent.) A vibrant young woman whom both Boy Willie and Lymon try to pick up.

BEGINNING REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: