Theatre Auditions and Casting

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches
by Tony Kushner
directed by Andy Head

It’s the 1980s. President Reagan sits in the White House while the AIDS crisis rages on. Caught in the middle are a Valium-addicted Mormon, her closeted lawyer husband, and two men ripped apart by an AIDS diagnosis. This is a story about fighting for survival, love, politics and God. In 1993, Angels in America, written by Tony Kushner, won the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Click here for the Angels in America audition video.

AUDITIONS: 
Auditions will take place on Friday, August 27 from 6-10pm in the Panara Theatre on the first floor of the LBJ Building (060) of RIT’s campus. Interpreters will be provided. 

Auditions will consist of prepared readings from the script. No appointments necessary. Please arrive at your convenience between 6-10pm. All who plan to audition should familiarize themselves with the script and choose one monologue to read from the options below. Email Andy (awhgla@rit.edu) if you’d like to request a copy of the script for review. 

Click here to view Audition Monologue options.

Before auditioning you should complete the audition form here: https://forms.gle/jn2X4ZnSv6pLzKzR7

CALLBACKS: 
Callback notifications will be sent out Friday night after auditions and you will be notified via email if you have received a callback.

Callbacks will take place on Saturday, August 28, 12-6pm in Panara Theatre. The callbacks will consist of cold readings from the script. Interpreters will be provided.

REHEARSALS: starting on Friday, September 3. Rehearsals will be 3-4 times a week.
TECH: November 13-18
SHOW: November 19-21
Please note: you cannot miss any tech rehearsals.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: This production will utilize a combination of Deaf and hearing actors working together to create characters. Doubling of roles as well as double casting will be used for various characters. Actors may be asked to interpret, sign, or voice for multiple characters. Due to this, we may not follow the casting breakdown as listed in the script. The script calls for 8 actors and we imagine our production will include a larger cast.

Roy M. Cohn, a successful New York lawyer and unofficial power broker. Roy is guided by one thing: power. Clout. Influence. He’s obsessed with control. He is a clever predator and he wants to be at the top of the food chain. He’s a forceful, harsh bully.

Joseph Porter Pitt, chief clerk for Justice Theodore Wilson of the Federal Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Joe is a politically conservative, Mormon, closeted gay man living in New York City. He is deeply unhappy because his upbringing, political ideology, and religious faith keep him from truly accepting who he knows he is. He is torn between his obligations to his wife, Harper, and to his true self.

Harper Amaty Pitt, Joe’s wife, an agoraphobic with a mild valium addiction. Harper is best described with one word: lonely. She doesn’t work and her phobia keeps her from leaving her apartment. She takes pills and makes up imaginary friends. Her marriage to Joe is slowly tearing at the seams as they both come to terms with who they are.

Louis Ironson, a word processor working for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Louis is politically very liberal and of the Jewish faith. He is in a 4-year relationship with Prior, but leaves after Prior’s AIDS diagnosis. Louis is anxiously unable to manage his fear of AIDS and the worsening of Prior’s condition. This inability to cope leads to his escape. 

Prior Walter, Louis’s boyfriend. Occasionally works as a club designer or caterer, otherwise lives very modestly but with great style off a small trust fund. Prior has recently been diagnosed with AIDS, a fact that he approaches with equal parts despair and hope. While dealing with this condition, Prior is abandoned by his lover, Louis. 

Hannah Porter Pitt, Joe’s mother, currently residing in Salt Lake City, living off her deceased husband’s army pension. Hannah is the tough-as-nails mother of Joe. She is a no-nonsense kind of person. She is devoutly religious to her Mormon faith. 

Belize, a registered nurse and former drag queen whose name was originally Norman Arriaga; Belize is a drag name that stuck. Belize is the life of the party, bringing warmth and sunshine into any room he enters. He is a larger-than-life character who also is unafraid to be himself. 

The Angel, four divine emanations, Fluor, Phosphor, Lumen and Candle; manifest in One: the Continental Principality of America. She has magnificent steel-gray wings. Kushner also says, “The Angel is related to humans but isn’t human. She refers to herself in the plural because she isn’t a single thing. She is four nonhuman beings amalgamated into one nonhuman being. She should be comprehensible; she should also be terribly unfamiliar.” 

Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz, an orthodox Jewish rabbi, played by the actor playing Hannah. The Rabbi is old and tired. There’s a heaviness and a slow, plodding feeling to him. He speaks sonorously and unapologetically. He’s curt and to the point. Nothing superfluous to this man. 

Mr. Lies, Harper’s imaginary friend, a travel agent, played by the actor playing Belize. In the style of dress and speech he suggests a jazz musician; he always wears a large lapel badge emblazoned “IOTA” (International Order of Travel Agents). Mr. Lies is the epitome of mellow. He’s like sugary caramel, a cozy blanket, warm laundry out of the dryer. He’s earnest and comforting. He puts Harper at ease.

The Man in the Park, played by the actor playing Prior. Described as: “dressed in leather”. The Man is rough with Louis, dominant and commanding. He also still lives with his parents. 

The Voice, the voice of the Angel. Described as: “an incredibly beautiful voice”. Prior calls it “like a viola…a perfectly tuned, tight string, balanced, the truth…”. The Voice has power to it and yet it comforts and soothes. It is the voice of serene authority.

Henry, Roy’s doctor, played by the actor playing Hannah. Henry is tactful and observant. He is able to deftly change tactics when addressing Roy’s condition. He is straight forward and tries to remain neutral.

Emily, a nurse, played by the actor playing the Angel. She’s a nurse in New York City. She’s polite but focused on her work. She’s tough but kind at the same time.

Martin Heller, a Reagan Administration Justice Department flackman, played by the actor playing Harper. Described as: “a relentlessly upbeat official”. Martin has the vibe of a car salesman: kind of sleazy, kind of charismatic, and will cajole you into buying something you’re not sure you want.

Sister Ella Chapter, a Salt Lake City real-estate saleswoman; played by the actor playing the Angel. Described as: “Hannah’s closest friend” though “severely intimidated by her”. Ella is the opposite of Hannah, she’s bubbly and soft on the surface. She’s excitable and effusive.

Prior 1, the ghost of a dead Prior Walter from the thirteenth century, played by the actors playing Joe. A blunt, grim, dutiful, medieval farmer, he speaks abruptly and rather loudly with a guttural Yorkshire accent. Described as: “fierce and gloomy”. The two Prior ghosts are like yin and yang. This one is darker, gruffer, and grimmer.

Prior 2, the ghost of a dead Prior Walter from the seventeenth century, played by the actor playing Roy. A Londoner, a Restoration-era sophisticate and bon vivant; he speaks with an elegant Received English accent. Described as: “elegant”. The two Prior ghosts are like yin and yang. This one is lighter, happier, and more optimistic. 

The Eskimo, played by the actor playing Joe. Friendly and loveable, the perfect companion that Harper has been seeking. 

A Homeless Woman, an unmedicated psychotic who lives on the streets of South Bronx; played by the actor playing the Angel. The Homeless Woman represents (to Hannah) all of the fears of New York City. She is unstable and erratic. Her mind is like a room full of wondering cats—impossible to herd. 

Ethel Rosenberg, played by the actor playing Hannah. Described as: “A small Jewish woman dressed modestly in a fifties hat and coat. Her manner is pleasant; her voice is ice-cold.” Ethel enjoys toying with Roy. She’s here for her revenge and she wants his slow crawl towards death to be painful. 

CASTING NOTE: Although the gender of the actual characters may not be altered (i.e. Prior must remain a gay man), auditions and casting are open to all students, staff, and faculty regardless of gender identity.

If you have questions, please email Andy at awhgla@rit.edu.

Auditions for In the Heights will take place later in the Fall semester or early in the Spring semester. More info is on the way!