HEPHAESTUS

at LPAC’s Rough Draft Festival

 

Venue: Laguardia Performing Arts Center

Producer: Theater in Asylum & LPAC

Writer: Willie Johnson

Director: Paul Bedard

Choreographer: Katie Palmer

Auditions by appointment on Thursday 1/16/2020 from 6-10pm

Callbacks on Saturday 1/18/2020 from 10am-12pm

Rehearsal dates: 2/10/2020-3/10/2020

Opening date: 3/11/2020

Closing date: 3/13/2020

Rate of pay: $200 stipend

Location: NYC

 

Casting for a workshop presentation of Willie Johnson’s Hephaestus. Seeking an ensemble that will play multiple roles, are comfortable with abstract movement and manipulating the set throughout the show. The piece features modern language and frequent direct address to the audience. All ages, races, and people with dis/abilities are encouraged to submit.

 

**Strongly encourage actors with physical disabilities to submit, specifically for the role of Hephaestus, which will not be double-cast.

 

To submit, please email a headshot and resume to info@theaterinasylum.com and specify your availability for both the audition day (Thursday, January 16, 2020 from 6-10pm) and the callback day (Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 10am-12pm). Each audition slot will be 5-10 minutes. Audition is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from us.

 

For the audition, please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue that employs direct address to the audience. 

 

Description of Hephaestus

God of fire, god of the forge, the worker god: Hephaestus. At once a meditation on labor, dis/ability, and beauty, Hephaestus interrogates our relationships to our bodies, and our ideas of beauty and divinity. Drawing on texts ancient and new, Hephaestus explores the limitations of the body and the self, and our desire to transcend them.

 

Casting Breakdown (please note there will be extensive double-casting)

HEPHAESTUS: The god of fire, metalwork, and craftsmen. His legs are disabled and he walks with crutches. (Actor will play this one role)

AUTOMATA: Three golden women who serve as Hephaestus’s assistants in his workshop.

HERA: The queen of the gods, Hephaestus's mother. 

DIONYSUS: The god of wine and theater. 

APHRODITE: The goddess of love and beauty. 

PROMETHEUS: A titan.

ARES: The god of war.

IO: A wandering maiden who has been turned into a cow.

ATHENA: The goddess of wisdom and Hephaestus's sister.

KRATOS: A servant of Zeus.

BIA: Another servant of Zeus.

THETIS: Goddess of the sea, Hephaestus’s caretaker, mother of Achilles.

 

Theater in Asylum (TIA) is a New York-based theater company founded in 2010 to provide asylum to highly charged subjects and characters. With an ensemble-driven process and performance, we investigate to inspire curiosity, empathy, and action. We seek a freer world and believe theater is both the means and the ends. http://www.theaterinasylum.com/

The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC), the largest theatre complex in Western Queens, has played a key role as a cultural bridge between artists and audiences for nearly 40 years. Dedicated to amplifying the voices of emerging storytellers from all over the world, LPAC produces vital, high-quality and culturally relevant theatre, dance and educational programing for New York City audiences and beyond. https://lpac.nyc/