Crave Theatre Company is accepting video auditions from performers for our summer production of “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” by Alexis Scheer from now until 11:59pm on Friday March 31st, 2023.
Show Details:
“Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” will be directed by Cambria Herrera (cambriaherrera.com). Rehearsals and performances will take place at Imago Theatre (17 SE 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97214).
Rehearsal Schedule: July 8th through August 4th
Tuesdays through Thursdays from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturdays (time TBD)
Tech: August 5th through August 9th
6:00 pm weekday evenings, weekend call times TBD.
Performances: August 10th through August 27th
Thursdays – Saturdays, 7:30 pm shows
Sundays, 2:00 pm shows
Pay:
The performers playing Pipe, Kit, Zoom, and Squeeze will each receive $2,800 stipends.
The performers playing Pablo Escobar and Pipe’s little sister will receive $1,328 stipends. Please note that these roles will not be called to as many rehearsals as the four teenage roles, hence the difference in stipend amounts.
Show Description:
In an abandoned treehouse, four teenage girls armed with an Ouija board meet as the Dead Leaders Club to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellín Cartel. Are they earnestly trying to awaken a spirit or are they just playing tricks on each other? In its exploration of 2008 politics, identity, love, grief, and dreams, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord posits that navigating adolescence may be more perilous than communing with the dead.
Character Descriptions / Casting Criteria:
All teenage roles are open to actors 18+ who are interested in playing teenagers.
Pipe and Kit are open to Latinx actors.
Zoom is open to Jewish actors of any race.
Squeeze is open to Black actors.
Pipe’s little sister is open to actors of any race ages 8-13.
Pablo Escobar is open to Spanish-speaking Latinx actors.
Pipe: 18 year old Cuban-American girl. President of the dead leaders club. Brilliant, sophisticated, intense, makes up the club rules on the spot. Finding how to connect again after the torturous loss of her younger sister.
Kit: 17 year old Colombian-American girl. New girl in town. Sensual, mysterious, impossibly-cool, and intimidating. Daughter to a single-mom, searching for a person to be her new home.
Zoom: 15 year old Jewish-American girl. Pipe’s over-the-top next door neighbor. Impulsive, hilarious, excitable. Desperately wants to fit in with the older girls.
Squeeze: 16 year old Haitian and Puerto Rican girl. Pipe’s best friend and desperately trying to maintain that title. Practical, grounded, creative. Will run for congress when she’s old enough.
Pipe’s Little Sister: 9 year old girl. Beautiful and powerful. Can vividly recount her dreams and make her voice heard.
Pablo Escobar: 50-something. Colombian. The famous drug lord brought back from the dead to deliver a message to desperate teenage girls. Speaks only Spanish
To Submit:
Please email cravetheatrecompany@gmail.com with your headshot, resume, any conflicts you may have with the rehearsal schedule, and a link to your video audition (unlisted YouTube is preferred). See below for role-specific audition materials:
For Pipe: Please submit a recording of the Pipe and Kit side (linked https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vx2VzsFRDRVYG6JtFogsifqzBeVke9wK/view?usp=share_link) or a 60-second contemporary monologue of your choice
For Kit: Please submit a recording of the Pipe and Kit side (attached & linked https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vx2VzsFRDRVYG6JtFogsifqzBeVke9wK/view?usp=share_link) or a 60 second contemporary monologue of your choice
For Squeeze: Please submit a recording of the Squeeze Side (linked https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mnVWHD2Pz_QpWzlAFa9c-eDgRu9ljS2Z/view?usp=share_link) or a 60 second contemporary monologue of your choice
For Zoom: Please submit a recording of the Zoom Side (inked https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FCQCOa9q5CM3ldGRZBflALtSZt5j7YVF/view?usp=share_link) or a 60 second contemporary monologue of your choice
For Pipe’s Little Sister: Please submit a recording of Pipe’s Little Sister’s monologue (linked: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z0Q686MZc0MajziL2KgBVbAJTZEJjQZz/view?usp=share_link) or a 60 second contemporary monologue of your choice. Parents: Please review the content warning below and be aware that working laws for minors will be followed
For Pablo Escobar: Please submit a recording of the Pablo Escobar monologue ( linked: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JxE8Ht8_gEP4IahpwS88SPWfpGt4FkhZ/view?usp=share_link ) or a 60 second contemporary monologue of your choice in Spanish
If you have any issues accessing the audition sides, run into technical difficulties, or need help arranging for a reader for your audition, please email cravetheatrecompany@gmail.com.
Content Warning:
This play contains explicit language and includes moments of violence and intimacy with Pipe, Zoom, Kit, and Squeeze including kisses, slaps, punching, and a gesture that suggests an at-home abortion. All of these moments will be created in a collaborative style with the actors, directors, fight and intimacy choreographer. Actors will be provided multiple opportunities to indicate their comfort level with how these movements are styled and the director and choreographer will adjust accordingly.
Callbacks:
Callback decisions will be made by April 3rd.
In-person callbacks will be held the evening of April 10th.
Please feel free to reach out to us at cravetheatrecompany@gmail.com with any questions! We look forward to seeing your work.
You can learn more about Crave Theatre and sign up for our newsletter at: www.cravetheatre.org
