Casting

Cleveland Play House 2022-23 Season Auditions

Cleveland Play House is seeking actors of all races and ethnicities for our 2022-23 season! More information about our season can found here. Cleveland Play House is currently mandating all staff and guest artists to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (currently defined as 2 weeks after the final dose) prior to first rehearsal. As of 12/1/21, CPH does not require a booster to be considered fully vaccinated, but all guest artists will be informed if that policy changes.

Submission Instructions (Self-Tape)

Please submit a self-tape (up to 3 minutes long) with 2 monologues, or 1 monologue and a song. Please also include a brief response to the question: "What prompted you to become an actor?" Accompaniment tracks and sheet music for "Oh Holy Night" available at: https://tinyurl.com/CPHCasting

All submissions due Monday, April 25, 2022 by 11:59 PM EST. Please submit all headshots, resumes, and self-tapes via this link: https://tinyurl.com/CPHEPA22

Local In-Person Auditions

In-person auditions will be held from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm on Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25. To request an audition appointment, please submit your request via this form: https://airtable.com/shrJ3mhd9EysY8Rav

Please note that Cleveland Play house is mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all staff and guest artists working in person during the 2021-22 season. If requesting an appointment for an in-person audition, artist affirms that they are already fully vaccinated or that they will be fully vaccinated (currently defined as 2 weeks after the final dose) prior to the audition date. As of 12/1/2021, CPH does not require a booster to be considered fully vaccinated.

Casting Information

All roles are cast for the productions of American Mariachi and Becoming Dr. Ruth.

The Great Leap, by Lauren Yee

First Rehearsal: Tuesday, October 4, 2022
First Preview: Saturday, October 29, 2022
Closing: Sunday, November 20, 2022

Roles Available:

MANFORD – (#1) Seventeen, male, Chinese American. Intense, scrappy, runs into trouble, attacks the rim, has a ruthless crossover. Not tall. More Allen Iverson than Jeremy Lin.

CONNIE – (#2) Twenty-five, female, Chinese American, Manford’s cousin, and UC Berkeley grad student. Level-headed, big picture. A Chris Paul/Klay Thompson type.

WEN CHANG – (#3) Forty-three, male, Chinese, coach of Beijing University’s men’s basketball team. Observant, efficient. Favors three pointers over aggressive inside shots. Tim Duncan would appreciate his energy. (His English is formal but relatively unaccented.)

SAUL – (#4) Fifty-two, male, white, Jewish, coach of University of San Francisco’s men’s basketball team. A shit-talking, shot-blocking, washed-up Larry Bird.

Light It Up!, by Jason Michael Webb and Lelund Durond Thompson

First Rehearsal: Tuesday, November 8, 2022
First Preview: Saturday, December 3, 2022
Closing: Thursday, December 22, 2022

Roles Available:

ENSEMBLE: any vocal part, strong singers and movers

I'm Back Now, by Charly Evon Simpson

First Rehearsal: Friday, January 6, 2023
First Preview: Saturday, February 4, 2023
Closing: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Roles Available:

SARA: Black woman. Is 19 in some scenes, 33 in others. A daughter trying to figure out where she comes from.

LUCY: Black woman. In her 20s to mid 30s. An ancestor trying to keep her freedom. Sara's (some amount of greats) grandmother. Based on the story of Sara Lucy Bagby.

SHEILA: Woman of any race. Is 40 in some scenes, 55 in others. Nurturing with an edge. Loves Elle fiercely.

BRIAN: Man of any race. Is in his 30s. Understanding and learning. Sara's husband.

RIDDLE: White man. In his 40s. A man in government with opinions about the law.

DEPUTY: White man. In his 30s. A man who hides behind his job.

Ken Ludwig's Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Mystery

First Rehearsal: Tuesday, April 4, 2023
First Preview: Saturday, April 29, 2023
Closing: Sunday, May 21, 2023

Roles Available:

SHERLOCK HOLMES: Late 30s – 40, male. Any race/ethnicity. Highly intelligent, confident, quick-witted, obsessive. Lives to solve mysteries and discover the truth.

DOCTOR WATSON: Early to mid 40s, male. Any race/ethnicity. Smart, grounded, full of heart. Full of wonder, lives to have adventures and assist his close friend Holmes. Also plays HERMANN KLEBB, the tough head of security for the Bohemian Embassy.

ACTOR THREE: 30s – 40s, male. Any race/ethnicity. Must show great versatility physically and vocally. Plays multiple roles, including MORIARTY (the devious genius pulling the strings at the center of a web of crime), MYCROFT HOLMES (Sherlock’s bookish and eccentric brother who is always keen to compete with Sherlock’s deduction skills), and LESTRADE (the blustery Inspector from Scotland Yard).

ACTRESS ONE: 20s – 40s, female. Any race/ethnicity. Must show great versatility physically and vocally. Plays multiple roles, including IRENE ADLER (an American actress, confident and unafraid of scandal, whose skills rival Holmes’s), MRS. HUDSON (the older, doting housekeeper to Holmes and Watson), and CARTWRIGHT (a Cockney street urchin eager to help Holmes with a case).

ACTRESS TWO: 20s –30s, female. Any race/ethnicity. Must show great versatility physically and vocally. Plays multiple roles, including ELSA (the strong-willed and romantic Princess of Bohemia), MRS. BARABAS (a tough, pugnacious woman who kidnaps for Professor Moriarty) and TOBY (an animated and vocal bloodhound employed by Holmes to follow the scent of Professor Moriarty).

Local Casting for Family Theatre production of Teddy Bear Mountain

Cleveland Play House (CPH) Education Department is casting local actors for the Family Theatre Program’s 2022 production of Teddy Bear Mountain, by Lisa Langford, directed by LeeAnet Noble. This is a non-AEA contract, paying $500.00 per week. This is a touring production that will perform in community spaces.

First Rehearsal: August 8, 2022
First Performance: August 25, 2022
Closing Performance: September 11, 2022

Roles Available:

WOMAN: African American, woman, can play 30-40. Our narrator, a big personality, a storyteller, and dancer with an inner rhythm who guides us through tough moments with love and compassion.

MAYA: African American, female, actor should be able to play 8 years old. Marcus’s sister, precocious, on a mission to find out what happened to the mountain of teddy bears that went missing.

MARCUS: African American, male, actor should be able to play 12 years old. Maya’s brother, unsure of how to come to terms with the death of his mother and his best friend, tries to act tough.

NANA: African American, woman, can play 50-70. Grandmother to Maya and Marcus. She is trying to be strong for her Grandchildren while grieving loss.

MR. MARTINEZ / MR. TRASHMAN: Latinx, male, any age. Mr. Martinez runs the corner store, friendly adult figure for the neighborhood children. Mr. Trashman is a key witness in Maya’s investigation—but you didn’t hear it from him.

Auditions

Self-Tape: Please submit your headshot, resume, and a self-tape with 2 contrasting monologues to dgreen@clevelandplayhouse.com

In-Person Auditions: Actors interested in auditioning for Teddy bear Mountain are welcome to join the general season auditions. In-person auditions will be held from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm on Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25. To request an audition appointment, please submit your request via this form: https://airtable.com/shrJ3mhd9EysY8Rav

Local Casting for World Premiere of I'm Back Now

Cleveland Play House (CPH) is casting local actors for the 2022 world premiere production of I'm Back Now, by Charly Evon Simpson, directed by Stori Ayers. Our casting director for this production will be Sujotta Pace.

Due to the surge of COVID-19 cases, we have shifted our programming schedule, and I'm Back Now will be moving to the 2022-23 season. Please know we will keep all submissions for I'm Back Now on file for future casting. Casting for I'm Back Now will resume after we complete our General Auditions for the 2022-23 season.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

For actors outside the Cleveland area

Cleveland Play House uses a New York-based casting director for each show in our season. Information on how to submit for individual productions will be posted here as it becomes available. Non-local actors should not send materials directly to CPH.

Non-local AEA actors from out of town who are passing through may contact CPH to arrange a general audition, depending on staff availability, by e-mailing casting@clevelandplayhouse.com.