Casting Breakdowns for Fall 2026
Theatre Productions
All students who audition will be considered without regard to physical ability, age, race, national/ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or gender.
We welcome students from across the university, no matter what your major.
Everyone is welcome!
Several MFA in TVFT students are working on projects and will be sitting in the auditions to see the amazing talent pool. There are a handful of undergraduate projects also casting.
Those directors may also be in the room. All will be casting separately.
The RENT Play
Written by Jan Rosenberg
The year is 2007. The war in Iraq is booming. Steve Jobs is about to release the first ever iPhone. More importantly, RENT is one year away from closing its doors on Broadway. And life for a group of RENTheads is about to change forever.
This play is a love letter, an apology, a memory, a diary entry.
The RENT Play Character Breakdowns
The Stars:
TANYA
34, A seasoned musical theatre performer. After seven years of playing 19 year old Mimi in Rent, she is beyond tired of it, yet afraid of leaving and moving on. Fiercely confident and tough in public, but behind the scenes she is delicate, emotional, and prone to panic attacks.
DEREK
27, A naturally gifted singer who has been playing Roger in Rent on Broadway for nearly 4 years, in spite of having no prior musical theater experience, nor training. Good looking and charismatic. Has a reputation for drinking and hooking up with fans who are too young for him.
DAPHNE
45-ish, a concerned mom with a Smokey voice. Exudes confidence and star quality.
Could she be THE OG Mimi: Daphne Ruben Vega? maybe... Either way, she’s a legend & diva. (Look her up, if you don’t know her, she originated the role of Mimi in Rent on Broadway)
The Fans:
HOLLY - An aspiring Maureen
21. Bi. Musical theater major at NYU, where she is cast in lead roles. Already auditioning professionally. Self-absorbed and so competitive about “making it, she has no real close friends.
MARCUS - An aspiring Collins
18. Gay. Aspiring musical theater performer. More mature than the others. Sensitive, kind, and inspiring. Went to AMDA for a year, now auditioning professionally, while working service jobs.
KATRINA - An aspiring Mimi
16. Believes in herself as an artist, even when others don’t. Comes from a well-off, privileged family, and lives in the suburbs of Long Island. She can afford to attend any college she wants.
JARED
16. Gay. Comes from a family that is not well-off, his ambitions for college are limited by what would be more affordable and within reason. Is capable of stealing, lying, and fighting to survive.
ZOE
16. The self-deprecating newbie of the group. A shy and insecure observer who writes fan fiction. Inquisitive, genuine, and down-to-earth. Needs a scholarship in order to attend college.
NELL
12, going on 20 - Was literally in the womb when Rent first opened. Incredibly smart and cool for her age. Grew up in Manhattan, has street smarts, and knows how to fend for herself.
THE SETTING
Time: 2007 & 2008.
Location: Manhattan, mostly outside the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street.
The Servant of Two Masters
by Carlo Goldoni
Translated and Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi
Identities are mistaken, engagements are broken, and lovers are reunited in this new adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s commedia dell’arte masterpiece. Set in Venice, mayhem erupts when the wily—and chronically hungry—servant Truffaldino hatches a zany scheme to double his wages (and his meals) by serving two masters at once. This physical comedy classic will have you laughing at and loving our hapless hero.
CHARACTERS
Truffaldino
Silvio
Clarice
Pantalone
Lombardi
Brighella
Smeraldina
Beatrice
Florindo
Porter
First Waiter
Second Waiter
Ensemble
THE SETTING
Place: Venice
Time: The Eighteenth Century
The Birthday Party
Written by Harold Pinter
In Pinter’s classic comedy of menace, a small birthday party in a rundown seaside boarding house becomes a nightmare when two sinister strangers arrive unexpectedly.
CHARACTERS
(from play itself. As director updates, we will add information)
PETEY – A man in his fifties
MEG – A woman in her fifties
STANLEY – A man in his late thirties
LULU – A girl in her twenties
GOLDBERG – A man in his fifties
McCANN – A man of thirty
THE SETTING
Time: 1960 something
Location: The living room of a house in a seaside town in England.