Casting Breakdowns for Spring 2025 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!
Also attending the casting sessions will be MFA in Television, Film and Theatre students working on casting and finalizing their Culminating Projects. You will have the opportunity to indicate if you are interested in being considered for these on the audition form.
The Good Person of Setzuan
3 GODS arrive in Szechuan looking for a “good person” who will put them up for the night, proving that there is no need to change the systems in place, finding soft-hearted prostitute, SHEN TE. The Gods reward her with money to open a tobacco shop which makes her a target to all her needy and unscrupulous neighbors and her lover. Shen Te dresses up like SHUI TA, her male cousin who kicks out all the freeloaders, which works until he is accused of murdering her!
Notes about this production:
Our Szechuan is a makeshift world created by the working poor around a beached shipping container that was bound for Szechuan. This is a world where people are scrambling to survive because the Capitalist systems in place have stripped them of their morality and it seems the only way to get ahead is to step on someone else.
Brecht wrote the lyrics for songs that will be composed just for this production by John Ballinger. While there is the need and opportunity for singing in this show, it is still VERY possible to be cast in a non-singing role.
This is a large ensemble piece and while the principal characters are listed below, there are many opportunities to perform in this project and have a full experience as part of the ensemble. There are a large number of roles that will be cast out of the ensemble and will not happen until the first week of rehearsal.
About ethnicity and casting. While the names are a Brechtian idea of Chinese this production will not be limited by any ethnic requirements to casting. All roles are open to all actors. There is every intention that our Szechuan will be a very diverse community.
Lastly, there will be puppets in this show. If you have a particular interest or experience as a puppeteer, please note it on your audition form. It would also be helpful to know what kind of puppets you have worked with: Shadow, rod, hand-puppets, found object, etc.
Principal Roles:
- Wang, the Water Seller*
- The First God*
- The Second God*
- The Third God*
- Shen Te/Shui Ta*
- Mrs. Shin
- The Wife*
- The Husband*
- The Nephew*
- The Niece*
- The Boy
- The Grandfather*
- Yang Sun*
- Mr. Shu Fu, the barber
Ensemble Roles/may be doubled:
- The Man in Rags
- The Carpenter aka The Little Man
- The Limping Man aka The Brother
- His Pregnant Wife aka The Sister-in-law*
- The Police Officer
- The Old Woman
- Two Prostitutes
- Mr. Deng
- Mrs. Yang
- The Waiter
- The Bonze
- Various workers, voices, customers, townspeople etc.*
- Singing Roles
The John Lion New Plays Festival
Four original plays by Cal State LA students will be produced in the State Playhouse. Every night, all four plays will be presented.
GOD-GIVEN TALENT, a farce in one act by Cliff Connors is a satirical story of a straight, white, "self-made" man failing upwards despite his pomposity, incompetence, and laziness thanks to the skillful resourcefulness of his marginalized support team. It's a playful look at how men like him are clueless and often trade on their white privilege.
WHO-DUN-IT a play by Laurence Carter. As four friends recount their night, a detective has to parse through the bull to get to the meat of what harrowing event called her here.
CRUMBLE a play by Em Perez. When ROSIE comes back home from college, she is met with her old stuffed animal SLOTH coming to life! Sloth teaches Rosie how to forgive herself for her past and how to use the grief one goes through in a proactive way. (playwright’s note: This play touches on the concept of memories and how our senses can trigger them when we least expect it. This play also touches on trauma, societal impacts and mental illness that affect the LGBTQ+ community.)
NOT SO SILENT AUCTION, a play by Lauren Holliday. One painting, three winners. Who will rise victorious to claim “The Octopus”?
GOD GIVEN TALENT requires, at minimum, 4 women, 3 men - actors play multiple characters.
Character list (Fun for Everyone Toys Personnel)
- LUCAS PAULSON – President, Creative Development (40s, white) Oblivious and self-aggrandizing but charismatic at the same time
- JUSTINA – Lucas’s executive assistant (20s) Frequently marginalized but resourceful and relentless
- EVELYN – VP Strategy charming and sarcastic, a friend of Lucas but well aware of his ridiculousness
- MARIA – CEO
- GLORIA – Design Director
- INGRID – Litigation Counsel
- BOARD MEMBER (voice only)
- PRODUCT LIABILITY DEPARTMENT (voice only)
- CHIP – VP Strategy, Decker Toys (20s, white) A mirror image of Lucas, just as a younger version with his own self-aggrandizing theories of business
- VICTOR – Private Investigator
- WATSON – Personal Injury Lawyer
- LOGAN – Advertising Executive
- WESTIN – Advertising Executive
- SALESPERSON BILLY-RAY BOB – Crop Duster
NOT SO SILENT AUCTION Character list
- VOLUNTEER - M /F 20’s to early 30’s, any ethnicity. Duty bound, but eager to please.
- MAN - 30’s, any ethnicity, quick witted, charming
- WOMAN - 30’s, any ethnicity, on a mission
- HOPEFUL WINNER - open age and ethnicity. Hoping for a shot at the painting
WHO-DUN-IT? Character List
- ANNA - an overly dramatic artist
- SYLVIA - a hyper-serious business administrator
- ANITA - an exasperated detective
- HUNTER - a bored and distracted influencer
- BASIL - an obliviously excitable nerd
CRUMBLE Character List
- Rosie: early 20s, female presenting, timid and book smart
- Grace/Sloth: 20s, female presenting, extroverted and well liked / Stuffed animal, sassy and comical (puppet)
- Father: 40s, a christian minister, not a villain just human
- FELIX/FELICITY: (Epilogue only) 20s, Rosie’s client, shy and sassy