Auditions

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Capital Repertory Theatre (Albany, NY) 2024-2025 Season TYA Auditions for “Friend of a Friend: Tales of the Underground Railroad“

Producing Artistic Director: Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill
Associate Artistic Director: Margaret E. Hall
Chief Administrative Officer: Philip Morris
Stephanie Klapper: Klapper Casting, CSA, NYC

Contract Deal Points:
1. One Roundtrip Amtrak from NYC to Albany, NY
2. Very nice housing in theREP’s newly built company apartments
3. Weekly Salary of $720.00 + P&H
4. AEA TYA Contract
5. TYA In-School Tour (no overnights)

Monday, December 2, 2024
1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Location:
Capital Repertory Theatre
251 North Pearl Street,
Albany, NY 12207

Please prepare:

  • Audition sides will be available at the theatre or upon request by emailing casting@capitalrep.org.
  • Bring your instrument and an upbeat folk song of your choice to perform. (We will have a keyboard set up for piano players.) Song should be memorized.
  • Additionally, please bring a stapled copy of your headshot and resume.

All actors, Equity and Non-Equity, are welcome to submit.
All actors cast will receive an Equity Contract.
No appointment necessary for AEA actors.
Non-union actors interested in auditioning should submit their picture and resume, to casting@capitalrep.org and will be seen as time permits.

FRIEND OF A FRIEND: TALES OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
By Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill & Jill Rafferty-Weinisch
Director Margaret E. Hall

This original docu-play, developed by theREP, used New York State archival documents to bring to life the impact of the Fugitive Slave Act in the Capital Region. The story tells of the intense moral struggles of several local people, including former slave Solomon Northup and Albany’s Harriet and Stephen Myers, who produced an anti-slavery newspaper and risked their freedom to be conductors on the Underground Railroad.

First Rehearsal: January 9, 2025
First Performance: January 27, 2025
Closing Performance: February 15, 2025

Seeking (2) Male presenting and (1) Female presenting, versatile, physically agile, quick study actors.

This is not a musical, but all actors involved in the production need to move well and be comfortable singing folk songs.

Woman: Female presenting, Black: 20’s to 30s. Actor will play multiple roles including Harriet Myers (the wife and co-owner of the Northern Star and Freeman’s Advocate Newspaper in Albany, NY), Anne Northup (Solomon Northup’s wife who works for years to try and prove her husband’s freedom, while rearing their children, after he was kidnapped into slavery), Quaker Abolitionist Abigail Mott, and more. Actor needs to be able to embody strength, determination and resilience; should be comfortable with document-based/old English/culturally specific dialogues and be able to clearly define characters with voice and movement.

Fiddler: Male presenting: Late 20’s to early 40’s. Actor/Musician Will play multiple roles in including politicians, white slave owners, and more.  Must be able to play the guitar, ukulele and/or fiddle (multiple instruments a big plus), as they will provide accompaniment throughout. Actor should be comfortable with document-based/old English/culturally specific dialogues and be able to clearly define characters with voice and movement and be comfortable/mindful of portraying historically violent and cruel individuals.

Man: Male presenting, Black: Late 20’s to early 40’s. Will play multiple roles including Solomon Northup (a free Black man who lived in Saratoga, NY and was kidnapped and sold into slavery where he worked for 12-years to prove he was free), Stephen Myers (the co-owner, with his wife, of the Northern Star and Freeman’s Advocate Newspaper in Albany, NY), and more. Actor needs to be able to embody strength, determination and resilience; should be comfortable with document-based/old English/culturally specific dialogues and be able to clearly define characters with voice and movement. Actor must be comfortable portraying a person who is enslaved.

For more than a decade, Capital Repertory Theatre’s TYA On-The Go! in-School touring productions have been presented in a variety of schools and environments throughout the Capital Region to very diverse audiences. Actors should enjoy performing for and interacting with young audiences (middle and high school students). There are post-show discussions after every performance (time permitting). Actors must also be collegial and adaptive. There are no overnight stays on the tour. The TYA work week is Monday – Saturday.

Capital Rep is committed to equitable and inclusive casting. We actively seek actors of all races, cultural backgrounds, abilities, gender identities and gender expressions to audition. Our goal is to create a diversified, versatile Ensemble in a positive work atmosphere that is built on mutual respect and collaboration. 

Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.