“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” Play Needs Actors

Vania is a calm and gentle presence between his too tumultuous sisters. He has lived with his sister Sonia taking care of their parents in the end stages of their life. Now in the house paid for by his sister Masha, he and Sonia find they are in a rut, single, and starting to resent each other. Vania does identify as gay and is flirtatious with Spike.

Sonia is the adoptive sister of Vania and Masha. She feels like she is constantly left out and left behind. Sonia has a tough time always regulating her emotions and jumps to the immediate extreme. Like Vania, she has been taking care of her parents in the family home and supported by Masha. She is resentful, and very unhappily single. Sonia deeply cares for her siblings despite feeling they don’t care for her.

Masha is the glamorous middle sibling of Vania and Sonia. She is Hollywood to a T after starring in a B-List slasher film franchise. Her 15 minutes are up and she’s starting to contend with life as an older actress in a town that values youth. She resentfully supports her siblings because they took care of her parents, but finds that it’s becoming too much to financially. She shows up for the weekend with her young 28 year old boyfriend.

Young, dumb, and leading with his libido, Spike is Masha’s boyfriend who doesn’t think he needs to take life seriously. Flirting with anything and everyone, Spike has an aversion to wearing clothes. Spike spends much of the weekend finding excuses to flirt with Vania, flirt with Nina, annoy and love Masha, and land his first film gig. Spike tends to be ambivalent and doesn’t take himself or other seriously. The actor must be comfortable appearing onstage in their underwear.

Cassandra is the housekeeper of Vania and Sonia. Cassandra is eccentric and feels she can see the future and work Magic, but much like Helen of Troy, nobody wants to listen to her or believes her. Cassandra is loyal to a fault when it comes to Vania and Sonia, and loves her job despite stating the opposite. Cassandra is larger than life and should fill the room of every place she walks into whether by vocal presence or silent staring.

Nina is the next door neighbor to Vania and Masha. She is interested in acting and her favorite actress of all time is Masha. Very much the Pollyanna for the play, Nina is happy to be swept up in the chaos of Masha and Spike’s visit. Very naive, Nina finds she tends to be more Disney Princess than fully formed person. Always looking at the glass half full, she quickly ingratiates herself to Vania, becoming his biggest cheerleader.