Theatre Casting Call for "Coriolanus"
ONLY LOCAL TALENT WILL BE CONSIDERED. Seeking cast for "Coriolanus" play. More details are listed below. About the project:; When the people of Rome grow weary of corrupt leadership during an economic downturn, revolting against those in power, the Senate finds a convenient war to distract the public from their domestic woes. Seeing an opportunity, Roman patrician Caia Marcius risks her life at war to create an image of herself as a legendary hero, advancing her political career at home and putting her in line to become the next Consul. It’s a job she’s genuinely well suited for, and seems guaranteed to take on, until her lack of care for what she views as trivial formalities costs her public support and the consent to govern… a loss which is certainly not impacted by the fact she’s a woman (wink wink). Enraged by her denial and banishment at the hands of the Roman people she looks to unlikely friends to plot her revenge. Coriolanus explores questions such as how systems designed to preserve democracy strain and even fail, despite the best efforts of those within the system? What drives an individual citizen when making the decision of who is fit to lead and who is not? Is a successful leader someone who’s honest to themselves, or someone who behaves as others believe they should in order to gain power for the greater good? All while delving into themes of power, dissent, class conflict and even gender. Rate: All roles are open and unpaid. Additional info: Callbacks by invitation will be on Wednesday, December 17, 5:00-11:00 pm Please prepare a 60-90 second monologue of your choice from a classical text. Text written in verse in encouraged, but not required. Suggested monologues from Coriolanus are provided if you need help choosing/locating material. See the monologues attached. If interested, please apply.
11 roles
Description: Coriolanus is a war hero of Rome. She is ambitious, motivated, competent, quick to action, and strong. However, she is also arrogant, blunt, short sighted and quick to anger. She pursues what she believes she is owed with an admirable drive. She uses violence and physical strength as a justification for her right to lead; however, she is at her heart an opportunist, only doing what her society demands of her to ascend the political ladder.
Description: Volumnia is the mother of Coriolanus. A great deal of who Coriolanus is can be explained by her mother. Her mother clearly encouraged her daughter to embrace her more “masculine” and her more violent instincts, encouraging her to mold herself into the pre-established shape of a Roman leader rather than challenge orthodoxy. She is responsible for Coriolanus’ violence first mentality, having repeatedly heaped praise onto Caia as she went to war to claim honor for her name and for Rome
Description: Virgilla is the wife of Coriolanus, although she is a loyal Roman citizen and a wealthy woman in her own right. She has no political ambitions of her own and is satisfied with her more family focused outlook on life, taking charge of the household tasks and raising her and Caia’s son.
Description: Menenius is a Roman senator and a surrogate father figure to Coriolanus. He’s a skilled politician, orator and policy maker; however, he uses those talents to actively enforce and promote the system of inequity and leadership based on colonial violence that Rome is built upon. Menenius is an example of a politician who through their own charisma and skill are able to convince people that he has their best interests at heart when in reality that might not be the case.
Description: The Volscian reflection of Coriolanus, and her chief rival. Unable to match Coriolanus on the battlefield, she surpasses the Roman general in political cunning and oratory skills. The pair have incredibly similar views and values on subjects of honor, service and patriotism, only separated by the fact they hail from different peoples. They both have an obsession with the other that begins as hatred, albeit with grudging respect, before morphing into something else entirely.
Description: The leader of Rome’s military forces and a political ally of Caia Marcius. Cominuis is responsible for creating the favourable optics that lead to Caia being nominated as Consul, being the one to bestow upon her the title of Coriolanus and return to Rome spinning fabulous stories of her heroic deeds on the battlefield.
Description: Sicinius is a tribune, an elected official whose office holds the responsibility of protecting the common people from the overreaches of the Senate and the patrician class intended to be held by a plebian. Sicinius is one of Coriolanus’ chief political rivals, seeing her lack of care for processes intended to give the public a voice in their governance as a betrayal of her true disdain for the common people and the working class.
Description: The primary political ally of Sicinius Velutus, fellow Tribune and rival of Coriolanus. Junius Brutus is a senior Tribune, having served longer than Sicinius; however, his political skill is dwarfed by that of his younger counterpart. If Sicinius is the equivalent of an online influencer, harnessing and riding the anger of the people, then Brutus is an older, more experienced, well meaning activist who’s somewhat stuck in his ways while unapologetically doing what he thinks is best.
Description: A political ally of Coriolanus and lieutenant in the Roman army. Lartius is essentially a middle manager, neither the ultimate source of power nor one of the common people. They are adjacent to the patrician class and loyal to the Roman regime.
Description: A Roman commoner and leader who organizes grain riots against the government before being drafted into the Roman military. Nicanor turns against Rome and Coriolanus, becoming a spy for the Volscians.
Description: A Volscian, a political aide to Tullus Aufidius and a soldier in the Volscian army. Adrian is an everyday Volscian struggling to protect their home from what they view as Roman tyranny. They build a chance friendship with a Roman citizen, Nicanor.
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