Theater Casting Call for "Arms and the Man" Play
ONLY LOCAL TALENT WILL BE ACCEPTED. Seeking performers for production of "Arms and the Man". See the details below. About the play: When a soldier bursts into her room to escape capture, Raina ends up protecting him by hiding him in her room overnight, despite the possible scandal. When her hero fiancé returns from the war, and so does the strange soldier, previous engagements and pairings unexpectedly get rearranged, both for Raina and her maid Louka. Shaw’s early play about morality, courage, and high-minded idealism versus practical realism is part farce, part treatise on the true horrors of war, and a love story about truth and equality between love matches, regardless of social status and position. Transgressive for its time, Arms and The Man asks, what is the life of a soldier for? And for what do we ask the ultimate sacrifice of those who take up arms for their nation? Rate: This is a NON-UNION production with the option to cast one union member on an amateur contract. Please indicate if you have ANY union affiliations. Additional information: Rehearsals will be in Vancouver on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6 to 10 pm, Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm, starting April 11. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Jan. 15, 2026. PRODUCTION DATES: May 29 – June 21, 2026 (Thurs. – Sun, see website for times). Preview: Thursday, May 28. When appying, please submit a resume and head shot.
8 role s
Male presenting. One of the two staff of the Petkoff household. Shrewd, intelligent, long-suffering head of the domestic workers. Has ambition to open up his own shop one day. Engaged to Louka, who is much younger. Has ‘the soul of a servant’.
Female presenting. A maid worker in the Petkoff household. Engaged to Nicola. Smart, outspoken and nobody’s fool, she wants to rise above her position in the household. Despises servitude. Large role.
Male presenting. A Russian officer in the Bulgarian army. A small role, he appears briefly in one scene where he searches Raina Petkoff’s room for an escaped enemy soldier. A formidable military figure.
Male presenting. Raina’s father, husband to Catherine. A jovial, kind, middle-class man who loves his pipe and paper, favourite jacket, and his daughter and wife. Proud of his family and rank in the army, fond of domestic life. Large role.
Female presenting. The true head of the Petkoff household. Mother to Raina and wife of Paul. Catherine is pragmatic and officious, proud of their middle-class life, and keen to impress anyone who’ll pay attention with their library and electric bell. Aspirational. Loves her family. Large role.
Female presenting. The character is 24 but looks 17. She is mistaken for a teenager in the play. Pronounced Rah-eena. Romantically idealistic about war and soldiers, deeply involved in Viennese operas, dreamy novels and the appearance of propriety, yet is brave enough to go out on a limb to protect Bluntschli. Smart and savvy, is she a good manipulator or a misguided romantic? She wants to think the best of people but discovers she is far too intelligent to accept hypocrisy. Loyal. Main role.
Male presenting. Engaged to Raina. Picture Hamlet if he were in a comedy, dressed up as a dashing, proud and bold young soldier, full of idealism and stubborn vanity. His ideals leave him perpetually disappointed with himself and the world. A romantic, and a sensualist, and a tiny bit problematic. Large role.
Male presenting. Swiss mercenary soldier, has been for 15 years, since leaving his hotel-owning family in search of adventure and making his own way in the world. Currently fighting in the Serbian Army, with no particular attachment to an outcome other than to stay alive. He is pragmatic with a good sense of humour, a sensitive realist who sees the world for what it is, not what others may want it to be. Main role.
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