Casting
Girl Gang Manchester, Unseemly Women & HER Productions is casting Manchester-based actors for a new, contemporary take on Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
Our production of A Midsummer Nights Dream is set on a wild hen night in Manchester where anything and everything is possible…even a little magic. Think Canal Street’s explosive imagination meets the instability of love of ‘Love Island’ meets the classiness of ‘The Real housewives of Cheshire’. Throw in all the smut and sequins one woman can take.
This all female production celebrates and shines a spectacular glitter ball on all identifying females, whatever shape, size, class or colour.
Have you never done Shakespeare? Are you completely new to acting? Or maybe you have a special skill that you think would be right at home on this magical hen night? We want to hear from you.
Actors please note this breakdown is also available on Spotlight UK.
This is a profit share production. Staged at Hope Mill Theatre October 6 – 16. Actors will all need to have good availability over September / October and must have a Manchester / North-West base.
Deadline for applications: 18 June 6pm.
A Midsummer Night's Dream full text: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html
Casting Breakdowns
Theseus and Oberon (doubling)
Both of these parts will be played as men - Playing age of 35 - 50
Theseus is a man of great power and control. He projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power. He thinks he knows it all and doesn’t really listen to his wife to be (which he should!) In our contemporary world, Theseus should feel like a local C list celebrity.
Oberon is the King of the fairies - he is very powerful but can be petulant, manipulative, and jealous. His vengeance knows no bounds in tricking Titania the fairy Queen. Imagine Oberon to be the subconscious of Theseus in the dreamworld of the play.
Hippolyta and Titania (doubling)
Playing age - 35 - 50 - to be played as a woman.
Hippolyta is Theseus’s wife to be - She was Queen of the Amazons, an all female tribe, so this is by no means her natural home. She should have presence and understated power. She can be interpreted in many ways - but what I would like to explore is that she is the neck that could turn her man’s head. We are possibly on her hen night, and she wants to let her hair down.
Titania is the Queen of the fairies. She is sensual and confident about who she is as a woman and queen. She is strong minded, loyal and speaks her mind. She is in deep despair with her husband and has refused to see him or share her bed until he grows up. Imagine Titania to be the subconscious of Hippolyta in the dreamworld of the play.
Egeus
Playing age 40 and above - part to be played as a man
Egeus is a controlling single parent father. The king of his castle. He would do anything for his daughter, but he is the man of the house and what he says goes. In our contemporary setting, think high class gangster dad who you do not mess with.
Hermina
Playing age 20 - 25 - to be played as a woman.
Height - need to be on the petite size
Hermia is Egeus’ daughter. She is great friends with Helena. She hugely values female friendship. Think slightly posh Cheshire girl. She is surprisingly strong willed, and confident. An independent woman who defies her father’s wishes for her to marry Demetrius and runs away into the forest to marry Lysander, risking everything for love.
Helena
Playing age 20 - 25 - to be played as a woman
Height - ideally a taller woman
Helena is Hermia’s best friend. Think of a posh Cheshire girl. She and Demetrius were together before he fell in love with Hermia. This has left Helena doing anything and everything however humiliating or dangerous to secure the man she loves. She is the kind of woman who will not stop calling the man she fancies.
Lysander
Playing age 20 – 25 - part to be played as a man.
A young noble man - For a contemporary reference think posh, entrepreneurial Cheshire man. He is desperately in love with Hermia and foolishly believes love must conquer all. He stands up for himself against Egeus and Theseus and is determined to be with Hermia no matter what the risk. He is idealistic and wishful about all matters of love.
Demetrius
Playing age 20 – 25 – part to be played as a man.
A young noble man - For a contemporary reference think posh, entrepreneurial Cheshire man. He is desperately in love with Hermia, even though not too long ago was madly in love with Helena. He is undeterred by that fact that Hermia does not want to be with him. His is arrogant and entitled in his pursuit for her.
Puck
Playing age - any - To be played as any gender.
Puck is Oberon’s side kick - A mischievous fairy who delights in playing tricks and pranks on other fairies and mortals. They delight in the conflicts and mayhem that their “honest’ mistakes cause in the forest. For a contemporary reference think of a person who lives in the shadows - possibly a charming drug dealer, however you never know if they are being serious or not and you never know where you stand with them.
Nick Bottom
Playing age – any - Part to be played as a man
Bottom is an overly confident man. He is full of advice for others. He is genuinely enthusiastic about everything and likes to be the centre of attention. Foolishly arrogant and blissfully ignorant of how others perceive him. He is the only main character who is happy with who they are and what they have in life. He frequently misuses language and gets words mixed up. The audience should be utterly charmed and delighted by his character. On our contemporary hen night - Possibly an over enthusiastic DJ in the bar - with a mic - annoyingly talking over the songs.
Peter Quince
Playing age - any. - to be played as a woman
Quince is the leader of “the mechanicals” Quince is often pushed to one side by Bottom. In the play of Pyramus & Thisbe, Quince is the prologue and narrator because she is in charge and it’s her play. On our contemporary hen night - Quince may be a bar supervisor who’s very organised and assertive, but doesn’t have the full respect of her staff. She has the guest list and if you’re not on it, you’re not coming in.
Francis Flute
Playing age – any - Part to be played as a man
Flute is a bearded craftsman or young lad trying to grow a beard. He is a man’s man; likes a beer and doesn’t really have female friends. He is forced to play a young girl in love in the play of Pyramus & Thisbe but really doesn’t want to. On our contemporary hen night - Flute could possibly be the tech man/boy. He should be full of bravado and not really into the gig.
Tom Snout
Playing age – any - Part to be played as a man
Snout is a man who worries a lot, not very bright at all. He ends up playing ‘the wall’ in the play of Pyramus & Thisbe. On our contemporary hen night - Snout could possibly be working behind the bar on his first week of work. He is very slow and not doing very well as he tries to get everything right.
Snug
Playing age 30 and above - To be played as a man. Well-built and hard-looking.
Snug plays the Lion in the play of Pyramus & Thisbe and gets very worried about how his performance might scare the audience. On our contemporary hen night - Snug could possibly be a bouncer who is a soft giant of a man. You think he might knock you out, but instead you discover he is a lovely soft man who ends up telling you his life story.
How to Apply
If you are a member of Spotlight, you can submit via the breakdown there and do not need to self submit as well (unless you want to, of course).
For self-submissions, please take any Shakespeare sonnet or a speech of the character you would like to be considered for (2 mins max.) and self tape to camera. Please also include an introduction about yourself and tell us very briefly about your performance experience and why you would like to be involved in this production (approx. 1 min).
Please send as ONE file but, ideally, the intro and the monologue should be separate takes edited together.
Please ensure you name your tape with your full name and the role you want to be considered for.
DEADLINE: FRIDAY 18TH JUNE 2021, 6PM
Please send us your video via a private YouTube link to allfemaleshakespearecasting@gmail.com
A full selection of Shakespeare's Sonnets can be found here: http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/all.php
Spotlight's free guide to self-taping can be found here: https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/tips-and-advice/how-to-self-tape/
Director: Kate Colgrave Pope
Casting Director: Stephanie Hume
