The Concord Players Announce Auditions for
Directed by Shira Helena Gitlin
All actors must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Please be prepared to offer proof of vaccination, either with your card, or a photo of your card, if you are cast.
Concord Players is committed to diversity and inclusion. As such, we encourage performers of all races and ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, and abilities to audition. We also recognize that these characters are written on the binary (use he/him or she/her pronouns) and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with.
Please note: this is a non-union, non-paying community theater production.
Synopsis: Inspired by the true events surrounding the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance — a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel. This play charts the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.
Meet our Director: In this short video selection, director Shira Helena Gitlin discusses Indecent: Watch Now
Auditions will be held on Sunday, November 6 and Wednesday, November 9, 2022, and are by appointment only: to reserve a 5–minute appointment slot, please use our signup form below.
For your audition, please prepare a 1-2 minute contemporary monologue and a 1-minute a cappella song that demonstrates your range. For all roles, we are looking for actors who sing and move well, are able to play multiple characters, and are able to learn Yiddish pronunciation.
See the Character Descriptions below for more details. We are looking to cast 1-2 understudies as well. Note that understudies are not guaranteed a performance opportunity.
Callbacks will be held on Sunday, November 13 (7:00–10:00 PM), at 51 Walden St.
Rehearsals will be Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings beginning on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.
Performances will be Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm: February 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 2023; with a matinee at 2pm on Sunday, February 19, 2023.
To sign up for auditions, please complete our online form, below. Before you fill it out, please note the following:
- Be ready to select a 5-minute appointment time either on Sunday, November 6 (7:00-10:00 PM), or on Wednesday, November 9 (7:00-10:00 PM):
- If you cannot make any of these times, you will be able to select None of the above, and we will contact you to discuss an audition time.
- Be prepared to upload your resume and headshot:
- Resume: PDF format is preferred, but most any document type will do (no image files, please).
- Headshot: If you do not have a headshot, a front-facing picture of your head or head and torso, with just yourself centered in it, is acceptable. JPEG or PNG format is preferred, but any image format will do. (no PDF files, please).
- If you are unable to upload these items, you will be able to email them by replying to our confirmation email, and attaching the documents.
Any necessary instructions will be repeated in the confirmation email you'll receive when you submit the form.
If you have any questions, send an email to the staff at
indecent-staff@concordplayers.org
Character Descriptions
Lemml - the Stage Manager. Male. 30s to 50s.
A country tailor who becomes leader of the Yiddish Art Theatre of Lodz troupe; naïve in his youth, over time as Asch's company manager he experiences the good and the terrible that the world has to offer, but he is never consumed by cynicism; holds fast to his belief in the transformative power of performance.Chana/others - The Ingenue. Female. 20s to 30s.
Sweet, earnest, and passionate. Magda: Asch's wife; has a discerning mind for literature and an enviable depth of feeling. Ruth: Jewish actor living in Greenwich Village, in love with Dorothee, cast as Rivkele in the New York premiere of Asch's play, speaks English poorly, outspoken, defender of her heritage. Virginia: American ingénue. Replaces Ruth as Rivkele in the New York production. Energetic, eager to please, and eager to shock her parents; Ensemble.Halina/others - The Middle. Female. 20s to 40s.
Practiced, sly, protective, quick to adapt. Freida: a respected German actor; she plays Manke in the Berlin production of Asch's play; speaks frankly and with an air of sophistication. Dorothee: Jewish actor in Greenwich Village; in love with Ruth; cast as Manke in the New York premiere of Asch's play; sensitive and full of feeling; she wants to assimilate into American culture; Ensemble.Vera/others - The Elder. Female. 40s to 60s.
Traditional, motherly. Also plays: Sarah: the mother in God of Vengeance; Mrs. Peretz: Peretz' wife; Immigrant; Esther Stockton: a german actress; older Madje; Bagelman Sister: a singer; Ensemble.Avram/others - The Ingénue. Male. 20s to 30s.
Rebellious, ambitious, and passionate. Also plays: Sholem Asch: brilliant Polish Jewish playwright; Morris Carnovsky: actor in New York production; Eugene O'Neill: hard-drinking, defender of Asch's play; John Rosen: Connecticut-born Jewish idealist; Ensemble.Mendel/others - The Middle. Male. 40s to 50s.
Traditional and conservative. Also plays: Nakhmen: member of the Polish Yiddish literary salon; Harry Weinberger: producer at the Provincetown Playhouse, proud to produce a play; Officer Benjamin Bailie: NY Police Officer; Rabbi Joseph Silverman: outraged by The God of Vengeance; Ensemble.Otto/others - The Elder. Male. 50s to 70s.
Cultured, educated, traditional, and cynical. Also plays: Peretz: leader of a prestigious Polish Yiddish literary salon; Schildkraut: leading Jewish-German theatre actor; Judge McIntyre: judge in the case of New York vs. The God of Vengeance; Asch: late in life, Sholem retreats from public life, bitter and cynical; Ensemble.
