THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION at Tacoma Little Theatre

Tacoma Little Theatre

About the project and the company

Tacoma Little Theatre is holding auditions for its final production of the 2022-2023 season, The Shawshank Redemption, adapted for the stage by Owen O’Neill & Dave Johns.  This production will be directed by Blake R. York.

Auditions will be held Sunday, March 5th and Monday, March 6th at Tacoma Little Theatre (210 N I Street, Tacoma WA 98403) and on Tuesday, March 7th at STAR Center (3873 S 66th St, Tacoma, WA 98409).  Audition appointments will be set starting at 6:00pm on Sunday and 7:00pm on Monday & Tuesday in five-minute increments. Callbacks will be held on Wednesday, March 8th at Tacoma Little Theatre.   All actors must schedule their appointment using Casting Manager at the link below.  TLT requires that all actors provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Based on the novella by Stephen King, this adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption hearkens to the 1994 critically acclaimed film, bringing audiences to the edge of their seats. Andy Dufresne is convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover and sentenced to life imprisonment at Shawshank prison. While at Shawshank, Andy befriends some of the other inmates, namely a character known as Red. Over time Andy finds a way to live out life with as much relative ease as one can find in prison, leaving a message for all that while the body may be locked away in a cell, the spirit can never be truly imprisoned.

All roles are available: Andy Dufresne (Male, 30s),  Red (Male, 40s), Warden Stammas (Male, 40+), Hadley (Male, 30+), Bogs Diamond (Male, 30+), Brooksie (Male, 60+), Entwistle (Male, 20+), Rooster (Male, 20+), Rico (Male, 25+), Tommy (Male, 20-25), Dawkins (Male, 20+), Pinky (Male, 20+), and Ensemble who will play various inmates (Male, 20+). Ages given are playable ages, actors need not specifically fit the given age to audition. Tacoma Little Theatre practices color-conscious casting and encourages actors of all abilities to attend.

Auditioners are asked to prepare a one-to-two-minute contemporary monologue that best showcases the role you are interested in auditioning for.

To reserve an audition time, follow this link (http://castingmanager.com/audition/info/6mLV4H7H9W3ILa5) or call our Box Office for assistance at (253) 272-2281.

Once cast, The Shawshank Redemption will begin rehearsals on April 17, 2023 with the production running from Friday, June 2, 2023 to Sunday, June 18, 2023.

Location of Audition

Sunday, March 5 & Monday March 6, Tacoma Little Theatre 210 N I Street, Tacoma, WA 98403 Tuesday, March 7, STAR Center 3873 S 66th St, Tacoma, WA 98409

Audition requirements

Auditioners are asked to prepare a one-to-two-minute contemporary monologue that best showcases the role you are interested in auditioning for.

Character breakdown / Project needs
Andy Dufresne, Male, 30s and up
Described in the books as "thirty years old, a short neat little man with clever hands and gold-rimmed spectacles, his fingernails were always clipped and they were always clean." (Note that the actors who played Andy in the movie and the initial performances of the stage play are nothing like this.) Andy is a fish out of water and in a place like the Shawshank that really has to come across, so in the end, despite the brutality and injustice he receives, this quiet, very intelligent, softly-spoken man manages to retain his humanity and his dignity, manipulate almost everyone in the Shank, exact his revenge on the warden and break out by crawling through a sewer shitpipe five football fields long.
Red, Male, 40s and up
Before he came into the Shawshank he worked as a salesman in his father-in-law's firm, He married above his class. His wife was headstrong, spoiled, and sulky. She was 21, he was 20. His father-in-law treated him like a skivvy, referring to him sometimes as "that stupid Irish ape." The promotion Red was promised never came. His wife teased him about not being man enough to look after her and being scared of her father, Red decided he'd had enough and hatched a plan to claim on his wife's insurance. He fixed the tires on her car, but hadn't planned on her picking up a neighbor and her baby daughter. The car plunged into a wall at the bottom of Castle Hill and all three were burned to death, Red received 35 years in the Shawshank. It took him a long time to come to terms with what he had done, he spent years wracked with guilt but eventually his instinct for survival kicked in and by using his charms and sales technique that he learned on the outside, he became "the guy who could get things." Over the years Red had learned almost evert trick in the book to survive the Shank, which is why Andy is drawn to him.
Warden Stammas, Male, 40s and up
Described in the book as "a lean man with a tight wiry gut and the coldest eyes you ever saw. He always had a painful pursed little grin on his face as if he had to have a shit but couldn't quite manage it, a cruel wretched cold-hearted weasel of a man." Gregory Stammas was expelled from college when he was 19 for trying to bribe one of his tutors into giving him a good grade. He continued in this fashion all of his adult life, trying to get something for nothing. Stammas was assistant warden of the Shawshank and only managed to get the job when his boss, Warden Dunahay, was sacked for fraud. Stammas learned from Dunahay's blinders, continued the scams and tightened up all the loopholes that caused Dunahay's downfall. Stammas is a coward, a bully, and a cheating hypocrite, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Hadley, Male, 30s and up
The head prison guard at the Shank. Described in the book as "a tall muscular shambling man with thinning brown hair, he sunburned easily and talked loud all the time and if you didn't move fast enough for him, he'd cut you with his nightstick." There isn't much subtlety to Hadley. He is in the pay of Stammas and is paid to watch his back at all times. Hadley isn't really aware of it but he is just as institutionalized as the cons on his landings. He would have no idea what else to do if he wasn't a warder at the Shank. It gives him a power that he could never attain anywhere else. He is not the sharpest knife in the box and the rumor is he can't read or write.
Bogs Diamond, Male, 30s and up
Described in the book as "a big hulking sister with a brooding expression." Bogs is more than a thug. He is interested in chess and has more vocabulary than most cons in the Shank. Bogs is a psychopath, but he's not stupid and not without charm and humor. He is feared throughout the prison. He is the first one to suss out Andy, and at one point tells him, "You don't fool me with your fucking Mr. Nice Guy act." He is jealous of Andy, sees him as a challenge and tries his best to break him.
Brooksie, Male, 60s and up
Described in the book as "a tough old con." Brooksie has been incarcerated in the Shank since the 1920s. He'd had a college degree in animal husbandry and worked as a researcher for a pharmaceutical company. Poker was Brooksie's downfall, and he lost everything: his house, car, and finally his job. When his wife tried to leave him and take their daughter, he shot them both dead in a drunken rage. He became a model prisoner in the Shank and was in charge of the library trolley. This was a status that Brooksie held on to for years, it defined who he was inside. When he was eventually paroled he was 68, riddled with arthritis, and had spent 30 years in the Shank.
Entwistle, Male, 20s and up
Part of the furniture at the Shawshank. He's a "yes-sir, no-sir, three-bags-full sir" Jobsworth. He follows in the scary shadow of his head guard Bryan Hadley, who treats him like a slave. Entwistle does have a heart though, and when he can, goes easy on the cons. They know this, which makes him an easy touch--sometimes he tries to emulate Hadley and play the tough guy but he doesn't convince anyone.
Rooster, Male, 20s and up
Serving two life sentences for beating his stepson to death with a claw hammer when he threatened to tell his mother about Rooster's sexual advances. He hails from white "trailer trash" in Montgomery, Alabama. Rooster has been a drug addict all his life, and his denial of his attraction to men manifests in sexual violence. The Shank has given him a status that he would never have gained on the outside, and it is also an environment where it is common to have sex with men,. Rooster never wants to leave the Shank and glories in the fact that he’s Bogs Diamond's "Sister," slang for sexual partner.
Rico, Male, 25 and up
Rico is originally from Portuguese stock and grew up in Detroit. His father was a Pastor and his mother a former prostitute who was "saved" by his father's church. Rico is bipolar. He married young and had seven kids. He could never hold down a job and was eventually jailed for three years for robbing a gas station. When he got out, he tried his best to hold down a job but was eventually evicted from his home before bailiffs arrived he set it on fire and burned his whole family to death. Rico is now a born-again Christian.
Tommy Williams, Male, 20-25
At 24 years old, Tommy is the youngest con in the Shank and the best looking, which causes him problems with the "Sisters." He was brought up in an orphanage and then fostered from family to family; he never knew his parents. He was addicted to stealing expensive cars and became quite good at it. He fell in love with Shirley, and she married him after he promised her he would never steal another car. They have a two-year-old baby girl. Tommy went back on his word and is now doing three years in the Shank. He is a good kid at heart and is desperate to better himself and prove to Shirley that he will be a good husband and father to their baby. Andy is a father figure who is helping him with his studies.
Dawkins, Male, 20s and up
He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and is serving life for the murder of his two former associates Bill Neely and Howard Pinker. Neely and Pinker ran a gambling den in Kansas City. Dawkins, who was part of their criminal gang at the time, tried to steal $100,000 of their money. They suspected he was up to something and lay in wait for him in the cellar where they kept their safe. Dawkins shot both of them in a gun battle. He went on the run but was captured several weeks later. Dawkins has a short fuse and can be prone to violence, but could be described as an ordinary decent criminal. He was married three times, twice to the same woman. Despite spending many months in the hole for persistent betting, he is still obsessed with gambling and will bet on anything.
Pinky, Male, 20s and up
Can be of any age, creed, or color, and can come from any corner of the USA.
Ensemble, Male, 20s and up
Various actors to play other inmates and characters.
Additional information
Preferred method of submission

URL

Audition/Interview dates

Sunday, March 5, Monday, March 6, Tuesday March 7

Pay type

Other

Audition location

Tacoma WA

Pay type

$120.00 travel reimbursement $120.00 travel reimbursement

Callbacks or second audition/interview?

Wednesday, March 8

Submission instructions

To reserve an audition time, follow this link (http://castingmanager.com/audition/info/6mLV4H7H9W3ILa5), or call our Box Office for assistance at (253) 272-2281.

Union Requirements

Non-Union

Website specific to project

http://castingmanager.com/audition/info/6mLV4H7H9W3ILa5

Equity Contract

None