Auditions are open for "Untitled Tempest Project"

"Untitled Tempest" will be a devised production inspired by/responding to William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest." "Untitled Tempest" will be created by Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy alongside members of the production team and 8-10 actors.

Auditions will take place on Sunday, October 20, in The DUG Theatre (Performing Arts Center 199) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We will begin our work with a five-day intensive deconstructing Shakespeare's text, exploring themes of colonialism, race and representation, gender, language and rhetoric, and historical understandings of individuality and personhood. 

During the intensive (attendance at which is required for all members of the cast and team), we will be privileged to work with guest artists Keith Hamilton Cobb (actor and playwright of American Moor) and Jessica Burr (founding artistic director of NYC's Blessed Unrest Theatre), the two of whom are the founders of the Untitled Othello Project. Untitled Othello is a company dedicated to an anti-racist "exercise in creative justice, employing ensemble-based creative practices engaged in deep and sustained exploration of Shakespeare’s text." Working with Keith and Jessica, we will dissect "The Tempest," analyzing each word, phrase, and line for both its historical meaning and its contemporary resonances. We'll read the play aloud, but stop often for discussion, questions, analysis, trying things on our feet, and suggestions from everyone in the room.  

Register to audition by October 18 at 3 p.m. to join this unique production.

After the intensive, we move into once weekly devising rehearsals on Friday evenings from November 15 through February 21. Regular rehearsals will begin five days a week on February 23. In these rehearsals we will use the insights, discoveries, questions, and troublings of the intensive to build our own show—related (or not!) to "The Tempest" and to Shakespeare’s continued hyper-presence on American stages and college syllabi. This is truly a one-of-a-kind practice designed to produce a show that reflects the interests, passions, anxieties, dreams, and wishes of its participants.  

Character Breakdown

We are looking to cast eight to ten performers. In particular, we are looking for a diverse group of folks who are versatile, collaborative, and ready to delve deep into both the historical and current resonances of "The Tempest." Characters may (or may not!) be based on those in "The Tempest." All character work will be collaborative and part of the devising process.  

Instructions for your audition

Auditions will take place on Sunday, October 20, in The DUG Theatre (Performing Arts Center 199) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Prior to the audition, please familiarize yourself with Shakespeare’s "The Tempest." Read a free full-text version.

You will sign up to audition in 20 minute slots. Your slot will consist of performing a 1 minute monologue, and then a collaborative group exercise with the other auditioners in your slot.

Please prepare a 1 minute monologue from any Shakespeare piece, irrespective of genre or gender of the original character. I will need to ensure that participants are comfortable to at least some degree with Shakespeare’s original language. Timing on monologues will be strictly kept to ensure that there is enough time for all participants to complete all parts of the audition. Please time your monologues in advance.

After your monologue, you and your audition-mates will be given 10 minutes to devise a short scene based on a prompt I give you at the audition. Please come prepared to do physical work (i.e. dressed to move) and be flexible and open in your work on the collaborative piece. I will be looking for how you create images and stories together.

Make sure to fill out the online form and sign up for an audition slot. Please note the rehearsal schedule of this play when you sign up. All conflicts must be listed.

The deadline to sign up is Friday, October 18 by 3 p.m. If you need to change your audition time, or if you missed the sign-up deadline, please email Production Manager Teylor Lowe to see what options might be available to you.

Content Disclosures

Any sensitive material contained in the show we devise will be created collaboratively and with full consent of all participants.

Shakespeare’s original text contains racism and racially charged language, depictions of slavery, violence, and mentions of sexual assault.

Intimacy Content

Any intimate material contained in the show we devise will be created collaboratively and with full consent of all participants.

GPA Policy

The Theatre Department is phasing in a new policy (announced in Monday Matters last spring): in order to work on Department of Theatre and Dance, productions you must maintain a certain GPA.

• For Fall quarter 2024, you must maintain a 2.4 overall GPA
• In Spring quarter 2025, the GPA requirement will change to 2.8
• Subsequent to Spring 2025, the GPA requirement will remain at 2.8
• See GPA Requirement document for details

Audition Form

Questions on this form include opportunities to share information about your identity, including gender, race and cultural background. Your answers help WWU prioritize authentic, appropriate casting as called for in each script. Please share only what you feel comfortable sharing.

Our department is committed to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices in all areas, including casting. Our goal is to create a casting process that is welcoming, absent of intimidation, and serves those auditioning as well as the creative team in the full exploration of the material in an environment of mutual trust.

In reference to the character descriptions – these are descriptions of the characters as identified in the script and in collaboration with the creative team. They are not meant to be exhaustive of who should play these roles and we seek to cast expansively and intentionally. We are striving to make our production and audition practices inclusive of performers of all races, ethnicities, national origins, gender expressions, body types, and abilities. 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 any roles they identify with.  We also welcome performers of all abilities and are prepared to provide any reasonable accommodations and resources needed in order to cast performers with disabilities.  (Thanks to the Actors Theatre of Louisville for their language and inspiration in this statement.)

Some questions on this form involve disclosing what you are comfortable with as a performer. Show-specific questions are below and you may also be given a longer, more detailed disclosure form to fill out the morning of auditions. You will be asked to return this form by the end of Audition Day.

Additionally, there are some resources made available here to inform you of Western Washington University’s procedures and protocols for moments of intimacy in our productions.

Audition Resources

Below are links to very useful Word documents which are resources to inform you of Western Washington University’s procedures and protocols for moments of intimacy in our productions.

• Production incident report
• WWU Actor Consent Form
• WWU Audition Disclosure Form
• WWU Intimacy and Instructional Touch Policy
• WWU Intimacy Protocols

Sign up to Audition by Friday, October 18 at 3 p.m.