Auditions for "WWU New Works Tour 2026"

Fresh Plays from the Cascades: #iliveinthepnw

The New Works tour hails from a tradition started in the early 2000s here at WWU’s Department of Theatre and Dance. Bryan Willis, who taught playwriting then, was connected with a beautiful performance space in Chacombe, England, which was hosted by Dr. Stephen and Cherry Large.

The space was created to honor the memory of their daughter, Sophie, who passed away tragically in a car accident when she was 17 years old. Turing that tragedy into action, the Large family turned an old building on their property into a gorgeous space to welcome performers of all types. Sophie’s Barn still hosts many concerts, plays, poetry readings, and other performances in 2025.

The opportunity for students to tour and learn what that entails used to be a huge part of our program. The faculty and supporting staff of Theatre Arts at Western would like to bring this opportunity back to the students.

And while we don’t fully know what the scripts will look like just yet, we need to cast in order to give company members a chance to save up funds, write grants, procure passports, and plan their classes for the upcoming academic year.

Character Breakdown

Essentially, the New Works Tour will involve eight students being cast (one of whom will act as Stage Manager/Assistant Director/Tour Manager) in a traveling performance company.

Everyone will have a secondary duty along with performing. This means that while we are looking for actors who can play multiple diverse roles, we are also looking for folx who are multi-skilled. We have to be our own designers, producers, dramaturgs, and tour managers together.

Kamarie Chapman will direct.

Instructions for your audition

• Auditions are Saturday, May 17 from  9 a.m. to 1 p.m., location TBD.
• Callbacks are Sunday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., location TBD.
• Register to audition by Friday, May 16, by 3 p.m.

Online auditions

• Online auditions must be submitted with the completed form by May 9 at 1 p.m.
• Please email director Kamarie Chapman if you would like to submit an online audition.
• Anyone auditioning online must be able to be physically present for call-backs on May 18, 2025.
• Online auditions are accepted and must be uploaded to a host site (such as WWU Sharepoint, Vimeo, or YouTube).
• The link to your uploaded audition should be included with your audition form.

General Audition Instructions

• Please prepare a one-minute monologue, story, joke, or poetry selection that excites you to audition with.
• Self-written works are totally acceptable.
• Also share a skill with us. Anything you can share in one minute… playing an instrument, dancing, puppet show, your one-person-looped-band, etc. Something that makes you proud you can do!
• We will call auditionees in by groups of three. We ask that you each introduce yourself, perform your scripted piece and skill. Likely we will have you read a bit of a scene 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.

Keep in mind

During the fall we have Friday rehearsals. During the winter we'll have Monday performances, WWU campus performances, KCACTF performance, overnight weekend performance in Seattle/Tacoma.

We all leave Friday evening of Winter 2026 finals week to go to NYC and England. The whole spring break is the tour. We arrive back the day before classes start for Spring 2026.

The deadline to sign up is Friday, May 16 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.

Important Dates

The rehearsal process and tour schedule are still being worked out, but here’s what we know so far… this should give potential company members a general idea to help with planning classes for Fall 2025 and Winter 2026.

• Once a week rehearsal starting in October of 2025 on Fridays (time TBD).
• A couple of long rehearsals at the end of fall break (the weekend before classes start) and then a couple weeks regular rehearsals going Sunday through Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. in January. (If we are ready, then we’ll start touring right away.)
• Touring on Mondays starting at the beginning of mid-January 2026.  (Performing at high schools, community colleges, theatres, and possibly site specific up and down the I-5 corridor.)
• Friday of Finals Winter 2026: Leaving to take the tour to New York City (Staying no more than two nights.)
• After performing in New York, flying to England (Heathrow in London) and traveling to a very tiny village called Chacombe in Northhamptonshire England. (This will be during spring break.)
• Staying a week in England performing a bit and seeing some sights.
• Coming home and being ready to jump back into our studies and academics on time.

Content Disclosures

This pieces being selected for this play are along the theme of “Brave New World”.

This could be anything: likely dealing with the state of being an American in the U.S. right now; likely dealing with being queer, trans, global majority, female or femme presenting, etc.; likely full of satire.

And hopefully very moving.

Intimacy Content

There is no immediate need for an intimacy coordinator at this time. If a cast member feels the need to work with someone; or if a script or action requires an intimacy coordinator, we are happy to make that arrangement.

GPA Policy

In order to work on Department of Theatre and Dance, productions you must maintain a minimum 2.8 GPA. 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, May 16 at 3 p.m.