Sign up to audition for "The Cake"

Auditions for Bekah Brunstetter's play "The Cake" are Friday, January 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the DUG Theatre (PA 199).

Callbacks: Sunday January 14, 3:30-6:30 pm in the DUG Theatre (PA 199)

Directed by Eva Gil.

Register to audition by Thursday, January 11 at 5 p.m.

About the play

Jen returns to Winston Salem, NC to plan her dream wedding to her fiancée Macy. She wants her close family friend and bakery owner Della to make their wedding cake. Coming out to Della and the friction that creates leads to Della and her husband Tim reexamining their own marriage and leads to Jen and Macy grappling with their own needs. This play asks the question, what does it mean to be true to ourselves; if we change, will our loved ones still be by our side?

“The Cake” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Character Breakdown

We will be casting 4 actors and 4 understudies.

Primary roles

• Della (open ethnicity), 40s-50s, from NC, bakery owner, warm, funny, religious, struggling beneath the smile.
• Tim: (open ethnicity), 40s-50s, from NC, Della’s husband, plumber, conservative, happy with how things are.
• Jen: (open ethnicity), 20s-30s, from NC, optimistic, dreamer, pulled between two worlds.
• Macy: (African American), 20s-30s, Jen’s fiancée, New Yorker, progressive, wants more for Jen, tells it like it is.
• George/Voice: (British), a judge on the Big American Bake-Off Show, voiceover part only, commanding voice.

Instructions for your audition

• For the audition you will prepare two monologues:
  • Prepare a one-minute contemporary monologue of your choice that you think shows an aspect of a character from The Cake you are interested in auditioning for.
  • For the second monologue, please pick from one of these selected monologues from The Cake for a character you are interested in.
  • You will be considered for all appropriate characters regardless of which monologue you decide to prepare.
• The script is available to read in the Theatre & Dance Department Office (PA 395). It must be read in the building (2 hour loan) and returned when done.
• 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 Thursday, January 11 by 5 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.
• The first round of auditions on Friday, January 12 will be your prepared monologues.
  • Sign up for a 5-minute time slot.
  • For your audition, state your name, the play, character, and playwright of the monologue you are presenting. Then, you'll perform the monologue you selected from The Cake. (The Cake monologues are accessed by the link above.)

Callbacks are Sunday, January 14

If you are called back, you will receive an email on Friday night (January 12) with information on which sides to prepare for the Sunday, January 14 callbacks.

Callbacks will be Sunday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the DUG Theatre (PA 199). Please arrive by 3:30 p.m., and be prepared to stay until 6:30 p.m. - though you may not be needed for the entire time.

Follow this link to access The Cake callback sides. Familiarize yourself with the sides and try to commit them at least partially to memory. Know the circumstances of the scene. The director will pair you with other actors to read sides; or we will use a reader.

Content Disclosures

This play includes intimacy such as simulated oral sex, a sex act that has just concluded, snuggling and kissing. It also discusses the character's sex lives. The play also includes profanity and discusses homophobia, dysregulated eating, religion, and emotional abuse.

Intimacy Content

The actors playing Macy and Jen will show affection through physical cuddling, and lip-to-lip contact kisses. One scene alludes to them having just completed a sex act.  
 
The actors playing Della and Tim will show affection by physical cuddling, lip-to-lip contact kisses, and lip-to-cheek kisses. The actors playing Della and Tim also have a scene with a brief simulated oral sex act. This will be staged to mask the simulation.
 
The actor playing Tim has one scene where there is the illusion of him putting mashed potatoes on his genitals. Within the actor's boundaries, the actor will have a modesty garment such as underwear or a dance belt and may have their shirt off or an open robe with bare legs.
 
The actor playing Della has one scene where there is the illusion of taking off her pants and underwear and putting frosting on her genitals. Within the actor's boundaries, the actor playing Della will be wearing a modesty garment such as a camisole or bra and something like biker shorts.

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 below – 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 will 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