AUDITIONS

Auditions for The Columbus Black Theatre Festival, 2021 will be Saturday, April 24 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and Sunday, April 25 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Call-backs are Monday, April 26 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Auditions will be held through Zoom.  Auditionees will receive the Zoom link to the Auditions by Friday, April 23.  

Please prepare a monologue of your choice, not exceeding 2 minutes. You will be timed and stopped at the end of 2 minutes. 

Black Irish – Black customer service telephone operator’s conversation with a white client caller goes off the rails when race is brought up.

DIRECTOR: Stephen Woosley

Characters: 

D-VON JAMES: Black, early 30s.

PETER BUTANE: White, early 30s.,

BARTENDER.

Breaks - After a young immigrant is murdered by police officers for seemingly no reason, a popular rapper decides to make a statement, much to the dismay and disapproval of his white publicist.

DIRECTOR: Ariel Wiles

Characters: 

ALFIE X, 20's-30's, African American; a popular mainstream rapper who generally strays away from controversial subject matter, until he doesn't. He was raised in the projects and was able to succeed based solely off his talents and wit - - think Jay Z or Nas.

JESSIE MCCARTNEY, 30's-40's, white; a powerful name in the entertainment industry and Alfie X's publicist. He speaks with a snappy, fast New York-type cadence and is never seen outside of a suit.

IMANI AHMAD, 20's, African American; an Angela Davis-like social activist and Princeton graduate.

Busted Taillight (monologue) - The morning after being stopped by the police for a broken taillight, a Black worker tries to explain to their coworker why such a small encounter can be life threatening if you are on the darker side of the color chart.

DIRECTOR: Julie Whitney-Scott

Characters: 

Black Actor, male or female of any age.

My Days After (monologue) – What emotions does a mother feel in the days after the loss of a son. What thoughts, good and bad, come to mind as she packs up personal items of her loved one?

DIRECTOR: Julie Whitney-Scott

Characters:

M.K. OWENS (late 30s/early 40s, African American)

New Year, Same Old Sickness (monologue) - Words of truth, spoken by a 65-year-old, African-American woman who weaves the events of history into the narration of her life, as witnessed from her childhood to the present. Her-story, her journey, her mission, and her inevitable destination. This piece embraces love that nurtures growth and opportunities to change; empowerment that incites courage, a voice, the desire to be a force of action. And hope. There must always be hope; otherwise, what’s the point?

DIRECTOR: James Blackmon

Characters: 

65-year-old, African-American woman

Retha’s First March - After experiencing her first Black Lives Matter protest, a young teacher is galvanized to take further action against racism. But how can she do the most good?

DIRECTOR: Jasmyn Green

Characters:

RETHA, young Black schoolteacher

JENIECE, young Black police officer

CALEB, young Black doctor

Session 76 – A therapy session between a young man and his brother opens up old wounds and reveals truths that neither may be ready to accept.

DIRECTOR:  James Blackmon

Characters:

Eddie Sullivan: Protagonist. Young man in his mid twenty's (approximate age 26)

Dr. Mellisa Pryer: Eddie's therapist. Middle aged woman between 30-45 (approximate age 42)

Reuben Sullivan: Older Brother to Eddie. Early to mid thirty's (approximate age 33)

Vanessa Clark: Significant other to Eddie. Mid twenties. (approximate age 26)

Sock Puppets – A young woman enlists a friend in her effort to dox a White Supremacist, but the result of their actions forces them to confront their own histories with racism. 

DIRECTOR: Ben Hartwig

Characters:

Marie 30s, female, African-American

Erika 30s, female, White American

Stinkiest Thing (monologue) - The Stinkiest Thing is found, loved, lost and left on the last spoonful of dirt remaining on planet earth.

DIRECTOR: Tirzah Hawley- Washington

Characters: 

STORYTELLLER: Any age, any gender, any ethnicity

The Pipeline – A new tutor learns with his first child the challenges schools have helping some children, especially African American boys, in escaping the pipeline of “school to prison.”

DIRECTOR: Ben Hartwig

Characters:

Mr. Kellman: Male; early 60s. A reading tutor at Northwood Elementary School. Actor must be Caucasian.

Ms. Markey: Female; mid-40s. The 2nd grade teacher at Northwood Elementary School.

Delray Johnson: Male, 7. A 2nd grade student at Northwood Elementary School. Actor must be African-American.

They - A college survey has White kids questioning only Whites and Black kids interviewing only

Blacks. Will this get us closer to the truth about Race in America?.

DIRECTOR: Sean Maycock

Characters: 

CARLA: female, White, middle-aged, supermarket shopper.

RENA: female, Black, 20s, supermarket employee

JIM: male, White, late teens, supermarket employee.

LEON: male, Black, middle-aged, supermarket employee.

Stop Deforestation Now - Michael wants to save the world and educate his sister and best friend about deforestation. In trying to save the world they end up littering the park.

DIRECTOR: Faye Ray

Characters:

Michael: Male; 14-18 years old. Any race

Michael’s Sister; Female, 14-18 years old. Any race

Best Friend; Any gender, 14-18 years old. Any race