POSSESSING HARRIET - Franklin, NY EPA
Franklin Stock Company
AUDITION DATE
Sun, Apr 28, 2019
10:00 am - 6:00 pm (EDT)
Lunch 1 to 2
APPOINTMENTS
AEA members please email your name, phone number, the role you want to audition for, and at least 2 available timeslots to info@franklinstagecompany.org
CONTRACT
SPT Tier 4. Minimum salary of $381/wk. Contract negotiations are in process and rate will likely increase by first rehearsal based on that outcome.
SEEKING
Equity actors for various roles. See breakdown.
LOCATION
Franklin Stage Co
25 Institute St
Franklin, NY 13775
PERSONNEL
Written by Kyle Bass
Director: Leslie Noble
Producing Artistic Directors: Leslie Noble and Patricia Buckley (will be at audition)
OTHER DATES
1st rehearsal: June 18
Opening: July 12
Closing: July 28
Show schedule: Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 3:00 & 7:30pm, and Sundays at 5:00pm.
OTHER
Franklin Stage Company is located in the foothills of the Western Catskills. For directions and more information please visit our website: https://franklinstagecompany.org/
An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of audition.
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.
Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
BREAKDOWN
The play takes place in Peterboro, NY in the autumn of 1839
Having been brought by her owners on a trip to Syracuse, Harriet Powell decides to escape when approached by Thomas Leonard, a free black man who offers to help. With slave catchers in pursuit, she is taken to the home of famed abolitionist, Gerrit Smith. She shares the last hours before her nighttime trek to Canada in the company of Gerrit’s young cousin, Elizabeth Cady (Stanton), a budding suffragette. As both young women confront new and difficult ideas about race, identity and equality, Harriet is forced to the brink of a radical reckoning with the cost of freedom.
Seeking actors for:
Harriet: Light-skinned mixed-race woman, 24. So fair she can pass for white.
Harriet is a slave. She is resourceful. Watchful. Capable. Self-possessed. She has just been brought to the home of Gerrit Smith, the last leg of her escape to Canada. She is apart from her mother and sister for the first time, and despite the help of those aiding her, she has never felt more alone. She is on the precipice of a life changing event. Freedom. It is her mother’s deepest wish that her children see freedom. But Harriet’s frightened and unsure of what that will mean. Or if she’ll ever see her family again. She is struggling to find her way, gather her strength and take that last step into a new life.
Elizabeth: Young white woman, also 24.
She is wealthy, the daughter of a judge, uncommonly educated for the time. She enjoys heated debate and the exchange of ideas. She is passionate about women’s equality and the injustice of men’s laws. She believes slavery is wrong in principle but, so far, is unpersuaded by abolitionist arguments to free the slaves. She is excited to meet Harriet. Curious about her life. Charmed by her comportment. Bedazzled by her fair skin and nice clothes. Elizabeth is kind, but a little indulged and self-satisfied. She thinks she knows. She is naïve about the realities and horrors of slavery. Over the course of the play she struggles to the brink of understanding.
Gerrit: Famed and fiery abolitionist. White male, 45-55.
Wealthy philanthropist and social reformer. Righteous believer in the cause. A man of action. His is a “station master” on the Underground Railroad and is hiding Harriet until dark when she will escape to Canada. He introduces his cousin Elizabeth to Harriet and calls upon Harriet to “make an abolitionist” out of her, leaving the two young women to share each other’s company for a couple hours. There is a deep vein of sorrow running through Gerrit owing to his loss of 5 of his children to illness. His deep disappointment in his white brethren helps fuel the fervor of his cause.
Thomas: A free black man and former fugitive slave. Darker-skinned than Harriet, 35-45.
Thomas is an activist with the Underground Railroad. He first approaches Harriet at the Syracuse House hotel where he works as a waiter, and then helps plan and execute her escape. Thomas works with Gerrit and other abolitionists to help enslaved people escape to Canada. He is measured, kind, direct, unwavering. Thomas understands the price of freedom. He is the only abolitionist in the play with “skin in the game.” The trauma of witnessing his mother’s murder at the hands of her master has left deep scars. He could not save his mother, so he will try to save as many as he can. He is instrumental in persuading Harriet to complete her journey.
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to audition.
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