Shunya Theatre is holding auditions for DISGRACED, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Ayad Akhtar
Auditions will be held by video. Submit through this link. Information below and at the link.
Rehearsals will start August 30 (evenings and weekends), tech rehearsals will begin the week of Sept 28, and the performances will be October 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 (evening shows on Friday and Saturday, 2pm matinee on Sunday). Anyone who is cast must be available with no conflicts for the tech rehearsals and shows.
PLEASE NOTE: The stipend is $250 for the run of the show. Please do not audition if this is an issue for you.
Please fill out this google form and submit a video audition (no need to memorize it) of any monologue that shows what you can do in relation to the appropriate character. 1-2 minutes is fine. VIDEO SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE by 2pm on June 5. Callbacks will be June 13-15 (exact time TBA ). Please upload a video, as well as your resume and headshot.
CALLBACKS (if needed) will be Saturday, June 13 from 2pm to 5pm at Rhythm India Dance Studio in Sugar Land.
CHARACTERS:
- Amir Kapoor (Abdullah): (Male, South Asian, 40 years old) The protagonist; a 40-year-old, American-born corporate lawyer of Pakistani descent. He has fiercely renounced his Islamic upbringing and changed his last name to assimilate into affluent American society, but deeply internalized traumas and resentments surface as his career and marriage collapse.
- Emily Hughes Kapoor: (Female, White, early 30’s) Amir’s wife, an artist who is deeply fascinated and inspired by Islamic culture. Well-meaning but occasionally patronizing, her artistic focus on Islamic themes acts as a catalyst that inadvertently brings Amir’s hidden heritage to light.
- Isaac: (Male, White, 40) An art curator working with Emily. Jewish by background, he is supportive of Emily’s career, but finds himself locked in heated, polarizing debates regarding race, religion, and the Middle East during a tense dinner party.
- Jory Brathwaite: (Female, mid-late 30’s, African American), Isaac’s wife and a colleague at Amir’s law firm. She is an African American lawyer who manages to secure a promotion to partner over Amir.
- Hussein (Abe Jensen): (Male, South Asian, 22) Amir’s 22-year-old nephew. Originally from Pakistan, he changed his name to blend in but actively supports Muslim causes, frequently pushing Amir to defend a local cleric.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: The play will be directed by guest director, Jennifer Decker, founder and artistic director of Mildred’s Umbrella Theater company.
ABOUT THE PLAY: Disgraced is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Ayad Akhtar about a successful Pakistani-American lawyer, Amir Kapoor, who distances himself from his Muslim heritage to fit in at his corporate law firm, but whose carefully constructed identity unravels after a dinner party with his white wife, Emily, and their friends. The play explores themes of identity, religion, race, and belonging in contemporary America, particularly in the post-9/11 world, as witty banter devolves into heated debate and shocking confessions.
