[NEohioPAL] Open Call Auditions for Howard Sackler's Classic THE GREAT WHITE HOPE Today @ 6:30PM - Karamu House

[performingarts at karamu.com]

Open Call Auditions for Howard Sackler's Classic THE GREAT WHITE HOPE
A Season of HOPE and ACCOUNTABILITY


Open Call Auditions for

THE GREAT WHITE HOPE by Howard Sackler (Historical Drama)
Dir. Terrence Spivey
Run Dates:
*February 12 – March 7, 2010 (Karamu Jelliffe Theatre)
*April 1 – April 18, 2010 (Weathervane Playhouse, Akron, OH)

Audition Dates:

Cleveland at Karamu Theatre
Tuesday and Wednesday, September 29 and 30 at 6:30 p.m.
2355 E 89th St.
Cleveland, OH 44106
www.karamu.com

Akron at Weathervane Playhouse
Sunday, October 4 at 3 p.m. and Monday, October 5 at 7 p.m.
1301 Weathervane Lane
(In the Valley off Merriman Rd)
Akron, OH 44313
www.weathervaneplayhouse.com

Prepare:
A contemporary, dramatic monologue
not longer than 2 minutes.
Be familiar with the script.

Cast Requirements:
(See character breakdown below)
15 Women ages 20s – 50s
20 Men ages 20s – 50s
10 Boys ages 12 – 16
5 Girls ages 1220- 16

Set in the early 1900s, The Great White Hope is loosely based on the life
of African American boxer Jack Johnson, renamed Jack Jefferson in the
story. After becoming the first Negro heavyweight champion of the world in
1908, the play follows his tumultuous career and explores the nature of
racism and racial conflict in American society. In collaboration with
Weathervane Playhouse and Ensemble Theatre comes one of the most dynamic
plays ever written for the American stage. The Great White Hope won the
Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Drama. Once it closes
at Karamu, the production and some of the cast moves to Weathervane
Playhouse.

In a 2000 news interview Molly Smith, Arena Stage's artistic director,
noted that The Great White Hope is no less powerful in the 21st century
than it was when the theater first took a chance on it. "I'm hearing
things [from audiences] like 'Boy, this is a hard play to see, and yet it
needs to be told now." –NEA

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Time: Before and During World War l
Place: Parchman, Ohio, San Francisco, Nevada, Chicago, London, Paris,
Berlin, Budapest and Havana

JACK JEFFERSON: African American Male, Early to late 30’s. Based on boxer
Jack Johnson, who became the first black heavyweight champion in 1908 from
Galveston, Texas and was nicknamed “Galveston Giant.” He is larger than
life, keen, confident and “bragadocious. Lives life to the fullest. He
feels he is his own man and not ab out proving anything to any
race-including his own. Note:
All actors auditioning for this role should wear a tank top underneath
your dress shirt. Be prepared to move around and shadowbox.

ELEANOR BACHMAN: Caucasian Female, late 20s-Early 30s. A loving, defiant
Desdemona to Jack Jefferson’s twentieth century Othello.

TICK: African American Male, Late 50s. He is Jack’s no nonsense trainer.

BRADY: Caucasian Male, Late 30s- Early 40’s. A heavyweight champion living
in Parchman, Ohio.

GOLDIE: Caucasian Male, Early to late 40s, Jack’s Jewish manager.

SMITTY: Caucasian Male, 40s-50s, famous sports writer.

CAP’N DAN: Caucasian Male, late 50s, Brady’s manager, a champion of
earlier days.

CLARA: African American Female, 30s. One of Jack’s longtime lovers from
Detroit who thinks she is his common law wife. She is sexy and very sassy.

CAMERON: Caucasian Male, 40s-50s. Chicago District Attorney.

MR. DIXON: Caucasian Male, 30’s-50’s. A Federal Marshall

MRS. BACHMAN: Caucasian Female, 40’s -50’s. Ellie’s Mother

MRS. JEFFERSON: African American female 50s-60s. Jack’s mother. Faithful
to the church and supports her son.

EL JEFE: 40’s-50’s.

MEXICAN BOY: Young boy to teen

SCIPIO: African American Male, 30s. Very colorful character who is
imbedded within the culture of his people. He is a thorn in Jack’s side
about setting an example for his race.

ENSEMBLE: Additional supporting roles are available for more than thirty
African American and Caucasian male and female actors of all ages, 20 who
will perform multiple roles in the play; Pop Weaver, Promoters, Reporters,
Deacons, Boxing Handlers, Trainers, Photographers, Weigh-In, Bettor,
Roller, Civic Marchers, Church Sisters, Policemen (American/German),
Deputies, Detectives, Pastors, Government Agent, Fight Fans, Jugglers etc.

About the Director
Terrence Spivey has won numerous accolades and received local and national
acclaim since arriving as Artistic Director at the historical Karamu House
in October 2003 after residing for eighteen years in New York City. His
directing credits includes the critically acclaimed “bee-luther-hatchee,”
“for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow Is enuf,”
“Dream on Monkey Mountain,” “Permanent Collection,” “Bourbon at the
Border,” “The Fire Inside: The Story and Poetry of Nikki Giovanni.” “The
Blacks: A Clown Show” and “A House With No Walls” just to name a few.

He has been featured in local media, Ebony magazine, profiled in Back
Stage, Artist and Influence, TCG’S American Theatre February 2009 issue
and was elected as a 2009 member of the prestigious National Theatre
Conference, joining members such as Robert Falls (Goodman Theatre), Lou
Bellamy (Penumbra Theatre) Ed Stern (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park),
Woodie King (New Federal Theatre) , James Bundy ( Yale School of Drama)
and many more. Spivey serves on the board of trustees at Community
Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) and Ohio Alliance for Arts and
Education (OAAE) based in Columbus. He looks forward to this exciting
collaboration.

He is a theatre graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Texas.


Greg Ashe
Executive Director
Karamu House
Cleveland, OH

John Hedges
Executive Director
Weathervane Playhouse
Akron, OH

Martin Consentino
Managing Director
Ensemble Theatre
Cleveland, OH

Terrence Spivey
Artistic Director
Karamu House
Cleveland, OH