Dates
Rehearsal (Principals): March 16 - June 6
Rehearsal (Supporting Roles): April 13 - June 6
Tech: June 7 - 10
Performances: June 11 - 20 (not 15 or 16)
Strike: June 21
Characters (principal)
William Shakespeare (20s–30s):
A brilliant but blocked young playwright, full of wit, passion, and vulnerability. Will’s journey spans romantic ecstasy, creative frustration, fear, and deep emotional transformation. Requires an actor with strong classical presence, comedic timing, and romantic charm. Must navigate rapid shifts in mood—from confident swagger to poetic despair—and deliver Shakespearean verse with authenticity and heart.
Viola De Lesseps (20s–early 30s):
An intelligent, passionate noblewoman with a fierce love of theatre. Viola is bold, witty, and determined, disguising herself as a man to perform on stage. Requires emotional depth, conviction, and a romantic soul. Must convincingly switch between male and female personas, exude elegance and intensity, and portray both giddy love and heartbreaking sacrifice with grace and poise.
Kit Marlowe (20s–40s):
Charming, composed, and intellectually sharp, Marlowe is Shakespeare’s more successful contemporary and friendly rival. Cool and self-assured with a dry wit, he offers guidance without arrogance. Needs an actor with presence and subtlety, able to balance sophistication with warmth. A smaller but important role that demands charisma, control, and intelligence.
Nurse (Viola’s Nurse) (40s–60s):
Protective, pragmatic, and full of personality, the Nurse is Viola’s confidante and co-conspirator. She offers comic relief and heartfelt support, with a motherly quality. Needs an actor with warmth, humor, and timing, able to balance fussiness with fierce loyalty. Her love for Viola must shine through even in chaos.
Lord Wessex (30s–40s):
Viola’s suitor and eventual husband, Wessex is cold, ambitious, and arrogant. He sees marriage as a transaction and views love as weakness. Requires an actor with strong intensity and an imposing presence. Must embody cruelty and entitlement without caricature. This antagonist role demands clarity of diction, simmering anger, and subtle menace.
Characters (supporting)
Philip Henslowe (40s–60s):
The flustered, fast-talking, debt-ridden theatre manager of The Rose. Henslowe is always in a state of panic, but his optimism and determination make him endearing. Comedic timing is essential, as is the ability to portray anxious energy while keeping the character grounded. Must handle physical comedy and rapid dialogue while revealing heart beneath the chaos.
Hugh Fennyman (40s–60s):
A fearsome moneylender with a surprising love of theatre. Initially intimidating, Fennyman becomes increasingly childlike in his enthusiasm for the stage. Requires an actor with a strong presence and excellent comedic instincts, able to shift from menace to wide-eyed joy. A transformation role with moments of broad comedy and quiet sincerity.
Queen Elizabeth I (50s–70s):
A regal, sharp-witted monarch with a deep appreciation for the arts. Elizabeth is commanding, intelligent, and surprisingly humorous. Requires a strong actress with gravitas, capable of dry delivery and incisive intelligence. Though brief, the role is iconic and demands poise, control, and the ability to suggest depth and power with minimal movement.
Richard Burbage (30s–40s):
Owner of The Curtain Theatre and leading actor of his company. Loud, confident, and slightly egotistical, Burbage is theatrical on and off stage. Needs a strong comedic performer with command and flair, who can parody the larger-than-life actor while remaining likable. Physicality, voice control, and a knack for performance within performance are essential.
Edmund Tilney (40s–60s):
The pompous Master of the Revels, responsible for censorship. A pathetic, officious man who wields power with cold authority. Requires a commanding presence and a dry sense of menace. Though not a large role, Tilney is key in heightening tension. Must convey entitlement and condescension without resorting to parody.
John Webster (13–16 years old):
A creepy, morbid young boy obsessed with blood, violence, and revenge plays. He’s fascinated by the darker side of theatre and slightly unhinged. Needs a child actor with strong stage presence, comic timing, and the ability to play eerie without being over-the-top. Small role but memorable and scene-stealing.
Ned Alleyn (30s-40s)
A celebrated actor of the Elizabethan stage, Ned is bold, charismatic, and thoroughly theatrical. Confident to the point of arrogant, he is used to being the center of attention but has genuine talent and flair. Requires an actor with strong stage presence, comedic timing, and the ability to parody the grandiosity of a classical actor while remaining likable and true to the verse. Balances ego with charm and showmanship, and a twinkle of self-awareness.
Sir Robert De Lesseps (50s-60s)
Viola’s father, a wealthy, status-conscious nobleman determined to secure his daughter’s future through an advantageous marriage. Stern, authoritative, and unyielding, Robert represents the rigid social expectations of the time. Despite the situation he places her in, Robert loves his daughter and the character navigates between suppressed affection, aristocratic pride and quiet pragmatism.
UP TO 10 FUN AND FANTASTIC ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING ROLES, (many of which will are doubled), including: Shakespearian actors - good ones, bad ones, old ones, young ones, various boatmen, guards, heavies, Elizabethan stage crew, bartenders, tavern whores, and courtiers. All genders and ages welcome.
THERE IS ALSO A DOG…