What are the responsibilities and job description for the Seeking Actors For The Constant Mourner at Columbia University position at Columbia University MFA Production?
DESCRIPTION
Seeking actors for The Constant Mourner by Hanoch Levin, an MFA directing project at Columbia University.
About the play:
Every year, on the anniversary of his son’s death, a grieving king stages a performance that reenacts the final moments of his son’s life. Surrounded by his court, he recreates the tragedy again and again, turning mourning into an annual theatrical ritual.
Unable to accept the loss or allow time to move forward, the king remains trapped in an endless cycle of grief. The Constant Mourner explores the need to repeat and reconstruct trauma, the inability to let go of the dead, and the way memory can become both an act of love and a prison.
Important information and dates:
This production will take place at Columbia University’s The Theatre @ Schapiro. Directed by 2nd Year MFA Director Cnaan Levkovich, under the guidance of Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick.
In-person callbacks may be held on October 19th & 20th, 2026.
Rehearsals: November 9th, 2026 - December 6th, 2026 (rehearsals on Zoom may start November 2nd)
Tech: December 6th, 2026 - December 10th, 2026
3 Performances on December 11th & 12th, 2026
Seeking male-identifying actors ages 25-45 for the following roles:
THE KING (willing to cast 45 )
A father mourning his son. Imposing, authoritative figure. This character should feel impossible. A dissonance between compassion and cruelty.
FIRST DOCTOR
Witty, cynical, defies authority. Capable of cruelty and detachment, trying to keep his job.
MIND SPECIALIST
Rational being, condescending, enhancing the trauma instead of solving it.
MIRACLE WORKER
Blind, mute, ethereal, mysterious being, appears melodramatic but very down to earth.
APPRENTICE
Assistant to MIRACLE WORKER, Boy, Youthful, takes himself really seriously, in service to his master.
SHROUD WORKER
Takes care of the children's corpses. Wise, slow, realistic, resigned, brutally honest.
FATHER
Later known as PREVIOUS FATHER. The father of the child that was killed by the king. Heartbroken in the first act, yet meditative and guiding the CURRENT FATHER in the 2nd act, trying to reconnect with his grief.
CURRENT FATHER
The father of the child that was killed by the king in the 2nd act. In shock, processing.
DURATION
Nov 2, 2026 - Dec 12, 2026
- NON-UNION