Lookingglass Theatre Company 2026-27 Season - Chicago EPA (07.21.26), (07.22.26), & (07.24.26)

DESCRIPTION

Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA

AUDITION DATE

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (C)

Lunch 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

AND

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

1:00 PM - 9:00 PM (C)

Break 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

AND

Friday, July 24, 2026

10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (C)

Lunch 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

CONTRACT

CAT

Tier 6 (KOWALSKI):

$1122.15 weekly minimum - until 10/4/26

$1167.05 weekly minimum - after 10/5/26

Tier 4 (THE YEARLING & PRINCE HAL):

$746.70 weekly minimum

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in Lookingglass Theatre Company's 2026-27 Season (See breakdown).

PREPARATION

Please prepare one (1) contemporary monologue no more than 2-minutes OR one (1) 2-minute movement and/or puppetry piece. The movement piece can be improvised but should contain narrative storytelling and feature your special skills. Please list musical, acrobatic, and circus skills.

LOCATION

Lookingglass Theatre Co.

821 N Michigan Ave

Chicago, IL 60611

The Entrance is at 163 E Pearson St. - Check in desk at box office

PERSONNEL

Expected to attend:

Ensemble Member and Artistic Director: Kasey Foster

Managing Producer: Kate Sullivan Coombs

See breakdown for production-specific personnel.

OTHER DATES

See breakdown for production-specific dates.

OTHER

www.lookingglasstheatre.org

EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition.

An Equity Monitor will be provided.

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

Lookingglass Theatre Company 2026-27 Season

Unless specifically noted, roles may be played by actors of any race or ethnicity.

KOWALSKI

Written By Gregg Ostrin

Directed by Colin Hanlon

1st Rehearsal 8/17/2026

Understudies begin 8/31/2026

Opening 9/19/2026

Closing 10/25/2026

SYNOPSIS: Set over one pivotal evening in Provincetown in 1947, Kowalski imagines the first meeting between Tennessee Williams and a young Marlon Brando as Williams searches for the actor who would redefine the role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blending historical events with theatrical imagination, the play explores ambition, artistry and the creative collaboration behind one of the most influential works in American theater.

SEEKING:

Tennessee: CAST. (30s-40s) At the height of his powers. Poetic, high strung. Very dramatic. Equal parts manipulative and drama queen.

Marlon Brando: CAST. (mid-20s) Street smart alpha male. He doesn’t trust anyone. Smoldering sexuality. Loves testing people’s limits. Zero pretension. No filter

Margo: CAST. (30s - 40s) Texan. Big personality. Passionate about theater. Williams' closest friend

Pancho: CAST. (30s) Mexican-American. Model for Stanley. Williams' partner. Jealous and possessive. Volatile. Hides insecurity with masculine bravado

Jo: CAST. (20s) Marlon’s sort-of girlfriend. New York-born. Naive and vulnerable. Sexy and bohemian. Wants to be an artist but isn’t. Sees through Brando’s games.

On-Call Understudies for: Margo/Jo (20s-30s), Pancho/Marlon Brando (20s-30s) & Tennessee Williams (30s-40s)

THE YEARLING

Directed by Mary Zimmerman

1st Rehearsal 4/26/2027

Opening 6/5/2027

Closing 7/5/2027

SYNOPSIS: A new puppetry-infused adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' classic American novel.

SEEKING:

8 Performer/Puppeteers: to play various roles in this ensemble-focused piece.

PRINCE HAL

Written and Directed by J Nicole Brooks

1st Rehearsal 8/30/2027

Opening 10/2/2027

Closing 10/18/2027

"Chicago is one city, we must work as one people for our common good and our common goals. I want to reach out my hand in friendship and fellowship to every living soul in this city." - Mayor Harold Washington 1983

SYNOPSIS: Harold Washington, a pioneering politician, and lawyer finds himself a reluctant candidate answering the call to become Chicago's first Black mayor. Once the nomination is accepted the storied politician doesn’t rely on the usual political stomping grounds for votes. Instead, he makes deep connections with everyday Chicagoans including an unlikely group of regulars at a local West Side tavern.

SEEKING:

HAROLD WASHINGTON/MAN (60s) Black-identified male/masc. A storied politician against all odds is elected mayor for the city of Chicago during the racially charged and hotly contested mayoral race of 1983. Brawny, eristic, charming. Harold is an excellent orator but knows when to be an active listener. As a former boxer and track athlete, we witness his virility also his decline in health due to poor diet, stress and lack of sleep. Skill set: Boxing, dance, movement

CUTTY and OTHERS (40s ) Black-identified male/masc. Owner of The Chamber, a tavern on Chicago’s West Side. A slick mouthed tavern uncle who knows everybody and more importantly, they all know him. Cutty also serves as the bar's deejay spinning records and commanding all around him to sway to joys and pains of life. Can speak extemporaneously on anything but most of the time he’s full of shit. Cutty is a father figure to many but forms a brotherly bond with Harold Washington. He helps to galvanize a community effort to get Harold in office. Skill set desired: boxing, dance, movement

TRUDY and OTHERS (40s ) Black-identified female/femme. A cook, manager and security guard at The Chamber tavern. Trudy is the boss of whatever room she enters. Second in command and close friends with the owner Cutty. Trudy is an ex-felon who rebuilds her life after serving a bid for violent crimes and weapon possession. She and Harold Washington spend a great deal of time together in the kitchen prepping meals for hungry and delightfully drunken customers. Skill set desired: dance, movement, possible vocalist

MARY 30s and OTHERS Black-identified female/femme. Mary Ella Smith is educator in Chicago Public Schools and longtime fiancée of Harold Washington. Mary’s work is rooted in educational outreach, and she considers herself to be a memory worker archiving marginalized experiences, and confronting legacies of oppression. Grounded, stealth, smoldering beauty. Skill set desired: dance, movement

YAMILE and OTHERS (30s) Cuban inclusive of Afro Cuban/African diaspora in Latin Americas identities. An activist and former law student of Harold Washington. Yamile is Cuban born and migrated to Chicago as a teenager. She is an advocate for social justice in Lawndale and Humboldt Park community areas. Civil rights, environmental justice, also helps newly migrated individuals settle in Chicago. A clever, quick-witted lioness with a big heart. Skill set desired: dance, movement

LAVON and OTHERS (18-20) Black-identified male/masc. A brilliant young person stymied by challenges partly due to troubles at home. Lavon is the newest employee of The Chamber, taken under the wing by owner Cutty and Trudy. Named for the scientist Percy Lavon Julian, Lavon is incredibly bright, but his light is dimmed by lack of resources to continue his education. He is mercurial by nature with energy that is incredibly fluid and impossible to hold still. Skill set desired: dance, movement including lyrical, technical, modern, acrobatic, House, Ballroom

RENNY and OTHERS (20s) Puerto Rican inclusive of Afro Puerto Rican, African diaspora in Latin Americas identities. Born in Puerto Rico, newly migrated to Chicago. He is introduced to the folks at the tavern, and they help him transition to life in a new city. Renny has dreams of conquering Chicago but faces discrimination and unfair housing practices. His heart aches to return to his homeland of Puerto Rico someday, so he can often be found on the shores of Lake Michigan dreaming, conjuring and fighting for self-determination. Skill set desired: dance, movement including acrobatic, lyrical, clowning, House, Ballroom

AALIYAH MICHAEL and OTHERS (20s-50) Black-identified female/femme. A bar fly who never refuses a free drink or a twirl on the dance floor. A good time girl who loves to party. She hears music in the silence and seems to tap into other spiritual realms. For her movement is how she expresses herself or brings forth a message from the great beyond. Aaliyah Michael is an angel and helps Harold cross over when he transitions. Skill set desired: Dance movement at a professional or highly experienced level for forms including but not limited to Modern, Bomba, Santeria, Stepping, House, Ballroom

SALARY

CAT Tier 6 (KOWALSKI): $1122.15 weekly minimum - until 10/4/26, $1167.05 weekly minimum - after 10/5/26; Tier 4 (THE YEARLING & PRINCE HAL): $746.70 weekly minimum

• UNION
  AEA