Arcadia Auditions
This fall, the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies is showcasing “Arcadia” for its 2024-2025 season. Tom Stoppard, who wrote this classic play which explores the themes of history, love, math, sex, science, and death has been praised by many critics as "one of the most significant contemporary playwrights" in the English language.
Arcadia
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by David New
Performances
November 7-10, 2024 | 2:00p & 7:30p
Step into Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia," where the story alternates between scenes set in the early 19th century and the present day against the backdrop of a grand English estate. This intellectually stimulating play blends rich dialogue, historical intrigue, and sharp wit to explore themes of love, knowledge, and the nature of time. As the ideas of the past and present collide, Stoppard offers a profound and humorous examination of how we seek to understand our place in history and the mysteries that shape our existence.
Casting Needs
CASTING NEEDS: 12-13 Actors. Please choose a side from one of the characters listed below. Prepare a self-tape and submit it to the form below. Note that actors will be considered for a variety of parts, not just the part that they audition for on tape, the audition sides are linked by character in the Audition Sides bar at the bottom of this page. You are welcome to audition for any character, all the roles are open to all actors. No previous acting experience required. If any questions or problems arise please reach out to the TAPS Director of Performance, Devon de Mayo, ddemayo@uchicago.edu.
SELF-TAPE AUDITIONS DUE: Friday, September 27th by 11:59pm.
In-person CALLBACKS: Monday, September 30th, 6-10pm.(Please note: You may be asked to prepare additional sides for the callbacks. In that case, the additional material will be emailed to you along with your time slot by the afternoon of Saturday, September 28th.)
Characters
Characters
*All characters speak with a standardized English accent. You are free to use an accent or not for your self-tape submission.
*The % figures are the proportion of lines for that character to give you an idea of the relative sizes of the roles.
1809
Lady Thomasina Coverly (10%) — Adolescent math prodigy.
Septimus Hodge (15%) — Thomasina’s tutor — a witty fellow.
Jellaby (2%) — The Coverly’s butler (Prepare Ezra Chater side)
Ezra Chater (2%) — A prideful poet.
Richard Noakes (2%) — An avid and passionate landscape architect. (Prepare Ezra Chater side)
Lady Croom (6%) — The lady of the Coverly household, strong and commanding - also passionate.
Captain Brice (1%) — Lady Croom’s brother, a naval captain. (Prepare Ezra Chater side)
Augustus Coverly (1%) — Thomasina’s younger brother, a student at Eton.
THE PRESENT
Hannah Jarvis (23%) — A disciplined and passionate academic.
Chloe Coverly (5%) — A confident young woman coming into her own/Sister to Valentine and Gus (Prepare Thomasina Coverly side).
Bernard Nightingale (19%) — An enthusiastic and passionate academic.
Valentine Coverly (12%) — A sensitive and passionate early career academic/Brother to Chloe and Gus.
Gus Coverly(non-speaking/actor also plays Augustus in 1809 scenes) — The youngest and shyest of the Coverly siblings in the present (Prepare Valentine Coverly side).