Roe
by Zach Theatre

Sep. 04 - Sep. 06 (2019)

 

At age 27, Austin attorney Sarah Weddington won the landmark 1973 case Roe v Wade that legalized abortion, making her the youngest person to ever successfully argue a case before the Supreme Court.  A national debate ensued, and a divide in America endures over this controversial issue.  What most people don’t know is that after the case, Ms. Weddington and Norma McCorvey, “Jane Roe” the plaintiff, took divergent life paths that reflect this complicated polarization in our culture.  Poignant, surprising, and with unexpected humor, “Roe” illuminates the difficult choices women make and the passion each side has for its cause.


AUDITION NOTICE

 

ZACH Theatre announces local auditions by appointment for Lisa Loomer’s play ROE on Wednesday, September 4th & Thursday, September 5th, and Friday, September 6th from 4:00pm – 11:00pm in ZACH’s ZPACC Studio at 1426 Toomey Road.  Callbacks will be scheduled at a later date to be determined.

 

PERSONNEL:

Written by Lisa Loomer

Director TBA

 

REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

Rehearsals begin March 17, 2020, with rehearsals typically scheduled 3pm-11pm weekdays and 11am-7pm weekends (Mondays are off).  Performances begin April 8, 2020, and closes on May 3, 2020, with shows Wednesdays through Sundays at 7:30pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30pm, and some added Tuesdays at 7:30pm.

 

AUDITION APPOINTMENT INSTRUCTIONS (PLEASE READ THESE CAREFULLY): 

Actors will be seen BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.  To schedule an appointment, please send an email to auditions@zachtheatre.org with the subject line that reads: 

“(YOUR FIRST NAME, YOUR LAST NAME) ROE Austin Auditions”

Please include in the email a resume and headshot attached in PDF or Word Document format, and please indicate your preferred audition day and time.  All actors should bring a hard copy headshot and resume to the audition. 

 

AUDITION INSTRUCTION:

We are seeking 8 women and 3 men of all ethnicities and ages, equity and non-equity; all actors will be considered for all roles.  For this audition, actors will be sent sides from the script to prepare.  Callbacks will be scheduled for a later date and consist of reading additional selections from the script.

 

ROLES TO BE CAST:

 

ACTRESS ONE:

SARAH WEDDINGTON—20s in Act One, 40s in Act Two, a few scenes at 70. A feminist, a great lawyer, charming, brilliant, private, and quite composed. In real life, blonde and beautiful with big hair. Texan. 

 

ACTRESS TWO:

NORMA McCORVEY—20s in Act One, 40s in Act Two, a few scenes in her 60s. A funny, angry, hard drinking and drugging, lesbian Texan, desperate at heart. In real life, short, and they called her “Pixie.”

 

ACTRESS THREE (LATINA):

CONNIE GONZALEZ—40s in Act One, 60s in Act Two. Loyal, loving, and maybe even wise; OFELIA—40s.

 

ACTRESS FOUR:

LINDA COFFEE—Late 20s, a shy, bright, socially awkward, and dedicated lawyer; JUDY—20s, an early second-wave feminist, strong; PEGGY—30s, a Christian reporter; ELEANOR SMEAL—40s, feminist; and other smaller roles.

 

ACTRESS FIVE: 

RONDA MACKEY—30s, pretty, warm, a true believer; HELEN—20s, a budding feminist, eager to get it right; GLORIA ALLRED—40s, the feminist lawyer, quite strong; and other smaller roles.

 

ACTRESS SIX (AFRICAN AMERICAN): 

AILEEN—30s, down to earth, working class, African American lesbian nurse; BARBARA—20s or 30s, African American, well educated, no nonsense, wry feminist. 

UMA—30s, a Texas reporter; FLO KENNEDY—African American feminist, funny, powerful; and other smaller roles.

 

ACTRESS SEVEN:

MOLLY—50s, Texan, middle class, flirting with feminism; MARY—50s, Norma’s mother, poor, tawdry, and a real mean drunk; KATE MICHAELMAN—40s, feminist; MARY GILMOUR—A speech teacher; and other smaller roles.

 

ACTRESS EIGHT (AFRO LATINA):

ROXANNE MILLER-RODRIGUEZ—20, an Afro-Latinx college student, working class, bright, emotional, a truth seeker. 

 

ACTOR ONE:

FLIP BENHAM—40s, the head of Operation Rescue. Passionate, folksy, fiery, earnest and persuasive, a good-looking guy and quite a preacher; RON WEDDINGTON—30s, a bright, ambitious, optimistic lawyer; JAY FLOYD—40s, a lawyer in Wade’s office, quite affable and effusive, if not brilliant; MICHAEL MANHEIM—40s, a Hollywood TV producer; and other smaller roles.

 

ACTOR TWO:

HENRY McCLUSKEY—30s, an adoption lawyer, compassionate; ROBERT FLOWERS—40s, a lawyer in Wade’s office, smarter than Floyd, passionately pro-life; TV NEWSMAN—40s, important, charming, ambitious; ABORTION DOCTOR—40s, played by a white actor, sometimes with a strange foreign accent; and other smaller roles.

 

ACTOR THREE:

 

JUSTICE BLACKMUN—60s, deliberate to a fault, torn, and thoughtful; NORMA’S DOCTOR—50s or 60s, brusque and superior; FRED FRIENDLY—60s, used to run CBS News; FRED GILMOUR—A speech teacher; and other smaller roles.