Submissions for Bootleg Shakespeare: Love’s Labor’s Lost

CALLING ALL ACTORS!

BOOTLEG SHAKESPEARE IS UPON US!

Listen up, ye beasties:

We are now welcoming submissions from actors who are interested in working on this year's one-night-only production of LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST to be performed at the Gottwald Playhouse on Saturday, April 27th.

The Bootleg Shakespeare Project was first presented in Richmond in 2009 and has been a Richmond favorite ever since.
The premise is based on the ‘Bootleg’ cassette copies of live band performances which circulated in the 70's and 80's. They tended to be a recording of a recording of a recording. So not quite the songs as you remember them from the studio album - a little strange, a little distorted, a little unpredictable and not quite as crisp. But somehow a bit cooler...a little illicit.

HOW IT WORKS: Local actors are cast in the production 30 days before the performance. In that time, they are expected to learn their lines, develop their character, assemble their own props and costumes, and come in ready to work on the day of the performance for ONE DAY of rehearsal, only to perform the show that very evening to a FREE audience.

This project is designed to be a free theatre event during a time when theatre tickets are increasingly more expensive and wallets are tighter. It's a gesture of good will to the community we love so much. It's also always a packed house and a just ton of fun.
We use live musicians to underscore the event with some cool tunes to help tell the story! And the bar is open throughout the performance to help audiences appreciate the show a little more...

For actors, it represents a performance exercise that they will never forget. Simulating Shakespearean staging conditions by being almost solely responsible for their own performance, it's an opportunity to delve outside their comfort zones and to experience live performance in a way that for many is quite terrifying. For others, it's quite liberating. But it is important that actors take the project seriously and come in ready to work. And by work, we mean making choices. And by choices, we mean strong ones...

The shared experience among actors on this project is quite special and often changes how they think about their approach to performance.

THIS IS NOT A PAID GIG.

We all work on this project pro-bono because we care about the project. We care about Shakespeare. And we care about our community.

If you're interested in joining us as an actor, musician or ASM this year, please contact Jeff Cole at:
Jeffrey.A.Cole@gmail.com

Actors may be cast in one or more roles, depending on the needs of the director. But you are required to perform whatever role you are given.

Please make sure your schedule is clear before submitting to this project. Unexpected changes in line-up cause some pretty serious problems for us, so be sure you're in the clear!
We look forward to hearing from you!

Richmond Shakespeare is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.