AUDITION NOTICE
The 2026 richmond shakespeare Festival
AUDITION DATES/TIMES:
March 7th - 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
March 8th - 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
LOCATION: Genworth BrightLights Education Center - Dominion Energy Center
(Entrance is aat stage door on 7th St.)
Please Bring:
• One 2-minute classical or contemporary monologue
• Two current stapled headshot/resumes.
Book Your Slot: To book a five-minute slot, please contact production stage manger, Nata Moriconi at: Nata@RichmondShakespeare.org
You may submit a video audition to the same address.
ALL ROLES ARE OPEN.
ACTORS OF ALL RACES, GENDER IDENTITIES, BODY TYPES, AND ABILITIES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO AUDITION.
AS YOU LIKE IT
By WIlliam Shakespeare
Directed by Claire Wittman
June 26th – July 19th, 2026
Character Breakdown
Rosalind
A one-person three-ring circus of dazzling intellect, wild tomfoolery, and profound emotion.
Celia
An effervescent, frank, and fiercely loyal princess.
Orlando
An angry young man softened by love.
Touchstone
A wise fool.
Adam
A faithful servant.
Silvius
A lovelorn shepherd.
Phebe
A haughty shepherdess.
Jaques
A melancholy philosopher.
William
A country bumpkin.
Audrey
An adorable goatherd.
Oliver
A covetous bully.
Amiens
a musical nobleman.
Corin
A rustic elder.
Duke Senior
An exiled idealist.
Duke Frederick
A usurping tyrant.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Irene Kuykendall
August 6th – August 30th, 2026
Character Breakdown
Jack Worthing
Male identifying, 30s.
A seemingly serious and responsible man who attempts to navigate the social expectations of the city and his personal obligations in the country by crafting a character he often employs and embodies, named Ernest. With a foot firmly placed in two worlds, he is bewildered when his friend, Algernon, uncovers his secret. Deeply in love with Gwendolen, Algernon’s cousin, Jack/ Ernest hopes his unique history and slightly lower social status won’t keep him from his love. He is the guardian of his adoptive father’s granddaughter, Cecily.
Algernon Moncrieff
Male identifying, 30s
A man of extravagant tastes and specific preferences, a love of nonsense, and an avid player in tomfoolery (as long as he’s the one fooling). He’d rather be overdressed than underdressed, lives for pleasure, and has a provoking sense of humor. Having settled comfortably into the life of a bachelor, Algernon is not expecting to fall in love with Jack/ Ernest’s young, imaginative, and inexperienced ward, Cecily. He is the nephew of Lady Bracknell and the cousin of Gwendolen.
Gwendolen Fairfax
Female identifying, 20s
With a taste for high society, a cosmopolitan upbringing, and a fashionable sense of style, Gwendolen is beautiful, sophisticated, and clever, while being directly influenced by her mother’s nuanced ideas of morality and social expectation. In love with Jack, whom she only knows as Ernest, she is determined to marry a man of that name. Daughter of Lady Bracknell, she is hoping her mother will accept Ernest/ Jack as her fiancé.
Cecily Cardew
Female identifying, 18
Having spent her entire upbringing at a country estate in Shropshire, England, Cecily is young, bright, and beautiful, albeit sheltered and secluded. Her studies are the main focus of her days, yet she entertains herself through vibrant and imaginative inventions of a secret love affair with her guardian Jack’s fictitious brother, named Ernest. She delights in the idea that this rule-breaker could pursue her. When Algernon arrives at the estate, pretending to be Ernest, Cecily is immediately smitten.
Lady Bracknell
Female identifying, 40s- 70s
With an imposing and domineering presence, Lady Augusta Bracknell is a woman of refined Victorian conventional sensibilities. Having married up herself, she is determined that her daughter, Gwendolen, do the same. She is unapologetically disapproving of Gwendolen and Jack/ Ernest’s romance when she discovers he was orphaned and adopted after being found in a handbag at Victoria Station. Snobbish and pretentious, she regularly makes absurd yet unintentionally comical pronouncements.
Miss Prism
Femaie identifying, 40s - 70s
Despite taking her role as the governess to Cecily Cardew very seriously, Miss Laetitia Prism is torn between her obsession with the fruits of academia and her infatuation with the local Reverend. She is puritanical when reacting to the misbehavior of Jack’s invented brother, Ernest, yet displays a softer side when discussing her lost manuscript and her appreciation for the Reverend’s metaphors, lectures, and sermons. She is an unmarried woman who has made her way in the world by serving as an educator.
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.
Male identifying, 40s - 70s
The Reverend Chasuble serves his local flock by recycling the same sermons for multiple circumstances. He speaks in platitudes, often referencing canon law and morality while simultaneously entertaining an attraction to the governess, Miss Prism. Both Jack and Algernon ask to be christened as “Ernest” by the country minister, and he is only happy to help.
Lane
Male identifying, 30s - 70s
Algernon’s intelligent manservant, who has learned how to navigate the energetic twists and turns of his master. Willing to tell an untruth when it will serve Algernon’s whims, he has proven himself indispensable. Lane is aware that Algernon pretends to be a different person named Bunbury in the country, and how to pack luggage properly for the occasion.
Merriman
Male identifying, 30s - 70s
Jack’s butler at the manor house in the country. He is aware of the comings and goings of guests and the proper serving expectations of the time.
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.