The Contemporary American Theater Festival is dedicated to producing and developing new American Theater. This season we are producing FIVE new American plays in rotating repertory. We are one of just a few professional theaters that do rotating rep and are committed to providing our audience with a Repertory Acting company. This means that you get to experience actors who appear in more than one play. Casting a rotating repertory company is a challenging process. For the past several years we have worked with the prestigious Pat McCorkle Casting Ltd. in New York. Over the years Pat and I have developed a unique and collaborative relationship. We have developed an unspoken vocabulary when it comes to casting a FIVE Play Rep. Pat McCorkle gets us! She gets the CATF mission! And she gets me! Over the years she has introduced me to some of the finest American actors working today. We are looking for actors who understand the nurturing process of new play development. We are looking for actors who share our passion for new work. We are looking for actors who have a hunger and an adventurous appetite for doing new plays in rotating rep. Rehearsing two plays at the same time is an overwhelming experience and requires actors who are dedicated to this challenging process. Casting the 2009 Repertory Acting Company is one of the most important responsibilities that I have.

We will hold local Equity Auditions in Shepherdstown on April 13th and 14th. Our New York casting is April 21st –April 24th. I will announce the 2009 Acting Company in May.
Here is a behind the scenes look at the casting process:

A descriptive breakdown of the 2009 Cast:

Adam in YANKEE TAVERN will also play Stephen in FARRAGUT NORTH:
ADAM: A handsome male who is in his late 20’s. He has a good sense of humor. He is funny, intelligent and he is very good with language.
STEPHEN: A handsome male in his late 20’s. He is a political “wonderboy”. He is charismatic, charming and whip-smart. He walks a thin line between wide-eyed idealist and a cold blooded killer. He is a chameleon. He is a Machiavelli type. He feeds on power. All of this makes him sexy as hell.

Janet in YANKEE TAVERN will also play Ida in FARRAGUT NORTH:
JANET: An attractive woman who is in her mid 20’s –early 30’s. She is smart, tough and has a strong emotional range. She is caring and determined.
IDA: Age range late 20’s-early 30’s. She is political reporter for the NY Times. She is a no nonsense journalist. All she wants is the scoop. She is aggressive, sexy and determined.

Ray in YANKEE TAVERN will also play Tom in FARRAGUT NORTH:
Ray: This is a character actor type but with an edge. He is in his late 50’s or early 60’s. He is likable and passionate. He has fun with his conspiracy “rants”. He is a good comedian with excellent language chops.
TOM: His age range is 50’s to 60’s. He is a Senator Pullman’s Campaign Manager. Tom is the consummate political operative. He is slick and seemingly soulless. Every move and word is calculated and precise. He’ll do anything to win, no matter whom or what stands in his way.

Palmer in YANKEE TAVERN will also play Paul in FARRAGUT NORTH:
PALMER:  A male in his late 40’s-50’s. He is a mysterious and secretive man. He is very intelligent and dangerous. He is a strong and intense character.
PAUL: His age range is 40’s-50’s. He is Governor Morris’s Campaign Manager. He is a grizzled, foul-mouthed, tobacco chewing political veteran. But he’s got a brilliant mind lurking beneath the rough edges. He possesses a strong sense of leadership and sexual appeal.

Adam in FIFTY WORDS will also play Math in THE HISTORY OF LIGHT:
ADAM: His age range is early 40’s. He is verbally quick and used to charming his way through life. He is puzzled by the depth of his own emotion. He is emotionally volatile, but sees himself as the “rational voice” of the relationship. He should be “ordinary looking”…but with a quiet charisma. He is an architect who comes from a broken home…with all the underlying emotional uncertainty that implies.
MATH: His age range is late 30’s. He is a handsome white male. He is a management consultant and a classical pianist. He was a nerd until late in high school. He is an overachiever, cocky and irresistibly eloquent. While he is risk averse, he is soulful with a deep compassion.

Jan in FIFTY WORDS will also play Sara Jane in DEAR SARA JANE:
JAN: Is a former dancer in her 30’s. She is supple and emotionally deep. She is a creature of her emotions which are clear and reliable. She should radiate a sense of competence. She comes from “old blood” in St. Augustine Fla. She hates pretense, but knows that she herself has inherited a social self-consciousness which she takes seriously.
SARA JANE: A thin, pretty woman in her late 20’s or early 30’s. She needs to possess sweetness, vulnerability and depth. She has a wacky delightful madness. She is charming with great comic chops! She can sing like a bird. But she has a fierceness to play her twin sister, Lynnie. She plays the piano.

Molly in FARRAGUT NORTH:
She is a 19 year old intern for the Morris Campaign… a teenage knockout with an old soul. She seems more mature than woman twice her age. She is ambitious, bright and resourceful. She is sexy and attractive. She knows how to quickly move up the political ranks.

Ben in FARRAGUT NORTH:
BEN: He is a 23 year old Deputy Press Secretary who is right out of college. He is smart and ambitious, but a little green. He is a “wonderboy”.

Soph in THE HISTORY OF LIGHT:
SOPH: She is an attractive, black singer/songwriter and pianist in her late 20’s or early 30’s. She is pretty, witty, sharp and very appealing. She has let her checkered family and relationship history leave her vulnerable and handicap her growth. Soph sings jazz and blues and plays the piano live.

Turn in THE HISTORY OF LIGHT:
TURN: He is a handsome black man in his early 50’s. He is a political activist. He is irrepressibly radical, at times to his own detriment. He has forged a life of principle and lost track of some of the important relationships along the way. He is very attractive, charming and charismatic.

Suze in THE HISTORY OF LIGHT:
SUZE: An attractive white woman in her early 50’s. She is an American writer living in France. Her college days were marked by an idealism that still haunts her life. She is extremely intelligent and compassionate.

Frank in FARRAGUT NORTH:
FRANK: He is a reporter from the LA Times…a typical reporter trying to sniff out the story. He can be any race…and his age range is late 20’s-40.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the complicated but exciting process of casting a Repertory Acting Company. Pat McCorkle Casting takes these character descriptions and submits an official “Breakdown” to the talent agencies. They in turn submit their clients for consideration for an audition.

—Ed Herendeen