PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: APRIL 18, 2014
CONTACT: Kate Brandt, kate.brandt@mrt.org
PR CONTACT PHONE: 978-654-7595
BOX OFFICE: 978-654-4678
ONLINE: mrt.org
MERRIMACK REPERTORY THEATRE SEEKS ACTORS FOR PLAY ABOUT THE CAMBODIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Roles for four actors available
Lowell, MA - Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT), a professional theatre company in Lowell, Massachusetts, is seeking actors with theatre experience to submit headshots and resumes for its production of Year Zero, a play by Michael Golamco. The play’s central character is Vuthy – a Cambodian-American teenager struggling to find his place in a community that doesn’t truly accept him and in a family that seems to be disappearing. A comedic drama about finding a direction and a home, Year Zero is set in Long Beach, California in 2003.
The play will open the company’s 2014-2015 season. Rehearsals will begin on August 19 with performances running September 11 – October 5, 2014. Actors will need to be fully-available days and nights for the seven week rehearsal and performance period. All roles are salaried positions and complimentary housing is provided for guest actors.
All four of the roles in the play are currently available. The characters in Year Zero use a few Khmer phrases, but otherwise speak American-English. Ability to speak Khmer is not necessary.
VUTHY – 16 year-old Cambodian-American male. A glasses-wearing, self-described intellectual “geek” (he plays “Dungeons and Dragons”) who, like any teenager, yearns for independence and is torn between dreams of being street-tough and following a better path. He beatboxes and freestyle raps.
RA – 22 year-old Cambodian-American female; Vuthy’s older sister. Attractive, confident, level-headed college student at Berkeley. Although her current boyfriend Glenn is a sensible choice, she is still attracted to her ex-boyfriend Han’s raw charisma and strength.
HAN – mid 20s – Cambodian-American male; Born in Cambodia of Cambodian parents, but came to the U.S. as an infant. Handsome, charming and charismatic, with street smarts and prison experience. He is good-hearted by nature, but has had to learn how to survive on his own.
GLENN – mid 20s – Chinese-American male; A smart, educated, good-looking, clean-cut preppie. Conservative and focused, but not without emotional strength when necessary.
To submit, interested actors may send a headshot and resume to auditions@mrt.org. Headshots can be professionally taken or a simple photo taken with a camera or phone. Hard copies can be sent to:
Year Zero Casting
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
132 Warren Street
Lowell, MA 01852
For further information, actors may email questions to auditions@mrt.org or call 978-654-7953.
MRT (Merrimack Repertory Theatre) is one of Massachusetts' most highly-regarded theatre companies and one of only three theatres in the state to be a member of LORT (the League of Resident Theatres) which represents the 74 leading non-profit theatres in America. Under the artistic direction of Charles Towers since 2001, it has become known for producing an eclectic mix of new plays and regional premieres, with an emphasis on writers giving voice to the American experience. Since its founding in 1979, MRT has served as a vital cultural, educational and economic resource for Greater Lowell and its surrounding region.
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Performance Space: The Nancy L. Donahue Theatre
(In Liberty Hall, adjacent to Lowell Memorial Auditorium)
50 E. Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852
Box Office: 978-654-4678
###
