Quintessence Theatre Group | Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
AUDITION DATE
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (E)
Lunch 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
APPOINTMENTS
To schedule an audition appointment, please contact Artistic Associate, Lisi Levi at: [email protected] .
CONTRACT
SPT
$761 weekly minimum (SPT 8)
SEEKING
Equity actors for roles in FIRE!! (See breakdown).
Local Philadelphia area actors are encouraged to audition.
PREPARATION
Please prepare a 1鈥�2 minute contemporary monologue, and 16-bars of a ballad to be
sung (acapella or with pianist.) An accompanist will be provided.
LOCATION
Quintessence Theatre - Rehearsal room &
Administrative offices
7135 Germantown Avenue
2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19119
PERSONNEL
Written by Marilyn Campbell Lowe & Paul
Oakley Stovall
Expected to attend:
Director: Raelle Myrick Hodges
Movement Director: Polanco Jones
Artistic Director: Alex Burns
Artistic Associate: Lisi Levy
OTHER DATES
First Rehearsal - 9/2/2025
Opening - 10/16/2025
Closing - 11/3/2025
OTHER
www.qtgrep.org
An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition.
Equity鈥檚 contracts prohibit discrimination.
Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a
policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of
inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities,
and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.
Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
BREAKDOWN
FIRE!!
SYNOPSIS: FIRE!! is a world premiere Philadelphia production that captures the vibrant spirit of
1920s Harlem and the young Black artists who helped define a cultural revolution. Set over one star-lit night, the play follows six emerging writers鈥攊ncluding Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman, and Zora Neale Hurston (Historical literary figures from the 1920s; The play takes place prior to these iconic figures' literary recognition.)鈥攁s they gather to launch FIRE!! Devoted to Young Artists, a bold magazine that would become a landmark in American literary history.
Blending humor, realism, and magical realism, FIRE!! brings to life stories from the magazine through music, movement, and poetry. It is a celebration of youthful vision, artistic defiance, and the spark that lit the Harlem Renaissance. FIRE!!... honors the courage of young writers daring to ignite a new movement of literature in America - It is a love letter to youth, collaboration, and the heat of becoming.
This is a world premiere production, and the script will continue to be developed throughout the
rehearsal process.
SEEKING:
Langston Hughes - (in his 20s) a prominent African American poet, playwright, and social activist, best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. His writing captured the everyday lives, struggles, and dreams of Black Americans, using jazz-inspired rhythms and accessible language.
Gwendolyn Bennett - Gwendolyn Bennett was a poet, artist, and journalist associated with the
Harlem Renaissance, known for celebrating African American heritage and identity in her work. Her poems and essays often explored themes of racial pride, femininity, and cultural legacy, contributing significantly to early 20th-century Black literary and artistic movements.
Zora Neale Hurton - Zora Neale Hurston was an influential African American author, anthropologist, and folklorist best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Her work celebrated Black Southern culture and dialect, blending storytelling with anthropological insight to preserve African American folklore and traditions.
Helene Johnson - Helene Johnson (mid 20s) was a pioneering African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance, known for her vivid and emotionally resonant verse that explored themes of racial pride, identity, and the complexities of Black life in America. A cousin of novelist Dorothy West, Johnson published over thirty poems in prominent literary journals such as Opportunity, Fire!!, and Vanity Fair, and was recognized by contemporaries like Robert Frost for her innovative style and thematic depth.
Richard Bruce - (21 years old) Richard Bruce Nugent, often publishing as Richard Bruce, was a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the few openly gay writers of the era. His
groundbreaking work, including the short story Smoke, Lilies and Jade, explored themes of race, sexuality, and identity with a bold modernist style.
Wallace Thurman - (late 20s) Wallace Thurman (1902鈥�1934) was a pioneering African American
writer and editor central to the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Salt Lake City, he moved to Harlem in 1925, where he became managing editor of The Messenger and co-founded the literary magazine Fire!!, which challenged prevailing notions of Black art.
SPT $761 weekly minimum (SPT 8)
AEA