Auditions: 2026 Women in Theatre Festival

Women In Theatre New Play Festival

Producing Festival Coordinator: Anika Thompson

Directors: Kay Capasso, AJ Valentine, Kendra Carlson, Jess Hughes, Anika Thompson

Duluth Playhouse is excited to announce auditions for our 2026 Women In Theatre New Play Festival! Performers may be cast in multiple roles depending on availability. All actors cast in the festival will receive a stipend for their participation. Details will be provided upon casting.

We are committed to diversity and inclusivity and welcome performers of all races, genders, abilities, and backgrounds to audition. 

AUDITION DETAILS:

• Dates: Saturday, April 4th
• Location: Auditions will be held in person at the NorShor Theatre Rehearsal Studios located at 211 E. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802. Please enter through the “Lights on Duluth” door located next to the Box Office.
• Time: 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
• Preparation: Please prepare a short monologue (1-2 minutes). You may be asked to cold-read at the audition. 
• Sign Up: Here
• Audition Form: Please fill out THIS FORM

VIDEO SUBMISSION 

If you cannot attend auditions, please send in a video submission to womenintheatre@duluthplayhouse.org no later than Friday, March 27th at 12 p.m. Video submissions must include: 

• Video Audition: Please prepare a short monologue (1-2 minutes)
• Headshot and Resume: Please email a resume and a picture of yourself. 
• Audition Form: Please fill out THIS FORM  

REHEARSAL DATES & TIMES

Starting May 1st, as determined by the director & cast

With team: Tech Week: June 8-12; Invited Dress: June 11 at 7:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES

June 12 – 7:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The Women in Theatre New Play Festival is a platform dedicated to showcasing the brilliance of women playwrights staged by local women directors and actors. The Women in Theatre, New Play Festival is a celebration of diversity, creativity, and the power of women's voices in the world of theatre.

Roles Available:

The following are the available roles across our selected plays:

Daisy Knows Best

Director: Anika Thompson

Synopsis: A dark and stormy night. Two estranged friends in a remote cabin in the woods. A sinister doll named Daisy lords over the evening. Will Annie and Isabel succeed at reconnecting, or does Daisy have other plans for them?

• ISABEL – Female-presenting. 40s. Open to all races, ethnicities, and abilities. Flamboyant, chaotic, and often gives up on herself.
• ANNIE - Female-presenting. 40s. Open to all races, ethnicities, and abilities. Big-hearted, level-headed, and never gives up on the ones she loves.
  
  

BooBoo Strikes Again

Director: AJ Valentine

Synopsis: It’s hard being a pair of lactating breasts these days. Left BooBoo is tired. They are

tired of being sucked dry and pushed around by a 2-year-old. They are ready to quit! Unfortunately, they don’t have a plan, and the main person standing in their way is their partner in crime, Right BooBoo. Right BooBoo tries to talk their companion down from striking, but will they convince Left BooBoo to keep on going with the flow and continue the breastfeeding journey? As the saying goes, two boobs are smarter than one.

• LEFT BOOBOO: Person with mammary glands, aged 30-45. They are a lactating breast. They are feisty and headstrong. They are tired.
• RIGHT BOOBOO: Person with mammary glands, aged 30-45. They are a lactating breast. They are calm and tranquil. Likes to go with the flow...literally.
  
  

Parked

Director: AJ Valentine

Synopsis: A young black woman, parked, is stopped by a white police officer and hassled in the most violent yet calmest of ways.

• TUNISIA: (20s) An anxious comic just trying to get her jokes ready for a performance.
• POLICE OFFICER: (20s) A normal Wonder Bread, friendly-looking dude.

‍

Kaylee and Adelyn

Director: Jess Hughes

Synopsis: A set of identical twins explore their lives together before an act of gun violence

rips them apart. NOTE: The actors playing KAYLEE and ADELYN need not be identical.

• KAYLEE MAE SHAW - identical twin to ADELYN. First place.
• ADELYN FRANCES SHAW - identical twin to KAYLEE. Second place.
  
  

Lemonde

Director: Kendra Carlson

Synopsis: Old age may bring with it certain indignities, but Vera has discovered one bonus feature. She’d like to share the benefits of this discovery with her old friend Charlotte, but she’s

meeting with some resistance.

• VERA: A vigorous seventy-year-old woman, any ethnicity. She is smartly dressed for a
• luncheon date.
• CHARLOTTE: A demure seventy-year-old woman, any ethnicity. She, too, is dressed for a luncheon date, but her clothes are noticeably dowdier than Vera’s. 
• SERVER: Any gender or ethnicity. Must be clearly younger than seventy. Classy.

‍

Nocturne

Director: Kendra Carlson

Premise: A young woman meets nightly with her lover as the two of them bond over the piano. The only problem is that one of them is dead. Note: No prior knowledge of how to play the piano is required, but it would be appreciated.

• LAYLA: A young lover. A former wife.
• ELISSA: A young lover. A grieving widow.

‍

Intergalactic Sapphics 

Director: Kay Capasso

Synopsis: Sapphic drag queens from outer space crash a girl's first date in this campy ten-minute fantasia inspired by Chappell Roan's anthem "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl."

• Foxxxy: 20s-30s. She/her. An alien from outer space who passionately wants to learn more about humans. A queen, larger than life. She’s giving Chappell Roan and Lucy Darling. She is a mother, she is babygirl, she is an icon, she is the moment.
• Asterisk: 20s-30s. She/her. An alien from outer space. A scrappy space pilot. Genderspicy.
• Dana: 20s-30s. She/her. An introverted young pansexual woman still figuring out what she wants and who she is.
• Kyle: 20s-30s. He/him. A cishet guy.
  
  

Selkie

Director: Kay Capasso

Synopsis: A lyrical solo drama. Marie has a disability, which does not have to be visible. During a trip to physio at the swimming pool, she shares her secret, sensual dreams. Marie fantasises about her coach, Osian, and longs to become a mythical shape-shifting seal-woman, a selkie.

• MARIE: Should be played by a female performer of any ethnicity, and any age from 17-107. She has a disability, but not all disabilities or chronic conditions are visible.

‍

Nothing but a lack of light 

Director: Kay Capasso

Synopsis: Troy’s got a plan to prevent the apocalypse. Quip’s on board. Philo may have just

screwed it up. 

• TROY: Short-tempered and vulnerable. The self-proclaimed leader. Any gender and race/ethnicity.
• QUIP: Calm and free-spirited. The peacemaker. Any gender and race/ethnicity.
• PHILO: Scatterbrained and confident. The rulebreaker. Any gender and race/ethnicity.

‍

For more information, please contact womenintheatre@duluthplayhouse.org.

We can’t wait to see you at auditions!

‍