SEEKING
Delaware Shakespeare is holding auditions for non-AEA actors for our Fall 2026 Community Tour production of The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged, Revised, Again written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, Jess Winfield and directed by Mariah Ghant. Actors are welcome to submit for an in-person appointment or to send a video audition.
SHOW SYNOPSIS
The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged, Revised, Again is a wildly fast-paced comedy that takes on all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays—plus the sonnets—in a single, uproarious performance. Using only three actors, minimal props, and maximum imagination, the show barrels through tragedies, comedies, and histories with physical comedy, pop-culture riffs, audience interaction, and gleeful theatrical chaos. Equal parts parody and love letter to Shakespeare, the play celebrates the Bard by making his work accessible, ridiculous, and irresistibly fun for actors and audiences alike.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
We are seeking three Non-AEA, ambitious, physical, comedic actors for the production. The company of actors portray more than 100 of Shakespeare’s characters during the course of the play, so strong character work is a must. Actors who have physical comedy, improv, devising, and Shakespeare experience are a plus.
Del Shakes actively casts BIPOC actors through color-conscious casting, and looks for opportunities to cast artists with a variety of gender expressions in the various roles of Shakespeare's cannon.
REHEARSALS AND PERFORMANCES
Rehearsals for Complete Works will run from August 18th through September 6th, 2026. A draft of the rehearsal schedule can be found here. Performances for the Community Tour will run from September 8th through September 26th, 2026. The tour performs at times that are most convenient for our community partners, so performances may be all over the map — could be 11:00 am one day, 7:00 pm the next, 2:30 pm the day after; this can also include some long days as we have to drive to Southern Delaware. We coordinate with partners to create the schedule, and we should have a finalized schedule by the end of May.
COMPENSATION
Actors will be compensated at a rate of $450/week. Del Shakes is unable to provide housing or travel stipends, and therefore works almost completely with Delaware and Philadelphia-area artists. All artists this season will be non-Equity.
INSTRUCTIONS
In-person auditions will be held on May 14th at The Civic (1600-1650 Girard Ave.) in Philadelphia from 4-8p. To be considered for an in-person audition, please email headshot/resume to [email protected]. For the audition, you’ll be asked to perform one scene from the play as well as a 2-3 minute Shakespeare monologue.
If you are unavailable to join at the in-person auditions, you can inquire at [email protected] about submitting a virtual submission. Virtual audition materials are due by May 14th.
Questions can be sent to [email protected].
