A Short Leap Theatre Co. is seeking actors for the Regional Premiere production of Friends With Guns by Stephanie Alison Walker, performed at Greenhouse Theatre Center, Directed by Nathan Dale Short.

Auditions will take place on August 23, 7:00 - 10:00 PM. Virtual Auditions are being accepted through 11:59PM on August 23, 2025. Invited Callbacks will take place in person on August 24 at 7:00 PM.
Attendance at callbacks is required to be considered for casting.

Synopsis: You think you know your friends, your neighbors, your spouse, but what happens when you suddenly find out they have a garage full of guns? This new dark comedy explores the complicated issue of gun proliferation when two young liberal couples are forced to confront their assumptions about who should own a gun and why. The time of easy answers regarding this issue is long gone. In the wake of current events, we are all forced to reexamine our strongly held beliefs about gun ownership. Friends With Guns explores the question of what we can compartmentalize...and what we can't. It examines what happens when guns enter the conversation. It pulls the curtain back on liberals with guns. It asks what happens when suddenly one person in a marriage does a 180 on the gun issue. And it does all of this through a female lens.

Pay
Stipend: $1000 regular cast, $500 for Understudies, paid at the conclusion of the run.
This production will utilize external Understudies.
All Understudies will have two guaranteed performances.

Character Descriptions, provided by the playwright:

SHANNON (late 30s/early 40s, white, female) Stressed out mom to two young boys (2 & 5.) Liberal. Suffers from anxiety of the "everything-needs-to-be-perfect-and-especially-I-need-to-be-perfect" variety. She has a lot of fear that stops her in life. Wouldn't even know how to begin to re-claim her power though she wants to. She's a great mom, but shackled by the expectations of what a "great mom" should be. So though she is one, she never feels like it. Realtor. Married to Josh. (THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. SEEKING UNDERSTUDY.)

JOSH (late 30s/early 40s, white, male) - Liberal democrat. Married to Shannon. Father to their two boys. Is the main bread winner. Works a decent but boring job (Data scientist at Hulu.) Has a great sense of humor. Is pretty self-aware, for the most part. Fancies himself a feminist. Knows deep down that he has an unhealthy relationship with his smart phone but would never admit that to his wife. Everybody loves Josh. (THIS ROLE HAS BEEN CAST. SEEKING UNDERSTUDY.)

LEAH (late 30s/early 40s, BIPOC female) - Wicked smart hippie/boho/punk mom who surfs and does yoga, is a self-proclaimed mathlete and is handy with a table saw and knitting needles. She seems to know the secrets of the universe. She is an empath and a connector. She's a deep eye contact kind of woman who really sees you and doesn't judge. Truly. (Must be a different race/ethnicity than Danny.) (ALSO SEEKING UNDERSTUDY.)

DANNY (late 30s/early 40s, BIPOC male actor) - Exudes a laid-back coolness that is ingrained in his DNA. This man was just born that way. He is a former shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays. Grew up in Montana. Owns his own old-fashioned printing press. Distills his own whiskey. Fly fishes. And can really rock a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He is cool and it comes easy. He is not trying, NOT ever trying to be cool. He just is. Some people might wrongly assume he's a hipster. He's not a hipster. Don't ever call him that. He's pre-hipster. He's DANNY. (ALSO SEEKING UNDERSTUDY.)