Yellow Rose Theater is holding auditions for their summer 2026 show: Speak Easy (working title).

Compensation: Stipend $500
Rehearsal Location: North side of Chicago (Rogers Park, Andersonville, Edgewater).
Performance Venue: Bramble Arts Loft, Berry Space. 5545 North Clark Street, 2nd Floor, Chicago IL 60640
Rehearsal Schedule: We are looking to start rehearsals in early/mid-April, likely 2-3 weeknights a week shifting to 3-4 nights a week in May. Weekend rehearsals are a possibility based on cast availability.
Tech Schedule: Tech will begin the week of June 1st and actors will be expected to be available most nights between then and the preview on the 11th.
Preview: June 11th
Performance Schedule: June 12th - June 28th, Thursdays through Sunday. One performance on Monday, June 22nd as well.

Team
Artistic Directors: Kelly Levander and Sean Frett
Directors: Katherine Wettermann, Kelly Levander, and Joe Bushell
Casting Directors: Katherine Wettermann and Sophia Vitello

Description of Show:
Set in Chicago, the play begins in a speakeasy in the 1920s. Throughout the course of the play, we see casts of different characters existing in the space as it changes from a speakeasy to a bar, then to a restaurant, and to a club as the decades pass, until we reach the 2020's.

Seeking: Non-equity actors - 3 principals, 3 swings

All actors will play more than one character. Please see breakdown for track descriptions

Track 1 - (masc, any race/ethnicity, any age) CAST. Plays roles of a seasoned drag queen, a 1930s Italian Immigrant, and an aspiring cover designer for a countercultural magazine.

Track 2 - (masc, Black, any age) play roles of speakeasy owner (Bookish, cautious, exact. Prone to panic attacks), a Polish aspiring cover designer, and a skillful bartender.

Track 3 - (femme, any race/ethnicity, any age) to play roles of a fragile and timid 1930s Russian Immigrant and a novice drag king.

Track 4 - (femme, any race/ethnicity, any age) CAST. Plays roles of Aunt Gertrude (High-strung, pursed lips, think Madeline Kahn in Clue the Movie), Viola Spolin (American theatre academic, educator, and acting coach) and an owner of a 1960's gay bar.

Track 5 - (femme, Latinx, any age) to play roles of 1920s speakeasy owner (Foul-mouthed, fun-loving, wears *gasp* trousers!), 1930s Mexican Immigrant, an editor in chief of a countercultural magazine, and a creative chef in a sports bar.

Track 6 - (any gender, any ethnicity, any age) to play roles of 1920's sergeant (A fully corrupt cop and one of Chicago's finest), a head writer of a countercultural magazine, and an owner of a sports bar.

Swing 1 (masc) covers tracks 1 and 2.
Swing 2 (femme) covers tracks 3 and 6.
Swing 3 (any gender) covers tracks 4 and 5.