Now Casting
THE AVERAGE-SIZED MERMAID by JESSICA FLEITMAN
Casting the following characters for development workshop of THE AVERAGE-SIZED MERMAID, an original play that turns the genre of romantic comedy inside out to explore modern feminism.
NON-UNION
LOUIS LELAND—male, late-20’s to mid-30’s, principal of Old Orchard Elementary. Widower. Close friends with Miriam, who is also a teacher at his school.
NETTIE LANDON—female, late-20’s to mid-30’s. One of Miriam’s best friends. She has a lot of attitude and isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, but her emotional intelligence is off the charts. Her personal hero is Rosa Parks.
See attached sides.
Plot synopsis:
Miriam (already cast) is a kindergarten teacher whose fiancé, Jim, leaves her for a college student. She takes this out on her class in the opening scene, launching into a monologue about how The Little Mermaid is a sexist story. She says the mermaid is a pre-sexual being, as her tail prevents her from having sex with men. The Little Mermaid gives up her tail and her voice to try to please a man, who ends up falling for someone else anyway. Miriam ends up in the principal’s office, dealing with angry parents. The principal, Louis, is also a dear friend of hers. While they are discussing the situation, Miriam spontaneously and inexplicably turns into a mermaid (ie, she has a tail). They both freak out, and Louis takes her back to his house while they figure out what to do. Much earlier, Louis lost his wife, Kelsey, to cancer. While she was ill, she was in a wheelchair. Now that Miriam can’t walk, Louis lends her Kelsey’s old chair, and she stays at his accessible apartment. Nettie, Miriam’s best friend, fully embraces the transformation. She gives Miriam the support to spark a national feminist movement. Nettie also notices and encourages the romance growing between Miriam and Louis.
Workshop Details:
This play is still in development. We are currently casting for a development workshop in which actors will work with a director to help supplement the textual work being done by the playwright and dramaturge. There will be an in-progress staged reading for donors on November 20 and a presentation of a scene as part of a showcase on December 14. Please be available for those dates, as well as for rehearsals on Tuesdays 6pm-9pm and Sundays 12pm-3pm (some rehearsal dates subject to change). The desire to help shape a character and a script in a collaborative artistic process is necessary!
There will be a full production of the play in early 2010. We would ideally like to use the workshop cast, but as characters and script are subject to change, we do not make guarantees.
The workshop is unpaid. The full production will include actor stipends.
