Welcome to the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley website!

Auditions for a program of 4! one-acts performed as a Mini-Production

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley (www.aeofberkeley.org) is accepting video auditions for a mini-production of a collection of one-acts, THREE FOR THOUGHT. TOO. PLUS ONE, directed by Tracy Baxter.  Details, Audition instructions, synopsis, and characters follow.

Use the "next" button to go to additional pages on the form where you will be able to add information such as your name, scheduling issues, monologues, etc.  Make sure you finish the form and hit "submit".  You will not be able to go back and edit the form again.

PRODUCTION DETAILS

ACTORS ENSEMBLE OF BERKELEY Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is now accepting video auditions for Three for Thought, Too, Plus One a program of engrossing, provocative, and sometimes darkly comedic short works. The first run of Three for Thought in 20222 presented community theater that delighted audiences and gave local actors room and material for incredible performances. Our second show will feature not one, but two works from local playwrights!

Three for Thought, Too, Plus One will be performed at La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid Avenue in Berkeley on two consecutive weekends,the evenings of Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15, with a Sunday matinee April 16; and on the evenings of Friday April 21 and Saturday, April 22, with a Sunday matinee, April 23.

The theatre is within walking distance (but it’s uphill!) from the downtown Berkeley BART station, just north of the Berkeley campus.  In-person rehearsals will also be at LaVal’s.

non-AEA, no Pay. $100 expense allowance.

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

 3 Zoom rehearsals

  • Thursday, March 23 (evening)
  • Sunday, March 26 (evening)
  • Wednesday, March 29 (evening)

3 in-person rehearsals at LaVal’s

  • Sunday, April 2 (afternoon)
  • Tuesday, April 11 (evening)
  • Thursday, April 13 (evening)

PERFORMANCE DATES

  • Friday, April 14, 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 15, 8 p.m.
  • Sunday matinee, April 16, 3 p.m.
  • Friday April 21, 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 22, 8 p.m.
  • Sunday matinee, April 23, 3 p.m.


HOW TO AUDITION----------------------------

What to submit:
(1) Fill out the form below by Friday, March 17th, 11:59 p.m.  Be ready to be contacted by Saturday morning for Callbacks on March 18th.  If you have a short video of a contemporary monologue please include that as it is helpful for the casting process.


(2) If you have problems/questions or need a little more time, please write us significantly before the deadline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


COVID 19 PROTOCOLS-------------------------

PROOF OF VACINATION and a BOOSTER against Covid-19 required.  We will have masks for rehearsals but the performances will not be masked.

SYNOPSIS-------------------------

BIG BREATH (a monologue in three voices) by Elizabeth Gjelten
A vivid monologue on the fraught act of going outside during the protests and the pandemic.
Appx. 15 minutes
One actor, 40-60s
FIRST PERSON The inner self, the “I.”
SECOND PERSON Part coach, part parent.
THIRD PERSON The observer, the poet.


BONWIT TELLER'S REVENGE by Mildred Inez Lewis
It's 1990, and mismanagement is putting luxury retailer Bonwit Teller out of business.  Two wronged employees who work in the basement alterations department conjure up a spooooky way to make things right.
Appx. 15 minutes
Two actors, women
Meredith, 30s+
Jackie, 30s+

THE PHILADELPHIA  by David Ives
Nothing’s going right for Al today. Why? Because he’s trapped in a metaphorical black hole called a “phildelphia,” where no matter what you ask for, no matter how fucking reasonable the request is, YOU CAN’T GET IT. His bar buddy Marcus clues him in on a defensive strategy.
Appx. 15 minutes (presented as a staged reading, scripts in hand)
Three actors
Al, any age
Marcus, any age
Waitress, any age

PLACEBO  by A. Vachss
An unhinged  janitor who enjoys “fixing” things, like people who hurt others (and fix them, like, permanently), tracks down the source of a child’s nightmares. Uh-oh. Somebody’s gonna get fixed good.
Appx. 10 minutes
One actor
Janitor, any age


The only restrictions on gender are the masculine or feminine presentation for the actual characters.

 
YOUR HOST:
Ginorma Desmond is a San Francisco based drag performer, appearing in plays, revues, traditional drag cabaret and stand up comedy. 

 

To submit your audition information, fill out this form: AUDITION FORM HERE

 

Our Director, Tracy Baxter.

In recent years Tracy Baxter’s lifelong interest in all things theater has taken a more active turn. She’s completed acting classes at ACT, Berkeley Rep, and Cal Shakes, participated in directing and lighting design workshops at Oakland Theater Project, and performed with small but mighty community theater companies such as Theater of Others, Ninjaz of Drama, and the venerable Actors of Ensemble of Berkeley, where she is also a board member, and where she also just made her directorial debut, helming a gripping online production of Lynn Nottage’s SWEAT. Her play, KUDZU 2012, was a semifinalist selection in the Playwrights Foundation’s 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and a finalist selection in the Screencraft 2020 Stage Play Writing Competition. Staged readings of KUDZU 2012 were presented in 2022 by the San Francisco Women’s Theater Festival and San Francisco’s 3Girls Theatre, where she is now a Brady Fellow, an incubator program for writers over 40. KUDZU 2012 will be part of Oakland Theater Projects Presents programming Jul, 2023. She directed the first iteration of THREE FOR THOUGHT for Actors Ensemble in October 2022.

Actors Ensemble is the longest-running theatre organization in Berkeley, founded in 1957. We aim to produce quality theatre emphasizing the ensemble, with a community flavor.

Actors Ensemble
P.O. Box 663
Berkeley, CA 94701
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.aeofberkeley.org
A 501(3)(c) organization

Thank You

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is delighted to acknowledge the Berkeley Civic Arts Program and Civic Arts Commission's support in the form of a grant of $8,000.00 awarded in 2017. Also, a thank you to Theatre Bay Area for a grant of $2,500.00.

Actors Ensemble Facebook Group

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley - P.O. Box 663 - Berkeley - California - 94701 ¦ Our Answering Service: (510) 649-5999 ¦

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Federal Tax ID #946139640, since 04-1967