CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND - UNDERSTUDIES AUDITIONS

AUDITION DATE

Monday, January 6, 2025
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM - AEA Open Call

More information on the Actor’s Equity Casting Call: www.actorsequity.org

2:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Appointments

To be considered for an appointment, email your headshot and resume and the role you would like to audition for to: casting@eastwestplayers.org.

CONTRACT

EQUITY: $378.40 weekly minimum understudy rate + pension and health.

NON-UNION: $20/hour, 34 hours max.

SEEKING

Equity and non-union actor/musicians for on-call understudy roles in CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND (see breakdown).

LOCATION

Evolution Studios

10816 Burbank Blvd

North Hollywood, CA 91601

Holding room - Studio C

PERSONNEL

Director - Chay Yew

Music Directors: Jane Lui and Matt MacNelly

Artistic Director: Lily Tung Crystal

Associate Artistic Producer: Tyree Marshall

Casting: Allen Lucky Weaver

Expected to attend:

Artistic Director: Lily Tung Crystal

Producer: Tyree Marshall

Director of Production / Casting Director: Andy Lowe

Casting Director: Allen Lucky Weaver

OTHER DATES

Rehearsals Begin: 1/21/25

Tech: 2/4/25

Opening: 2/16/25

Closing: 3/9/25

(w/ 2-week extension until 3/23/25)

OTHER

EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition.

An Equity Monitor will be provided.

Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition. Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.

BREAKDOWN - CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND

SYNOPSIS: Lauren Yee’s award-winning play-with-music is equal parts comedy, history, mystery and rock concert. The story centers on the resilient bond of family and the enduring power of music which thrusts us into the life of a young woman trying to take down a Khmer Rouge war criminal thirty years after her father fled Cambodia.

SEEKING:

ALL PRINCIPAL ROLES ARE CAST - SEEKING ON-CALL UNDERSTUDIES.

Understudy Track 1: DUCH/CHUM

DUCH: AANHPI, Cambodian, 30s/40s/maybe 50s. The physicality and presence of a spirited emcee and trickster. Vivacious, funny, mischievous. A leader. Incredibly educated and charming, but with a darkness underneath it all. The ability to suddenly transform into a terrifying and sadistic monster. We’re seduced by him in Act 1, before finding out he’s a war criminal in Act 2. Justifies his actions by saying he’s only following orders, but we see that he is haunted. Hides his true passions in order to amass great destructive power.

CHUM: AANHPI, Cambodian, 51 and 18 years old. Neary’s lovable, well-meaning, and wary father in 2008 full of charisma and dad jokes, purposefully withholding his history from Neary, and just trying to bring her back to safety in America. Unsettled by her interest in the dangerous Khmer Rouge. We also see him as a sincere, optimistic young man in the 1970s, caught between fleeing Cambodia and sticking with his beloved band The Cyclos. More of a fighter than we may initially expect. MUSIC: Lead guitar, vocals. Serves mainly as an actor but instrumental skill is a necessity.

Understudy Track 2: NEARY/SOTHEA/POU

NEARY/SOTHEA: AANHPI, Cambodian-American, 26, (doubles as SOTHEA). NEARY: Headstrong, intelligent, and ambitious. Grew up in Massachusetts and has spent the past two years investigating war crimes in Cambodia. There is also a vulnerable quality about her—she’s a little lost, because she hasn’t figured out a part of her own history. She’s a strong young woman, but also a child wanting to connect with her father. MUSIC: Lead vocals (powerful belter who can let loose vocally, and with personality), may play tambourine. Serves as both an actor and a singer.

POU: AANHPI, Cambodian, can be of any gender identity, 20s-30s (also plays S21 GUARD). A bandmate in The Cyclos. MUSIC: Keyboard, vocals. Serves mainly as a musician.

Understudy Track 3: TED/LENG/ROM

TED/LENG: AANHPI, Cambodian, 20s, (doubles as TED, Neary's supportive Thai-Canadian boyfriend). Chum’s best friend and bandmate in the 1970s, frontman for the band who focuses on the group's professional future as a way to avoid thinking about Cambodia's political turmoil and what it might mean for him. Will do anything to survive and can control the room, despite being conflicted by moral choices. Underneath his bravado, we find he's a bit of a coward. MUSIC: Bass guitar, vocals. Serves mainly as an actor but instrumental skill is a necessity.

ROM: AANHPI, Cambodian, can be of any gender identity, 20s-30s (doubles as JOURNALIST). A bandmate in The Cyclos. MUSIC: Drums/percussion. Serves mainly as a musician.