- Tuesday, January 23; 7 to 11 p.m., Little Center Theatre
- Callbacks: Wednesday, January 24, Little Center Theatre
We are looking for a diverse ensemble of performers: 5 actors of color, 3 white actors.
Please prepare a one-minute monologue. After winter break, we will forward some monologues from the script. If you like, you can prepare one of those for the audition.
A sign-up sheet will be available on the 2nd floor of Little Center beginning Jan. 16. Please sign up for a 10-minute audition slot.
SHELTER OF LAST RESORT catapults us from an antebellum plantation to the Superdome post-Katrina. This dark Louisiana Fugue chronicles the stories of the entitled, the enslaved, and the innocent. The future entwines with the past, creating a murderous current in which promises are made and betrayals are exposed and each soul searches for light amidst the rising water.
Cast Breakdown:
SITARA (20s person of color): Blossoming powerhouse in academia. Precocious and ambitious. Desperate to build a new chapter of her life that unknowingly leads her to say goodbye to a part of herself she doesn’t know if she can live without.
SISTER 1 (can be 20s but must be older than Sister 2, person of color): Wise and knowing. Carries her vulnerability close to the heart and believes in burying the dead emotionally and physically. She is a protector with a strong belief in the need of salvation for she believes the core of humanity is ugly and brutal.
SISTER 2 (20s person of color): Seemingly naive but very observant. She uses her limited means to play an oppressive system. A devoted young mother and a staunch believer in the heart’s capacity to change.
TOO QUICK (20s person of color ): Militant truth teller and unapologetic realist. “Woke” before woke was a thing, with a tongue as sharp as the knife he carries around. He has a big heart and emotions that splash over in waves of unpredictability. His is the voice of black youth.
THE CHILD (a Child, ethnically ambiguous): A symbol of hope and the indelible role we play in each other’s lives. Her fate is that of our humanity.
PREACHER MAN (40s person of color): Loving, devout, and steadfast. A father, caretaker and protector who doesn’t go outside of his spiritual or parental boundaries the way one might think. He will lead whomever chooses to follow, but doesn’t force followership on anyone.
LESLEY (can be 20s or 30s white): Seemingly progressive and passionate. He follows his cares only as far as they keep him in great comfort. He believes what he says when he says it but the truth of his word is as fleeting as the moments in which they are spoken.
KATHERINE (20s white): Sheltered and willingly naive. As the invisible privilege she possesses melts away she is rendered powerless which allows her to discover a stronger and more aware woman in the aftermath.
Miranda Adekoje is a writer for stage and screen, as well as an actress. Her other plays include 36 Days (Emerson College Student Workshop), The Strongest Shape (Paines Plough Future Perfect Finalist), Reply Please, Requests, and Sugar Moth. Mrs. Adekoje’s screen work includes Little Eyes (48-hour film festival semi-finalist), The Last Shot, and Red Monster. Shelter of Last Resort has been given staged readings at Company One and The Huntington Theatre Company.
Shelter of Last Resort is the winner of the 2018 Michaelson Playwriting Commission, which is awarded to a playwright of color and carries with it a $2,000 prize.
