Red Octopus Theatre Company will hold open auditions for:
Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Milo Graamans
Auditions
Monday, June 2nd @ 6:00pm
Newport Performing Arts Center
Callbacks, as needed, Wednesday, June 4th
Rehearsals
Begin mid-August, 2025
Performances
October 17 – November 2, 2025
Graamans brings Shakespeare’s fast-paced romantic comedy of interwoven plots, mistaken identities, practical jokes, chaos, and confusion to the Newport Performing Arts Center. Bursting with vitality and romance, Twelfth Night gives us one of Shakespeare’s most remarkable heroines, matching wits with a host of captivating characters.
Like most of Shakespeare’s plays, Twelfth Night is written for a male-heavy cast. For this production, however, actors are encouraged to audition for any character they identify with, regardless of gender or age.
We’re not looking for perfect mastery of Shakespeare’s language at auditions, but if you would like to familiarize yourself with the audition sides in advance, CLICK HERE.
If auditioning for Feste, Toby, or Andrew, please be prepared to sing at the audition. Prepare a verse (or approximately 30 seconds) of a song of your choosing. If you play a portable musical instrument, please bring it!
AVAILABLE ROLES…
Cesario (aka Viola) — A young page recently shipwrecked in Illyria, in love with, and in the service of, the Duke Orsino. Line load: heavy.
Duke Orsino — The Duke of Illyria, a suitor to the Lady Olivia. Line load: heavy.
Lady Olivia — A lady mourning the recent loss of her brother, rejecting all suitors except Cesario. Line load: heavy.
Sir Toby Belch — Lady Olivia’s drunk uncle. Line load: heavy. Some singing.
Feste — A fool and traveling musician. Line load: heavy. Singing role. Bonus points if you play an instrument.
Malvolio — Lady Olivia’s steward, a puritan. Line load: heavy.
Sir Andrew Aguecheek — One of Sir Toby’s drinking buddies and a suitor to the Lady Olivia. Line load: moderate. Some singing.
Maria — An attendant on Lady Olivia with a mischievous streak. Line load: moderate.
Fabian — An attendant on Lady Olivia. Line load: moderate.
Sebastian — Cesario’s identical twin brother, presumed to have died in the shipwreck. Line load: moderate.
Antonio — A former pirate, friend to Sebastian. Line load: moderate.
Valentine — An attendant on Duke Orsino. Line load: light.
Curio — An attendant on Duke Orsino. Line load: light.
Two officers, a ship captain, a priest, and another attendant — Cameo roles. Line load: light.
Learn more at www.octopusonstage.com/auditions
Red Octopus Theatre Company encourages any/all in the community who may be interested in theatre to join us for auditions, as we love to see new talent and welcome new folks to our stages. Our auditions are open to all, because we want to see our coastal theatre community grow! Please arrive on time and let the attendant know if you will need to leave early. Callbacks are by invitation only.
Red Octopus Theatre Company is committed to inclusivity and does not discriminate with regard to gender, race, age, size, or ability. Most characters we encounter currently are on the binary and are written with he/him or she/her pronouns, and you will see that in the descriptions we provide. But however limiting the descriptions are, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible, and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with. We will also list race/ethnicity when specific to the character, but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities.