SF'25 New Works Video Auditions

SparkFest 2025 New Works Actor Submissions - VIDEO ONLY

SEEKING US-BASED PROFESSIONAL ACTORS FOR 2024 SPARKFEST NEW WORKS STAGED READINGS (VIDEO SUBMISSIONS ONLY)

Amphibian Stage, a non-profit professional theater based in Fort Worth, invites professional actors from all across the nation to participate in SparkFest, our 5th annual arts festival held at our space in Fort Worth, TX. This year's festival is focused on celebrating Native American & Indigenous artists. The New Works portion of SparkFest features three plays by Indigenous playwrights that will be presented in a staged reading format during the festival. This year's plays seeking actors are Rotations of the Sky by Joseph D. Valdez, The Fish by Madeline Sayet, and Stuck in Honolulu by Lee Cataluna.

Compensation: For Equity actors: $12/hr for Rehearsal and $35 per performance for two performances. Contract is an SPT-3 Special Agreement. For Non-Equity: a stipend of $225 will be paid to cover both rehearsals and performances. Rehearsals begin either June 14 or June 16 (depending on the play) in Fort Worth, TX, and performances will occur June 18-22 (depending on the play).  Housing and travel will be provided for any non-local artists.

Deadline to submit is Sunday May 4th at midnight.

Rotations of the Sky by Joseph D. Valdez (June 16-21)

Directed by: Rhiana Yazzie

Synopsis: Johnny, a "rising political star" and single father, is forced to confront his past as he navigates the pressures of his upstart congressional campaign. Amid the cutthroat world of politics, he must also repair a fracturing relationship with his teenage daughter and care for his dying grandfather—all while trying to protect his family legacy.

JOHNNY, Navajo and Chicano, male (38). An aspirational single father running for Congress. Charismatic and sharp, he appears poised, confident, and composed on the outside. However, beneath the surface, he is deeply wounded and carries many secrets. You wouldn’t know it, but he’s a man who is always running.

GRANDPA, Navajo, male, Johnny’s elderly Grandfather (Looking for Native American/Indigenous actors 60+). A World War II veteran who still carries the wounds and weight of war. Gritty, strong-willed, and full of music and memories, he continues to fight, even as he struggles in the final moments of his life.

ANGIE, Navajo and Chicano, female (16). Johnny’s daughter and Grandpa’s great-granddaughter. A self-described activist who is at the top of her class. Driven, well-read, and usually the smartest person in the room, yet there is an emptiness inside her that she can’t quite fill.

KIMIKO, African American, female (38). A masterful political expert and campaign manager who hasn’t received the credit she’s due. Ivy League-educated and looking to make her mark.

JORDAN, Mexican-American, male (16). Ambitious, imaginative, and industrious, he is the son of immigrants determined to bring his deported parents back and create a better life for his family. A dreamer.

Stage Directions - any age, any identity

The Fish by Madeline Sayet (June 14-21)

Directed by Maddox Pennington

Synopsis: The water is rising and everything is at stake in this Noah's ark allegory about three Mohegan/Jewish siblings deciding what to hold onto from the past in order to survive. Both a post-apocalyptic reflection on the many generations that have had to go underwater in order to survive, and a creation story for the world to come.

Emily - Mohegan/Jewish, Female identifying, oldest sibling. Carrying the weight of the world, and belief she is responsible for her siblings.

Jeets - Mohegan/Jewish, Female or Nonbinary, middle sibling, always trying to be the bridge between siblings, cultures, ways of seeing the world.

Aaron - Mohegan/Jewish, Male, youngest sibling, loves books, desperately wants to leave home and meet new people. 

Mom - Mohegan/Jewish, 40s-50s, trying to imagine a future for her descendants.

Quahog/Clam - Female. Ancient, powerful. Needs good comic timing. 

Pôtap (Whale) - Male, left off the ark. Needs good comic timing. 

Tooyupáhs (Turtle) / Puyamaq (Fish) - Any Gender, carries the world on their back. Needs good comic timing. 

Cast Also Doubles As:

Noah, Jonah, Uncas, Sassacus, John Mason, Pôtap 2, 3, and 4, Grandma (Mohegan), Grandpa (Jewish), Auntie Spirits (Mohegan). 

Stage Directions - any age, any identity

Stuck in Honolulu by Lee Cataluna (June 16-22)

Directed by R Réal Vargas Alanis

Synopsis: Daddy, a Polynesian elder, is brought by medical transport plane from his small island to a large hospital in Honolulu. Daddy’s roommate, Tati, is māhū, (the Hawaiian concept of third gender) and Daddy has a lot of thoughts about that, much to the consternation of his daughter, Lihau, who is very concerned with appearances and performative allyship. Forced to spend long hours together battling their own pain, fear, and boredom, Daddy and Tati begin to heal in unanticipated ways in a story that is steeped in the Native Hawaiian tradition of storytelling as medicine.

Daddy – 70’s, male, Native Hawaiian. An unstoppable storyteller with bigoted beliefs that mask his aloha. A big man in poor health who still thinks he’s the boss. He/him

Tati - 25 māhū (Hawaiian concept of third gender) Native Hawaiian. Assigned male at birth though femme presenting. Not trans female. Rejects English pronouns and prefers Hawaiian pronouns, which are non-gendered. Tati is guarded and defensive, has the quick intelligence of a survivor.

Lihau - 30s female. Daddy’s daughter. A people-pleaser, overly concerned with image over substance, aspires to be a small town politician and to look the part. She/her

Stage Directions - any age, any identity

Required Materials: Please submit a short contemporary monologue, either comic or dramatic. Do not exceed 2 minutes.

Audition, headshot and resume should be submitted here: https://airtable.com/appebEhjAKrg8BibU/shrJoOO3a3UXfFgH1