Seeking Latinx and white actors for moving and funny drama A Good Farmer at Burien Actors Theatre

Burien Actors Theatre (BAT) is seeking Latinx and white actors to play characters aged 30s through 50s in A Good Farmer, a drama laced with humor written by Sharyn Rothstein.

Synopsis:  A Good Farmer is the story of two women – Bonnie, a farm owner, and Carla, her unlikely best friend, an undocumented Mexican immigrant – fighting to survive in a small New York town divided by America’s immigration battle. Rothstein brings us the very human story behind some of today’s contentious political issues in a play about love, friendship and finding the power to face what separates us. (Act 2 takes place seven years before Acts 1 and 3.)

Performances are at BAT in Burien from April 24 through May 17, 2020. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Rehearsals begin the week of March 16 at BAT on some weeknight evenings, plus some Saturday afternoons or Sunday afternoons or evenings; exact times to be determined based on actor availability, until tech week.

BAT has plenty of free on-site parking and is two blocks from the Burien Transit Center.

The director is Devin Rodger.

$200 stipend provided.

Auditions are at Burien Actors Theatre on Thurs. March 12 from 7 to 10 p.m. and Sat. March 14 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Callbacks will be at Burien Actors Theatre on Sun. March 15 from 6 to 10 p.m. If these dates and times are problematic for you, let us know to see if we can work around it.

Actors will audition by reading sides from the script. Sides will be emailed to the actors. Please also bring a resume and headshot. Callbacks will also be reading be from sides.

Please make audition appointment:  audition@burienactorstheatre.org, 206-242-5180. Auditions will be held at Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave S.W., Burien. For directions, go to burienactorstheatre.org/about-bat/visit.

Character Descriptions/Requirements

NOTE:  The intent in casting is to be as consistent as possible with the time, place and circumstances in which the play is set. Actors do not have to be the ages or sex indicated but must be able to convincingly portray them. 

NOTE:  The play is written for 4 actors. The actress playing Rosemary will also play Lu and Sender. The actor playing Gabe will also play David & Rich. 

Bonnie Johnson (white female, age 34): Bonnie’s best friend is Carla. They depend on each other to survive. A single mom and a farmer who owns a struggling cabbage and dairy farm, Bonnie’s a fighter. She loves few but loves them deeply. She is fiercely protective, not easily intimidated, and she does not back down. To cope with grief, loss, and fear, she relies heavily on her sense of humor. She is also skilled at looking away from looming terrors that are too big or out of her control, in order to keep things running day to day. A city girl from Cincinnati, Bonnie never aspired to be a farmer. She took over the running of her husband’s family farm during his battle with cancer and after his death. Bonnie likes to wisecrack and has a bit of a mouth on her. (Cincinnati accent not required–but if you’ve got one bring it! Dialect coaching will be provided as needed.)

Carla Gutierrez (Latinx female, age 30):  Carla and Bonnie are dear friends, though their relationship is sometimes complicated by the privilege and lack of privilege inherent in their situation. Carla is funny, and she uses humor to get through the worst times and make the good times better. An undocumented farmer from Mexico, the mother of two, she is direct, practical and loyal. Though Carla’s life is steeped in fear right now, she has little use for avoiding the truth, no matter how scary. She is someone who believes there are choices in nearly every situation and Carla would always rather choose for herself. Carla is clear about what she wants, insightful about others’ motivations and she is excellent at giving boundaries. (Mexican accent/dialect is written into her lines. Carla speaks a prayer and a couple of other phrases in Spanish. Language and dialect coaching will be provided as needed.)

Rosemary Devlin (white female, age 30s): Rosemary is a zealous PTA mom whose chirpy brightness and desire for perfection thinly veil deep insecurity, loneliness and feelings of powerlessness. Her husband, a powerful local politician, sleeps around and everyone in town knows it, though Rosemary would rather not see any of that. Insensitive to the point of near blindness, loud and judgmental, Rosemary serves as comedic relief. She manages to be hilariously awful, painfully fragile and somehow still likable. The person who plays Rosemary will also play Lu and Sender. (Upstate New York accent is a plus, but not required. Dialect coaching will be provided as needed.)

Lu (female, age 30s-50s): A Nurse and a Christian, Lu loves to laugh. She has a special bond with David, they joke a lot and she doesn’t let him get away with much. Lu, and her devotion to nurturing and protecting life in whatever ways she can, is the driving force that first brings Bonnie and Carla together.

Officer Shirley Sender (female): Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) officer. She wants to solve the case and she will use all her skills to do that. Sender may be less concerned with the truth than she is with building her case…which, of course, will later be used to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. (No offense.)

Gabe Dubay (white male, age 30s): An unemployed, single father and insecure “through-and-through jerk, Gabe has recently discovered that life can be meaner than he is. Often drunk and struggling to cope with emotional pain and growing feelings of powerlessness, Gabe blames others and stews in ineffectual rage. He has the warped notion that hurting others will empower him. The actor who plays Gabe will also play David Johnson and Rich Parks. (Upstate New York accent is a plus but not required. Dialect coaching will be provided as needed.)

David Johnson (male, age 30s): David is Bonnie’s husband, sick with terminal stomach cancer. He is a jokester, optimistic, kind, and motivated to do what’s right. David and Bonnie own the farm his family has run for generations, but which is now struggling terribly. He hates not being able to take care of Bonnie and their son, feels like he is burdening them with his care, and worries about his family’s wellbeing after he is gone. David wants to leave a legacy that will help Carla and her family and that will reassure him that Bonnie, the love of his life, will have people around her to love – a new family after she’s lost him. David is a fair and just person with a big heart and a keen ability to read others. (Upstate New York accent is a plus but not required. Dialect coaching will be provided as needed.)

Rich Parks (male): State-appointed lawyer. Parks wants to win the case; he isn’t so concerned with fairness or right and wrong – not his job. And who has time for that anyway? He’s a harried defense attorney whose job is to win, and he salivates over the rare, unexpected tidbits that plop into his lap and make his job easier. Also, Parks doesn’t understand “you people,” and he’s not super interested in fixing that, even if “you people” are his clients.