Auditions for Salome

Directed by Wes Dennis.
Greenbelt Arts Center. February 16-17. 8-10pm.

In Matthew 14:6-11, the beheading of John the Baptist is described thusly:

But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

Oscar Wilde expanded the tragic story to a full-length play, expounding upon the themes inherent to the story and adding a number of his own — along with a lush and lyrical writing style (in French!) largely unlike that of his other works.

…And now the Rude Mechanicals are presenting Oscar Wilde’s Salome as a tribute to 1990s media and culture, with a plethora of edits and changes to the Lord Alfred Douglas translation. (If you played Doom II, think of this as Salome with a 90s mod.) Also? It’s now a comedy. If you’re familiar with the original Wilde play and have dreamed of playing these characters in a serious and dramatic adaptation since your days as a young drama student… this is sadly not the play for you.

BUT if you religiously watched Saved by the Bell back in the day (or more recently in syndication); if your Tuesday nights were ever reserved for Buffy & Angel; if you ever sat around with friends intoning “heh heh heh” and “Fire!! FIRE!!!”; if you ever started your morning with a heaping bowl of Urkel-Os; if you know that believing in magic means always having a friend wearing big red shoes? Whether you were alive at the time or not — if those or any number of other 90s throwbacks reside permanently in your heart and you’re excited to bring those vibes to the stage in an off-the-wall collaborative production with great energy and great people, we want to see you at auditions!

Bring your best 90s character impressions to the Greenbelt Arts Center (123 Centerway, Greenbelt, MD 20770) on February 16 and 17 from 8-10pm.

Performances of Salome will take place May 7-16, with one 2pm Sunday matinee and a second mid-week performance (7 performances total). There will be TWO pay-what you will Thursday performances — we really want people to see this and don’t want cost to be a barrier.

Salome: Super Turbo Hyper-Fighting Championship 90s Edition X. FIGHT!

Additional Audition/Character Information:

For all roles, we are open to cross-casting and even changing the genders of characters if it makes for a funnier or more pointed 90s reference. Herod, Herodias, Jokanaan, and Salome will retain their characters’ genders but may be played by actors of any gender. With the exception of Jokanaan, characters may be played by actors of any race, though I would lean away from having white actors do impressions of minority characters. To that extent, the actor playing Jokanaan should be black.

For all roles, think comedy and impressions — we’re really trying to pelt the audience with 90s nostalgia here, so the more you lean into that the closer you’ll get to nailing the assignment. In speech and/or costuming, these characters will all be references to something. They’ll wear the cheese; it will not wear them. (That’s technically a year 2000 reference. Still.)

Herod, the tetrarch. M

King of the land in which our play takes place. He is a comic figure — often puffing himself up and disparaging his enemies, but generally shown to be fearful and impotent. He looks at Salome too much. The actor who embodies Herod should bring sitcom dad/husband energy — but whether that’s frustrated/defeated Al Bundy vibes or larger-than-life Bernie Mac swagger or another interpretation will depend upon what you bring!

Herodias, wife of the tetrarch. F

Our noble Queen. She’s constantly nagging Herod about the attention he pays to her daughter Salome and otherwise needling him in ways that expose his general weakness. She’s kinda annoying, but mostly we like her. Should bring sitcom mom/wife energy, potentially with a characteristic vocal affectation — think Peg Bundy, Marge Simpson, or Fran Drescher. Other interpretations are possible.

Salome, the princess. F

The title role. Think Cher Horowitz, Kelly Bundy, Sabrina Spellman, Season 1 Buffy: popular, trendy, even a little ditzy/distracted, but generally a character we enjoy watching despite her sometime cruelty. Salome does not lack for that cruelty, however — she’s willing to use her looks to manipulate others and pouts (and plots revenge) when it doesn’t happen, and she’s not generally kind to those fondest of her. So she’s something of a mean girl at heart, even if she often needs to play nice to get what she wants.

Also: the kiss with Jokanaan will be played for laughs and done via angles and misdirection, so worry not about intimacy requirements! And the dance will be a relatively chaste mashup of 90s dances and popular songs. Some dance ability would be ideal, but with an emphasis on comedy one need not be a trained dancer here. Elaine’s little kicks are a thing.

Jokanaan, the prophet. M

Whence comes he?

From neighboring lands, where he fed on live eels in bowls of milk. He was clothed in striped and checkered shirts and wore his jeans very high, and over his shoulders were draped suspenders of diverse colors. He was very silly to look upon. A great multitude used to follow him; he even had a licensed cereal.

This is a Steve Urkel impression. There may be room to play with other voices — the transformation chamber featured in a number of Family Matters episodes and Stefan Urquelle did ultimately become a separate character — but the core of this character is an Urkel impression.

Important: Jokanaan is repeatedly praised for the whiteness of his skin. We are determined to cast a black actor in this role; the actor should be comfortable with (or at least capable of tolerating) that disconnect.

We are playing the kiss with Salome for laughs and lip-touch free, so actors uncomfortable with that level of intimacy need not fret. The actor playing Jokanaan should, however, be comfortable sitting in an enclosed space with only their head visible for the latter moments of the play. (Yup — we’re doing that bit.)

Narraboth, the young captain.

Recently named the captain of the guard. The character is in love with Salome and kills themself relatively early in the play when Salome expresses interest in Jokanaan. Wide range of possibilities here; show us what you’ve got! (As the character dies early, the actor may return as a background character later.)

Note: the actor should be very open to playing the suicide for laughs. We may not go that route (if there’s a serious 90s reference that works better, we could lean into that), but right now I’m 80/20 leaning towards comedic. Costuming (and the death sound effect we select, probably a video game reference) may do much of the heavy lifting.

First & Second Soldiers

These are two separate roles, but they should seem a recognizable 90s buddy pair. Beavis & Butt-Head are prominent options — easily imitable and costuming would be a cinch — but Bill & Ted (the first movie came out in 1989, but the second film, comic, cartoon, and toyline make the franchise decidedly legit for 90s inclusion), Wayne & Garth, Ren & Stimpy, Cow & Chicken, Bebop & Rocksteady, and other such pairings are all viable.

Tigellinus, an honored guest.

A visiting member of Caesar’s court (unless we ultimately discover that it’s funnier if he hails from elsewhere) and probably Herod’s favorite of his party guests. He speaks periodically — and will speak more by the time we’re finished; he’ll throw out references at various points in the play — but is mainly there to support the scene.

Members of the Court.

There will be 2-6 characters who serve to pad the court and sell the funny — while we will have a laugh track playing at key moments, much of what will support the tone will be how the court responds to the dynamic between Herod, Herodias, and Salome. They will have lines, but they’re not yet fixed; as we discuss scenes in the earlier rehearsals we’ll come up with more funny interjections and references for them to spout. They will also act as servants — largely fetching wine (wine cups get refilled lots), bringing Salome’s perfume elsewhere — so there will be opportunities for them to move about and even pop offstage for a breather.

These will be great roles for actors with other projects competing for space in their brains (fewer lines to memorize, even no lines if the actor prefers), actors who enjoy physical comedy, or new actors just looking to dip their toes into community theatre.

Download audition sides HERE!

If you can’t make auditions, video auditions will be accepted — do your best with the sides; playing multiple characters is fine. Monologues from your favorite 90s media are also encouraged. Send video links, along with the information requested on the audition form (just typing your conflicts is fine), to wes@wesoteric.com. Thank you!

The Rude Mechanicals are an all-volunteer organization; all roles are unpaid.