Auditions for “White Sky, Falling Dragon.”

PRELIMInaRY auditions will be online.
Callbacks will be virtual and/or in-person as needed.

To submit your audition, please send an email to SoaringDragonEndeavors@gmail.com. with:

• your resume in the body of the email (no attachments)
• a link to an audition piece no longer than 2 minutes.

Please note: for security, we will not open attached videos or word documents.

If you need information on how to upload an audition video to YouTube, this may be helpful. (with appreciation to Drayton Entertainment, CA)
If you have additional questions, contact SoaringDragonEndeavors@gmail.com.

We are looking for AAPI actors to fill these roles:

• Pop (lead male, 40-ish )
• Ma (lead female, 40-ish)
• May (lead female, 20-ish)

It is important to note that the play’s environment, milieu, history, and relationships are dependent upon Chinese and Chinese American culture of the 1940s.

Casting for these characters:
POP:
A survivor of the immigration process on Angel Island, Pop is a “paper son.” These were the Chinese men who managed to be allowed into the US by pretending to be a son of a Chinese person already in the US legally (i.e., pre-Chinese Exclusion Act). Like almost all paper sons, Pop has maintained his false name his entire life in the US, never revealing his real name to his offspring. Pop has a dream: his sons will become prosperous and fortunate here in the US. Pop is stern, demanding, hard-working, and thoroughly Chinese. He has a heart, even a sense of artistry, though hard work and racism have buried these deep inside. His South China Cantonese attitude makes him sound angry most of the time, although that is sometimes just an effect of his upbringing. He misses China, knowing full well that he can never return there.

MA:
A packer in a food processing plant, Ma is a strong woman in almost constant motion, especially in the kitchen. Her full laughter is readily at hand, and she also has the strength to stand up to her husband. Food is the ultimate expression of her love for her family; though her cooking is peasant style, it is plentiful. No woman could possibly love her children more. Though it is never revealed, Ma has experienced a couple of miscarriages in America, and she is holding on to a more significant secret. Ma is versed in the pithy proverbs or sayings that pepper Cantonese dialects. She feels wise and authoritative when speaking in this manner.

MAY
A  Chinese American young woman of 19 or 20. Wonderfully soft, and as strong as steel. Her parents have staunchly and thoroughly raised her Chinese, yet May is actively becoming American. May is in love with Ernie, and her life as one of many children leads her to seek her own core family unit. She is an optimistic, understanding, and loving young woman, with easy and quick laughter. Accompanying this is her clear understanding of the difficulties her father and mother have endured due to the Chinese Exclusion Act; there are family secrets involving their immigration. She is deeply understanding, almost to a flaw.

For actors considering auditioning, playwright and director Steve “Spike” Wong discusses the play’s concept and the character breakdowns on this video:

White Sky, Falling Dragon Actor Call from Davis Banta on Vimeo.