Audition Listings

12 Angry Men, Toronto Stage Company

THE TORONTO STAGE COMPANY

The Toronto Stage Company is holding open call Auditions for our upcoming production of Reginald Rose’s Drama 12 Angry Men.
Questions: Candidates with Questions may contact us through email at: auditions@torontostage.ca.

About 12 Angry Men
The play concerns the deliberations of the jury of a homicide trial. At the beginning, they have a nearly unanimous decision of guilty, with a single dissenter of not guilty, who throughout the play sows a seed of reasonable doubt.
12 Angry Men requires a cast of 12 men (ages 30 and up) who spend the entire show on-stage in an ongoing conversation and real-time deliberation.

12 Angry Men is the inaugural production of The Toronto Stage Company. Presented in the Bluma Appel Theatre at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, 12 Angry Men is Directed by Patrick Stiles.

Audition Location & Dates
The Young Centre for the Performing Arts Distillery Historic District 50 Tank House Lane,
Toronto, Ontario

Open Call registration begins at 8:45am Saturday May 27, 2017.

Callbacks will be held Saturday June 3rd by appointment only.
Audition Information – Equity Members

Equity Members (or their agent) may submit a resume, headshot, part of interest and their Equity number to auditions@torontostage.ca. Selected equity members will be given appointments to meet with the director.
Equity members not given an appointment may appear at the open call auditions where they will be given priority. Please bring your resume, headshot, part of interest, Equity number and prepare for the reads below.

Audition Information – Non Equity Members (Open Call)
Non-Equity Members may appear at the Open Call at 8:45 am and will be seen by the director on a first come first serve basis beginning at 9am. When you arrive at the Young Centre – look for our signs and the registration table in the lobby. Please bring your resume, headshot, part of interest and prepare for the reads below.

What to Prepare
The Director has provided two selections from the play for candidates to prepare PRIOR to the audition. Please select ONE. Selections do not need to be memorized – you may keep a copy in your hands while you read.

Selection One:
8th Juror: It’s very hard to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And no matter where you run into it, prejudice obscures the truth. Well, I don’t think any real damage has been done here. Because I don’t really know what the truth is. No one ever will, I suppose. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we’re just gambling on probabilities. We may be wrong. We may be trying to return a guilty man to the community. No one can really know. But we have a reasonable doubt, and this is a safeguard that has enormous value in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it’s sure. We nine can’t understand how you three are still so sure. Maybe you can'tell us.

Selection Two:
10th Juror: I will like hell quiet down. There is not one of them, not one who’s any good. Now, d’you hear that? Not one. Now let me lay this out for you – ignorant – bastards. You at the window, you’re so goddamned smart. We’re facing a danger here. Don't’ you know it? These people are multiplying. That kid on trial, his type, they’re multiplying five times as fast as we are. That’s the statistic. Five times. And they are – wild animals. They’re against us, they hate us, they want to destroy us. That’s right. Don’t look at me like that! There’s a danger. For God’s sake, we're living in a dangerous time, and if we don’t watch it, if we don’t smack them down whenever we can, then they are gonna own us. They’re gonna breed us out of existence.

Candidates may also read the script. We are using the Penguin Classics edition of the script (ISBN: 9780143104407) which is available through Indigo Chapters.

A copy is also available at the Arts Desk on the 5th floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

Roles:
Juror #1: Head juror/foreman of the jury. Takes his responsibilities seriously and is non-confrontational

Juror #2: Shy, timid. Not good at explaining himself when put on the spot and tends to vote with the group to avoid attention

Juror #3: The main antagonist to Juror #8. He has a history of sitting on many juries and comes across as jaded, impatient, over-it, and gets annoyed when asked to explain his reasons for wanting to send the defendant to the electric chair. He takes a tough stance on kids, possibly because of issues with his own son. He stands alone as the last guilty verdict until Juror #8 points out that it’s not his own son on trial, it’s someone else’s. Weather he’s tired, wants to go home, or realizes that there really is no proof beyond a reasonable doubt, he is the last juror to vote not guilty.

Juror #4: A rational, logical and well-spoken stock broker. He is very robotic, routine and customary with a great eye for detail

Juror #5: From the slums and is likely more sympathetic to the defendant in this murder trial, or at least doesn’t immediately judge him for where he’s come from. He only changes his vote to notguilty after a witnesses’ account creates a reasonable doubt for him. Also, his experience with knife fights helps the other juror members to form an opinion of “not guilty”

Juror #6: Convinced of the defendants’ guilt right at the start of deliberations, but he is willing to admit that he could be wrong. He’s not used to thinking for himself

Juror #7: Selfish. Doesn’t care about justice. He thinks that having to deliberate in this case is a waste of time. He’s impatient as he is a Yankees fan and has tickets to the game that night and doesn’t want to miss it due to jury deliberations.

Juror #8: Gentle and thoughtful, he believes that there is a reasonable doubt and wants to talk it out with the jury. He’s the only one to vote “not guilty” in the beginning. He is the solid hero of the jury/play, probably the smartest one in the room, and cares deeply about justice and the consequences of the juries’ decision in the fate of a young mans life.

Juror #9 Much older than the other members of the jury, in his 80’s. He is the last person to raise his hand on the first vote, and the first person to change his mind at the next vote, and vote “not guilty”.

Juror #10 The most angry of the 12 Angry Men. He is bigoted, racist and has a case of the “hot weather (man) cold” which could affect his patience with being on jury duty. He thinks that spewing out more and more racist remarks will help others see his point of view, but it alienates him, largely thanks to a comment from Juror #9. He eventually gives up, and votes not-guilty.

Juror #11 The only foreigner in the jury, he is from Germany, with a thick accent. While he is well-spoken and polite, he takes his jury duty seriously and gets mad at other members of the jury (#7) that have no respect for democracy or justice, and whom take their freedoms and liberties and their civic responsibility for granted. 4

Juror #12 A true New Yorker, born and raised in Manhattan. Works for an advertising agency. He’s a brainstormer who throws his thoughts out there. He appreciates a good pitch, but may be incapable of making one himself.

Availability Requirements: Rehearsals are Monday to Friday beginning July 10th (Saturdays at the discretion of the director). First preview is Tuesday August 1st, Opening night is August 3rd. Cast members must be available through Mid September.