Auditions for "God, Guns & Big Daddy"

God, Guns & Big Daddy is an original play, co-produced by the Metro State University and MCTC Theater Departments and premiering in March and April. This play is a riff on and inspired by the play, Ubu Roi, by Alfred Jarry.

Big Daddy is the man of the hour and at the beginning of the play is on the cusp of being named Leader of the Sovereign State (think Texas). He is surrounded by sycophants, family, and followers. Then there is an event that threatens to derail his appointment as Leader of the Sovereign State. There’s a lot more, but that’s the general idea.

A part of this play will be “scripted” and other parts of the play will be “devised.” We will create the world of this play together. So, we expect to cast some actors for specific roles and there will be other roles that spring up from the large ensemble.

Auditions for God, Guns & Big Daddy, will take place on the Minneapolis College campus in the Whitney Fine Arts Mainstage. Please audition during the first two days if possible. Callbacks will take place January 12 at 4 p.m. Prepare a one-minute monologue—something that shows us what you can do. If this is your first time auditioning or you don’t have anything prepared, then we will have a couple selections available for you to read.

Any student, regardless of major, may participate in this production and may work on or off-stage. Off-stage positions include research, marketing, assistant to the director, dramaturg, technical director, lighting designer, sound designer, costume designer, and others. Students may earn 2 upper division credits if interested. This is a co-production between Metro State’ s Theater Program, Theater Underground, and Minneapolis Community College. Contact Gail Smogard, professor of Theater and Theater Underground advisor at gail.smogard@metrostate.edu with any questions.

The genesis for this play:

The NRA and several politicians have always claimed, “The only thing that can stop a bad man with a gun is a good man with gun.” But then there was a school shooting Uvalde, Texas. Lots of good men with guns were afraid to breech the classroom because they were afraid of an 18-year-old who had no training but possessed a very powerful gun. So, our job is to find a way to protest, creatively. This play is going to be our response.