Amphibian Stage Focuses on AAPI for Sparkfest; Deadline March 8
SEEKING US-BASED PROFESSIONAL ACTORS OF ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLAND (AAPI) DESCENT FOR OUR SECOND ANNUAL AMPHIBIAN STAGE SPARKFEST ACTING COMPETITION
Amphibian Stage, a non-profit professional theater based in Fort Worth, invites professional actors from all across the nation to participate in our Sparkfest Acting Competition. Our hope is to find actors with exceptional skill that have not yet been afforded exceptional opportunities.The competition will take place in Fort Worth, Texas from June 13 through 15 and is strictly for US-based actors who identify as being of AAPI heritage. If selected to compete, you must be available to attend sessions and events on these three dates.
Judges for the competition will be: Ralph B. Peña (Ma-Yi Theatre in NYC), Lily Tung Crystal (Theater Mu in The Twin Cities, MN), Spencer Gualdoni (Tara Rubin Casting)
Awards include: $5000 for first prize winner, $4000 for second prize winner, $3000 for third prize winner, and $1000 for audience favorite.
Schedule:
Feb. 12th – Submissions Open
March 8th – Deadline for submissions
April 1 – Ten actors announced for participation in competition
June 13 – Round 1 of competition
June 14 – Round 2 of competition, finalists announced
June 15 – Final round of competition, awards, reception
How to submit:
Please fill out the form HERE. You will be required to answer a few questions and submit a headshot, resume, and a video of two contrasting monologues. Please select whatever two monologues you feel best reflect you as an actor and artist. We want to see you! Any style, genre, or era is acceptable. Please make sure your video is between 2-4 minutes with a slate stating your name, pronouns, the play, character, and playwright your monologues are from. The slate does not count towards your 2-4 minutes.
Details:
If selected to compete, you must be available to attend sessions and events in Fort Worth, Texas on these three dates: June 13th, 14th, & 15th.
Amphibian will reimburse up to $500 in travel expenses (limited to round trip airfare, bus fare, or gas to travel to Fort Worth) to each selected competitor. We will provide private accommodations for all competitors who live 50 miles or farther from Amphibian’s building.
Selected competitors will be asked to perform a monologue of their choice for round 1 – not to exceed 3 minutes. For round 2 they will be given a scene and 30 minutes to prepare before performing it for the judges. The judges will give adjustments and hear the scene at least twice by each actor. A reader will be provided. Five actors will be eliminated after round 2. For the final round actors will perform their monologue again, taking into consideration written notes provided by the judges.
Competitors will be asked to secure the rights to the material they perform during rounds 1 & 3 of the competition.
About the judges for Amphibian Stage:
Lily Tung Crystal (she/her/hers) is an actor/singer, director, and social activist, and the artistic director of Theater Mu in Minneapolis-St. Paul. She is also the co-founder of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company in the Bay Area. Her directing work includes Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band, Susan Soon He Stanton’s Today Is My Birthday, Jihae Park’s peerless, and the world premiere of Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay’s The Kung Fu Zombies Saga at Theater Mu and The Humans at Park Square Theatre, which was voted 2022 Favorite Play by the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers. In the Bay Area, she also directed David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish and Flower Drum Song at Palo Alto Players and the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow at Ferocious Lotus, all for which she was named a Theatre Bay Area Award finalist for Outstanding Direction. As a performer, Lily has worked with theaters across the country, including Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Cal Shakes, Crowded Fire, Jungle Theater, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Mountain Play, New World Stages, Playwrights’ Center, Portland Center Stage, SF Playhouse, and Syracuse Stage. She also does on-camera work and is represented by Professional Artists Agency in New York and JE Talent in San Francisco. Lily is an inaugural YBCA 100 honoree, named by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a “creative pioneer making the provocations that will shape the future of culture.”
Spencer Gualdoni CSA (he/him/his) joined Tara Rubin Casting in January 2020.
Prior to Tara Rubin Casting, Spencer began his casting career in the summer of 2016 at The Telsey Office where he served as an intern and had the pleasure of assisting on The Producers at Paper Mill Playhouse and numerous other theatrical productions and national commercials. Post-graduation, Spencer worked for over three years as the Executive Assistant to Broadway Director and Choreographer Jeff Calhoun. In conjunction with his work with Mr. Calhoun, Spencer also served as the Casting Assistant for the National Tour of Bandstand under Kate Lumpkin Casting.
During Spencer’s time at Tara Rubin Casting, he has had the pleasure of working on the Broadway Productions of The Who’s Tommy, The Heart of Rock and Roll and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. He has also worked on the National Touring Productions of Company, Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations as well as the Off-Broadway and Regional Productions of Trevor, Jersey Boys and Sing Street. Spencer also serves as the children’s Casting Director for The Metropolitan Opera.
Originally from Southern Illinois, Spencer received his Bachelor’s of Music in Musical Theater from Oklahoma City University. As a teacher and Guest Artist, he has taught with Carnegie Mellon University, Oklahoma City University, Marymount Manhattan, Reinhardt University, West Texas A&M University, Broadway Artists Alliance, Broadway Kids Auditions, The Actor’s Connection and many more. Spencer enjoys helping aspiring artists hone in on their craft while also examining the ins and outs of preparing for an audition. Spencer is a proud member of the Casting Society of America.
Ralph B. Peña (he/his) is an Obie Award-winning theater-maker based in New York City. Recent directing credits include the world premiere of Lisa Sanaye Dring’s “SUMO” (La Jolla Playhouse/Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady (Ma-Yi/The Public Theater), Indiana Repertory, Long Wharf Theater, Barrington Stage, (Drama Desk, Lortel, NY Outer Critics, CT Critics Circle Nominations), Michael Lew’s Tiger Style! at South Coast Repertory, and Daniel K. Isaac’s ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME for Ma-Yi Theater Company where he is currently Producing Artistic Director. For Ma-Yi he has directed the world premieres of Hansol Jung’s Among The Dead, Michael Lew’s microcrisis, Lloyd Suh’s The Wong Kids (Off Broadway Alliance Best Children’s Play) and Children of Vonderly. He wrote and directed the short film Vancouver (Cannes World Film Festival, L.A. Indie Festival, NY International Film Award for Best Short and Best Director, 2023 UNIMA Citation of Excellence), and the documentary Twenty Years of Asian American Playwriting for PBS / ALL ARTS.
About Amphibian Stage:
Amphibian Stage is a non-profit professional theater based in Fort Worth. Our mission is ‘To produce engaging and innovative theater that inspires new ideas, opens new doors and increases our understanding of the vast world around us’. Started in 2000, Amphibian’s programs include: Main Stage Plays | New Play Development | Stand-Up Comedy Residency | National Theater Live | Arts Education programs for high school and college students – and DE-CRUIT for veterans.
About SparkFest 2024:
SparkFest is Amphibian Stage’s annual summer festival of new works, workshops, master classes, and performances celebrating the arts. In an effort to expand the reach of artistic expression, welcome more audiences, and deepen our cultural experiences, beginning in 2023 SparkFest will focus on a specific under-represented demographic of artists. Artistic leaders are invited to attend free of charge and offered a stipend to defray travel costs so that playwrights, actors, and directors’ work can be seen by those who can offer them additional opportunities.
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