CALL TO AUDITION:

STAGE KISS
by Sarah Ruhl

“When I kissed you just now, did it feel like an actor kissing an actor or a person kissing a person…?”

Two actors, and former lovers, unexpectedly reunite when cast opposite each other in a forgotten 1930s melodrama. As rehearsals progress and onstage romance echoes their past, the lines between performance and real life begin to blur. Their rekindled chemistry sparks a funny, tender, and sometimes chaotic exploration of desire, loyalty, and the complexity of relationships.

All the while, life imitates art and art imitates life.

With sparkling dialogue and her signature wit, Sarah Ruhl (In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, The Clean House) shows how even a single kiss can upend everything in this whimsical and insightful theatrical romp.

“A superb romantic comedy that’s moving, smart and flat-out hilarious.” New York Magazine

CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Director Alice Livingstone
Lighting Designer Holly Nesbitt
Stage Manager Matilda Holton
Assistant Stage Manager Bianca Dreis
Intimacy Director Sonya Kerr
Dialect Coach Benjamin Purser
Fight Choreographer Diego Retamales

PERFORMANCE DATES
17 March – 11 April 2026

REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will commence in January 2026 with a combination of weekend days, week nights and possibly week days. Exact times and dates tbc, subject to cast availability. 

AUDITION DATES
Sunday 7 December 11am – 2pm
Monday 8 December 5pm – 8pm
Thursday 11 December 5pm – 8pm
Call-backs Sunday 14 December 10am – 1pm

ROLES AVAILABLE
There are seven roles available. Looking for actors who have good comic instincts and are confident working with accents (general American, mid-Western, trans-Atlantic, Brooklyn, Irish). The ability to sing would be a bonus, ditto to handle a simple dance routine and physical ‘business’.  Please note: there is a substantial amount of kissing involved – M/F, M/M and F/F – and actors cast will need to be comfortable with this.

A woman – ‘She’ – in her mid-40s. Female-identifying. A professional actor who has been away from the industry for 15+ years. Plays the role of ‘Ada Wilcox’.
A man – ‘ He’ – in his mid-40s. Male-identifying. A professional actor. Plays the role of ‘Johnny Lowell’.
A director, Adrian Schwallbach. Male-identifying, 40s – 50s.
Kevin, the reader. Also plays the understudy, the doctor, the butler and the pimp. Male-identifying, 30s-40s.
The husband, and Harrison. Male-identifying, 50s.
Mille and the maid in Act One; Angela in Act Two. Female-identifying. Early 20s, and can also believably play a teenager.
Millicent in Act One; Laurie in Act Two. Female-identifying. Late 20s – early 30s.

We very much encourage and welcome submissions from people who identify as BIPoC, CaLD, LGBTQI+, or neurodivergent.

TO BOOK AN AUDITION
It is ESSENTIAL to read the script BEFORE applying. There is a perusal copy of the script available for viewing here.

Email your EOI to stagekissnt26@gmail.com with AUDITION in the subject line.

In your email, please:

  • Include an up-to-date headshot and CV.
  • Indicate if you are currently a New Theatre member.
  • Indicate your preferred audition date/time.
  • Indicate your rehearsal availability (week days and/or evenings and weekends).

PLEASE PREPARE

Audition requirements will be advised once your EOi has been processed.

PLEASE NOTE
New Theatre an amateur theatre company and a volunteer-based organisation – there is no for payment for this production.

If cast, you will be required to wash your own costumes and assist with production bump out.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Alice is a Sydney-based actor, voice artist, director, producer and publicist. She is a graduate of The Drama Studio (Sydney) and holds a BEd from Melbourne State College and an MA in Theatre Studies from UNSW.

For New Theatre, her productions as director include Jumpers for Goalposts, My Night With Reg, The HIV Monologues, The Elements of an Offence, The Little Dog Laughed, The Heidi Chronicles, The Real Thing, Privates on Parade, Top Girls, A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians, The Weir, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, In Angel Gear, Once in a While the Odd Thing Happens and short plays for Brand Spanking New and Women, Power and Culture.

Alice was co-founder of independent company Focus Theatre, producing plays for Seymour Centre (co-director, Handbag), Darlinghurst Theatre (co-director, Blowing Whistles; cast, Out in the Open), Feast Festival, Adelaide (Blowing Whistles), Griffin Stablemates (cast, Dinner) and Belvoir/B Sharp (co-director, Bison, Natural Born Hooker, Bent).