Video Auditions for a Live Mini-Production of Mothers All, by Katie Tandy

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley (www.aeofberkeley.org) is accepting video auditions for a mini-production of MOTHERS ALL by Katie Tandy with Lauren Rosenfield, directed by Lauren Rosenfield.  Production details, how to audition, synopsis, and character descriptions below.

PRODUCTION DETAILS----------------------------

• Mini-Production:  MOTHERS ALL
• 2-4 Zoom rehearsals beginning March 20th
• 3 weeks of in-person rehearsals, evenings in Berkeley, beginning March 27th
• Performances:  7 p.m. Saturday, April 16th and 4 p.m., Sunday April 17th, BAMPFA (Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive)
• Up to 3 additional performances, April 22-24 at a location in Oakland
• A small stipend will be provided.

HOW TO AUDITION-----------------

• Submit Two (2) contemporary monologues (90 seconds maximum each), via the form linked below.
• DEADLINE 11:59 p.m. February 13th. 
• If you have problems/questions or need a little more time, please write us significantly before the deadline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• Submissions are via the Google Form:
• https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwZ40ZOXlycKXGUKWs6FIkJ2JSrNpDSek2Fvc9aFJao7TfXg/viewform?usp=pp_url
• Remember that the monologue doesn't have to be perfect - we are mostly interested in getting some idea of who you are and how you might fit one or more of the characters.
• Some ideas for monologues:
• https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/professor-monologue-suggestions-strategy-college-audtion-68461
• https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/professional-theatre/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/monologues_contemporary_female.pdf
• https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/professional-theatre/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/monologues_contemporary_male.pdf
• We will follow up with Zoom callbacks, most probably between February 16th and February 28th.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS-----------

• PROOF OF VACINATION and a BOOSTER against Covid-19 as well as weekly negative test results for attendance at live rehearsals/performances will be required.

SYNOPSIS-------------------------

It’s 2080. Human reproduction is now under State control In an effort to manage population and conserve dwindling resources in a global movement known as Mothers All. 

Hailed as “the great democratizer,” maternal deaths, teenage pregnancies, and abortion numbers plummet. Yet, with this leap of scientific advancement comes unforeseen consequences.

Following in the speculative fiction footsteps of Octavia Butler and Ursula Leguin, Mothers All asks complicated questions about the nature of motherhood, gender, bodily autonomy, and the ethics surrounding artificial reproductive technology.

The science is real — and it’s here — but what should we do with it?

Written by Katie Tandy with Lauren Rosenfield
Directed by Lauren Rosenfield

CHARACTERS--------------------------

* DR. LI LAWRENCE, 50ish. Female. Any race. Lead scientist behind the mass sterilization movement of "Mothers All."
* DR. PONLIUS, 45ish. Male. Father of Sasha, husband of Samantha Ponlius. Any race. London, English accent.
* MRS. SAMANTHA PONLIUS, 45ish. Female. Mother of Sasha, wife of Dr. Ponlius. Any race. London, English accent.
* SASHA PONLIUS, 16. Male. Son of Dr. Ponlius and Samantha Ponlius. Bright. Witty. Any race.  London, English accent.
* ANN HANDELL, early 20s. Female. Any race.  Surrogate to Sasha's baby. Earnest, but curious. Loves Jesus.
* CLEMENTINE BROWN, 15, female. Daughter of Laila Brown. Any race, but should match Laila, her mother's. Kind, smart, cerebral. Light Tennessee accent.
* LAILA BROWN, 40s. Single mother of Clementine, whom she had using "solo reproduction." Any race, but should match her daughter's, Clementine. Light Tennessee accent.

** VICTORIA, 16, female. Any race. Witty. Performative. Girlfriend of Sasha Ponlius. English accent.
** ISABEL ISLEY, 20's, female. Any race. Acerbic. Depressed. Beautiful. She is the product of the blackmarket underbelly of the heralded new technology of skinbirth — in slang known as the "Skinkids."
**  ISABEL ISLEY and VICTORIA to be played by the same actor.

++ ALEX, Mid 30's. Any gender. Any race. Hardass, BBC-style talk-show interviewer, severe blond. Posh, clipped English accent.
++ PREACHER FINLEY, Mid 30's. Any gender. Any race. Kind but serious local preacher at Ann's parish.
++ PREACHER FINLEY andALEX to be played by the same actor.

The only restrictions on gender are the masculine or feminine presentation for the actual characters.

Submissions are via the Google Form.  DEADLINE 11:59 p.m. February 13th, via the form linked below.  If you have problems/questions or need a little more time, please write us significantly before the deadline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwZ40ZOXlycKXGUKWs6FIkJ2JSrNpDSek2Fvc9aFJao7TfXg/viewform?usp=pp_url

Actors Ensemble
P.O. Box 663
Berkeley, CA 94701
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.aeofberkeley.org
A 501(3)(c) organization