Chicago Shakespeare Theater is always looking to meet new talent and we accept headshot/resume submissions throughout the year. We conduct equity dramatic and musical general auditions every year in January. We conduct non-equity dramatic and musical general auditions first in February and then at multiple other times of the year. For specific submission guidelines and more information please read below.

GENERAL AUDITIONS

Equity Actors:

Equity Auditions are held each January in Chicago at the Actors Equity Offices on West Randolph Street. Equity will announce the dates of our general auditions a month in advance on their hotline and message boards. Once Equity general audition dates are announced you can make an appointment by calling the Chicago Equity audition hotline. Chicago Shakespeare Theater does not schedule these appointments, all appointments are scheduled through the Equity office.

Non-equity Actors:

Submissions are accepted year round. If we are interested in seeing your work at a general audition, we will contact you directly. Non-Equity general auditions are first held in February and then at varying additional times of the year. To be considered for the February auditions, please submit between December 1 and January 15. We often receive many more submissions than we have appointment times for; if it happens that you are not selected for an audition, we encourage you to resubmit in six months.

HOW TO SUBMIT: You may send a hard copy by mail or submit via email. 

A hard copy of your headshot/resume may be mailed to the attention of Casting Director, Bob Mason, and/or Casting Associate, Keira Fromm at:

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
ATTN: Casting
800 East Grand Avenue on Navy Pier
Chicago, IL 60611.

Headshot/resumes may be emailed to: castingoffice@chicagoshakes.com. Email submissions must be formatted correctly in order to be considered. Both your picture and resume should be submitted as one attachment and your contact information must appear on your resume. Please include your cover letter in the body of the email, not as a separate document.

Please choose only one form of submitting for general auditions. No phone calls, please.

WHAT TO PREPARE: Actors invited for a dramatic audition should prepare two contrasting monologues not exceeding three minutes in total length. One monologue should be classical (preferably Shakespeare) and one contemporary. Two contemporary monologues are acceptable if you are uncomfortable with classical work. Actors preparing a musical audition should have 32 bars of a song (bring sheet music; an accompanist will be provided) and one two-minute monologue, either Shakespeare or contemporary. Shakespeare should be performed in standard American dialect.

In Town Actors

If you are interested in a particular production please let us know by submitting your headshot, resume and a letter of interest. Please specify the show and role you're interested in and we will be happy to review and consider your request.

HOW TO SUBMIT: Mail or email submissions will be accepted. Email submissions must be formatted correctly in order to be considered. Both your headshot and resume should be submitted as one attachment and your contact information must appear on your resume. Requests should be sent to castingoffice@chicagoshakes.com

Out of Town Actors

The need for out of town actors depends on the demands of each individual production. Auditions held outside the Chicago area are by invitation only, however, if you are interested in a particular production please let us know by submitting your headshot, resume and a letter of interest specifying the show and role you are interested in. Please let us know where you are based in your letter of interest.