After a long absence, Actors Ensemble of Berkeley will return to the intimate, indoor Live Oak Theater for a reimagining of this theater classic.  One of the most treasured comedies in English-speaking theater, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest never fails to delight and amuse audiences - and it provides nine of the most delicious roles in the canon.  A madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret romantic engagements, and acute social class satire, Earnest also contains one of the theater’s wittiest and most sophisticated texts. 

ROLES in The Importance of Being Earnest - Our auditions are open to all, and we actively embrace non-traditional casting.  Role descriptions below are meant to describe the role itself, not necessarily the person playing the role. Because Earnest is very much a play about words, choose audition material that shows off your ability to speak clearly and distinctly, rather than a slang or street language piece. 

JACK WORTHING, aka “Earnest”: Jack is the protagonist, leading a double life as both the country guardian of his ward, Cecily, and as a carefree rake in high-society London. Ultimately, he will discover that he is Algernon’s older brother. He is in love with Gwendolen. 

ALGERNON MONCRIEF: A second rogue with a double life - a witty, city dandy, but having created an alter ego: He has invented a fictional invalid friend named Bunbury, whom he must visit frequently to escape stuffy social obligations in town. He will fall in love with Cecily. 

GWENDOLEN FAIRFAX: The sophisticated and haughty daughter of Lady Bracknell, in love with Jack, specifically because she believes his real name to be Earnest. 

CECILY CARDEW: Jack’s inquisitive and adventurous ward, who is obsessed with falling in love with a man named Earnest. 

LADY BRACKNELL: The formidable, larger-than-life, society gorgon, aunt to Algernon and mother to Gwendolen. This character may be portrayed by a woman, a man (as is often done) or a trans actor, female presenting.

MISS PRISM: Cecily’s prissy and book-obsessed governess. She ultimately reveals the mystery of Jack’s origin, having inadvertently abandoned him as an infant, depositing him in a handbag in the cloakroom of London’s Victoria Station. She is secretly attracted to Rev. Chasuble. 

REV. CANON CHASUBLE: The local rector who harbors romantic feelings for Miss Prism. He becomes much in-demand as both Jack and Algernon seek him out to be re-baptised with the name of "Earnest," in order to secure the love of Gwendolen and Cecily. 

LANE and MERRIMAN: Algernon and Jack’s butlers. While small roles, each has lovely opportunities to comment on class and social status, any gender. One actor may play both roles.

SPEECH: We will not attempt authentic British accents; rather, we will go for very precise, clipped, “trippingly-on-the-tongue” speech. We are considering adjusting the time setting from 1890’s Victorian England to the 1930’s – think Noel Coward elegance.

TO SIGN UP FOR AN AUDITION: Audition Preparation: Please present a memorized, 2-3 minute comic monologue, either classic or contemporary. Go to the following link to utilize the Signup-Genius for an appointment. Also see details here to submit a video audition and headshot. In-person: please bring your headshot and potential conflicts between August 24 and closing performance, October 18. Please do not be a "no-show!"

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdd10JFIBsVtM_TpDq1IgXf0kxkFO3rTGrY3vQWsE96UQGrFw/viewform?usp=header

Questions: Don’t hesitate to reach out to director Jay Manley by email with any questions you might have: manleyjay1@gmail.com