Auditions for "The Lion In Winter"

Name: Auditions for "The Lion In Winter"
Start: 2025-11-10T18:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-11-10T22:00:00-05:00
Location: 67 Corning Pl, Albany, NY, United States, New York 12207

Schedule

Mon Nov 10 2025 at 06:30 pm to 10:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

67 Corning Pl, Albany, NY, United States, New York 12207 | Albany, NY

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀
Monday November 10 and Wednesday November 12, 6:30 PM - 10:00PM

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀
Feb. 27th-1st and March 5th-8th
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀
Set during Christmas 1183, James Goldman's "The Lion in Winter" follows King Henry II of England, his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their three sons as they engage in fierce schemes and manipulations over the royal succession. The play is a darkly comedic exploration of family dysfunction, political machinations, and tangled loyalties, where power struggles erupt alongside deep emotional wounds.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄
*Sides and selected readings will be provided to auditioners (no monologue prep or anything like that necessary). For sides in advance, please contact Ryan at [email protected]
*Performers of all ethnicities are invited to try out for any part, and performers of any gender may audition for any role save Henry and Eleanor who must be played by, respectively, male or male presenting and female or female presenting performers.
*Henry, Eleanor, and Alais must be comfortable portraying heterosexual intimacy, while Richard and Philip must be comfortable with homosexual intimacy. A trained intimacy coordinator will be available.
*Movement plays a large role in this play. Come to auditions prepared to move.
𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀
𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗜𝗜 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁: 40s-70s to play 50. The King of England, a skilled politician, and a terrible father. Henry is famous for his sharp mind, frenetic energy, and his sudden outbursts that history, and this play, is not entirely sure weren’t staged…
𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲: 40s-80s to play 61. Henry’s estranged wife. Brilliantly political, she left her first husband for Henry only to lose her independence when she moved her sons to rebel against their father. She has a mind as brilliant as her husband’s and delights in her schemes and games… sometimes too much. Still, it isn’t simply for politics that she married Henry…
𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱: 20s-40s to play 26. A great warrior of cold passion, often frustrated by his parents’ games, Richard is the next in line for the throne and Eleanor’s favorite. He holds great anger inside of him but there is no denying that he got Henry’s skills as a soldier.
𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘆: 20s-30s to play 25. With a mind for riddles and politics, Geoffrey is the most like his parents in terms of scheming, yet his cool, aloof, amoral temperament makes him the unloved middle child. Is he out for himself or does he long for a place at Henry and Eleanor’s side?
𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻: 18-20s to play 16. It would be very easy to portray John as a man-child, unintelligent and whiny. But John, for all his tantrums and outbursts, is the most educated of Henry and Eleanor’s children. His father’s favorite, John is clever and astute but also at turns vindictive and spoiled.
𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘁: 18-30s to play 23. Philip II’s sister, Richard’s fiancée, Henry’s lover, Alais is a chessboard pawn. Yet being a pawn does not mean she is unintelligent, nor wholly innocent.
𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗜𝗜: 18-20s to play 18. The new King of France is a dignified, intelligent, and fine young king who holds a seething anger at Henry for the way his father was treated by the English king.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀/𝗘𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲: Mischievous friends of the court, servants, etc. They are silent, but will engage in lots of physical acting, dancing, and stage fighting.