Local Casting Opportunity
About the Opportunity
The Orchard Project (OP) is a nationally recognized artist residency program based in New York City. Each summer, OP convenes artists, playwrights, and companies at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs for the Performance Lab — an intensive, collaborative residency supporting new work in development.
As part of the 2026 Performance Lab, we are seeking local actors from the Capital Region and Saratoga District to participate in readings and rehearsals alongside The Civilians, one of our companies in residence.
Founded in 2001, The Civilians is dedicated to ambitious and exuberant new theater that creatively interrogates our lived experience. Its signature “investigative theater” has produced Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (cited by The New York Times as the 4th Best Play of the Past 25 Years), Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. (recently on Broadway), and many more. The Civilians has appeared at BAM Next Wave, major regional and Off-Broadway theaters, and was the first theater company Artist-in-Residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Available Weeks
Actors may submit for one or both weeks. Specific scheduling confirmed upon selection.
The Productions
A tense, darkly funny science drama set inside a Mars analog habitat in the Arizona desert — a sealed research station where a team of scientists is living as if already on Mars. When a lone geologist stumbles upon something impossible buried in the sand outside, and an uninvited paleontologist appears at the airlock, the fragile social order of the mission begins to unravel. The play weaves sharp ensemble dynamics with intimate character monologues, exploring isolation, scientific obsession, institutional authority, and what it means to work toward a future none of them may live to see.
Roles — If I Forget Thee, O Earth
Note: Ellen will be read by playwright Kate Douglas and is not available.
-
SAL
30s • Any ethnicity • GeologistSmart, funny, charismatic, and eager to please. A natural people-person who uses humor to mask insecurity. The newest member of the mission and determined to prove he belongs. -
MINNIE
30s–40s • Any ethnicity • Executive OfficerHighly competent, organized, and emotionally intelligent. The mission’s fixer and diplomat, constantly balancing rules, personalities, and competing priorities. -
DEVON
40s–50s • Any ethnicity • Mission CommanderBrilliant, disciplined, and intimidating. A true believer in science, order, and sacrifice. Commands respect but struggles with empathy. -
GEORGIA
30s–50s • Any ethnicity • Medical OfficerA skilled surgeon and caretaker. Compassionate, grounded, and practical, but increasingly questioning the personal cost of the mission. -
MAYA
30s–40s • Any ethnicity • Paleontologist • Visibly pregnantPassionate, brilliant, and relentlessly enthusiastic. A scientist driven by wonder and discovery, willing to break rules in pursuit of the truth.
A sharply funny, deeply felt new play set in a beloved dive bar on College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island — a city drowning in rain, sewage backups, and end-of-days climate anxiety. When Marty, a struggling bar owner and obscure cult novelist, closes for the night due to a catastrophic plumbing failure, she gathers her closest friends for an impromptu house party. As the evening unfolds, Marty unspoils the visionary novel she has been composing in her head for years: a utopian future Rhode Island that has somehow figured things out. Then a stranger walks in, and the world of the play shifts into something far darker. Equal parts comedy, utopian fable, and political thriller — the playwright has a background in clowning and is drawn to funny, quirky, physically present performers.
Roles — Topia
-
MARTY
F • 38 • WhiteBar owner and obscure novelist. Asthmatic. Rough around the edges, countercultural, gender-nonconforming in her femininity. A single parent of a toddler by choice. Stubborn, funny, no bullshit — she holds the line. -
OWEN
M • 49 • WhitePoet. Marginally employed academic. A good dude and idealist. Sensitive, strong lefty politics. Deep affection for Marty mixed with frustration — he was the sperm donor for her daughter, but Marty won’t let him be “Dad.” -
DEIRDRE
F • 33 • Black (or race/ethnicity flexible, not white)HR worker and co-manager of a community garden. Grounded, practical, smart — and simultaneously a sappy romantic. From Boston originally. -
TOPH
M • 28 • WhiteMarty’s little brother. Line cook who loves his profession. Dad joke lover. More interested in living well and being kind than in capitalist ambition. Sweet, loyal, refined tastes — devoted member of a small polycule, snappy dresser. -
MARGOT
F • 52 • Race/ethnicity flexibleA stranger. Unpredictable, slippery energy — plays warm and innocent, but is a high-level far-right strategist interested in social control and mass deception. From Virginia. -
LEAH
F • 38 • WhiteBright, sweet, sunny, classically feminine. A popular novelist who wants for nothing financially but feels a mysterious emotional void. Carefully kept in the dark by a cult-like authoritarian political party — as her paranoia grows, unexpected anger, courage, and integrity emerge. Has repressed memories that return in fits and starts.
How to Submit
Submit the following via the form link below:
- Current headshot
- CV or resume
- Link(s) to reel or video samples (optional but encouraged)
- Role(s) you’re submitting for and which week(s) you’re available