THEATRE JACKSONVILLE

THEATRE JACKSONVILLE

*OPEN Audition Notices*

As a community based theatre, we invite you to audition for the volunteer opportunities below. ​________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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​AUDITION NOTICE

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THE LION IN WINTER

by James Goldman

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Directed by Jeff Grove

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IN-PERSON AUDITIONS: Monday, June 8, 2026 at 6:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.

 This audition is NOT by appointment. All interested performers should arrive before 7:00pm.

 

– AUDITION LOCATION –

Theatre Jacksonville

2032 San Marco Blvd

Jacksonville, FL 32207

 

– PREPARATIONS –

Auditions will involve cold readings from the script. 

Rehearsals will probably begin in late July or early August and will take actors’ schedules into consideration.

Please be prepared to complete an audition form.

 Please bring all known conflicts between July 15-October 6, 2026.

 

– VIDEO SUBMISSIONS –

Video submissions will be accepted but must be submitted no later than June 7, 2026 by 7:30pm and be emailed to Info@TheatreJax.com.

 

– REHEARSAL INFORMATION–

Although the schedules are currently not set, productions typically rehearse weeknights (Monday – Friday, anywhere between 6:30pm – 10:00pm.) Occasional weekend rehearsals will occur, including for technical needs of the production.

 Sometimes we are required to rehearse at offsite locations. These will be communicated when the rehearsal schedule is provided after the show is cast.

 

– ABOUT THE SHOW –

 Sibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons – The Lion in Winter is a modern-day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action, the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family, who are locked in a free-for-all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II, and is let out only for holidays.  The play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom and King Henry’s paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, “Every family has its ups and downs,” and this royal family is no exception.

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– PRODUCTION DATES –

September 19, 20*, 24, 25, 26, 27*, October 1, 2, 3*, 4* (* indicate 2pm matinee performances)

  

– AVAILABLE VOLUNTEER ROLES –

* Non-equity only *

5 men, 2 women.

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HENRY PLANTAGENET, a.k.a. King Henry II of England (including, at the time, most of modern-day France), “has just turned fifty, an age at which, in his time, men were either old or dead.  Not Henry.  Though arthritis comes occasionally and new battle wounds don’t heal the way the old ones did, he still is very nearly all he ever was.  He is enjoying that final rush of physical and mental vigor that comes to some men not before the end but just before the start of the decline.”

 

ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE, Henry’s imprisoned wife is “sixty-one and looks nothing like it.  She is a truly handsome woman of great temperament, authority and presence.  She has been a queen of international importance for forty-six years and you know it.  Finally, she is that most unusual thing: a genuinely feminine woman thoroughly capable of holding her own in a man’s world.”

 

RICHARD, later “the Lionheart,” Henry and Eleanor’s oldest surviving son, “at twenty-six, looks like his legend.  He is handsome, graceful, and impressive.  He has been a famous soldier since his middle teens, and justly so; war is his profession and he is good at it.”  He resents his father’s preference for John and so has aligned himself more strongly with his mother.

 

GEOFFREY, Count of Brittany, another of Henry and Eleanor’s sons, “is twenty-five.  A man of energy and verve, he is attractive, charming, and the owner of the best brain in a brainy family.”  With neither of his parents angling to put him on the throne, he has what we today would call Middle-Child Syndrome, and schemes to become the power behind whichever of his brothers inherits the kingdom.  If he can’t do that, he’ll pit one against the other to gain the throne for himself.

 

JOHN, another of Henry and Eleanor’s sons, “at sixteen, does indeed have pimples.  He is a charming-looking boy in spite of them, sweet-faced and totally adorable.”  That’s on the outside.  Knowing that he’s his father’s choice to inherit the throne, he’s also petulant, immature, and entitled – at times, downright bratty.

 

ALAIS (sounds like “Alice”) “is twenty-three, serenely beautiful, and unmistakably in love with Henry.”  A French princess, she was sent to Henry’s court at the age of seven and was raised by Eleanor (her father’s ex-wife) in anticipation of a politically arranged marriage to Richard.  She has since become the mistress of Henry, who intends for her to marry John.  She objects to being treated as assignable property, and has her sights set firmly on Henry, and on becoming queen herself.

 

PHILIP, Alais’ half-brother, “quite impressive for a boy of seventeen,” “is tall, well-proportioned and handsome without being at all pretty.  His manner is open, direct and simple and he smiles easily.  He has been King of France for three years and has learned a great deal.”

​In reference to our audition notices:

Most characters we encounter currently are on the binary and are written with he/him or she/her pronouns, and you will see that in the descriptions we provide. However limiting the descriptions are, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible, and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with. We will also list race/ethnicity when specific to the character but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities. It is the policy of Theatre Jacksonville that all auditions are open to the public. All interested people, newcomers and stage veterans alike, are welcome. We are also in need of volunteers to assist in other areas of production, including set construction, set artwork, lighting, and backstage technical activities and invite all members of the public to participate in these activities as well.