No appointment needed. Actors only need to attend one day of initial auditions. Non-Equity only. Some pay for all actors.
AUDITION LOCATION:
Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Street parking is available. Venice Family Clinic’s parking lot is available on weekends and on weekdays after 6 p.m. Do not park at our neighbors AAMCO/Viking Motors or SGI or you will be towed.
WHAT TO BRING:
Proof of vaccination
Mask
We are going green and not asking for paper headshots/resumes.
SAFETY MEASURES TO EXPECT:
• There will be a temperature check when you arrive.
• You will be asked to remain masked at all times until you’re on stage alone for the audition. You may keep your mask on to perform if you prefer.
• You may have to wait outdoors.
Please read the theatre's Covid-19 policy here.
We look forward to meeting you!
Synopsis
I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges! is Valdez’s most complex, ambitious, and
satisfying play. Satirical, comic, filled with puns and painful insight, the play explores the search
for an authentic Chicano identity against the limiting stereotypes and restricted possibilities
afforded Mexican Americans in the 1980’s United States.
The play is set in Los Angeles in the home of Connie and Buddy Villa, middle-aged Chicano
bit-part actors. The conflict is sparked by the unexpected return of Sonny, their son. Defying his
parents’ dreams for him, Sonny quits Harvard University Law School and thus forfeits his
chance at the kind of Anglo success his parents have not been able to achieve. His return
home, with his Chinese American girlfriend, and his announced intention to become an actor,
writer, producer, and director—“the newest superstar in Hollywood” and “the next Woody
Allen”—creates a crisis in the family that the rest of the play tries to resolve. In a tempestuous
family quarrel, Sonny derides his parents’ acting; they have made careers playing stereotyped
nonspeaking parts as maids, gardeners, bandits, and prostitutes.
The Scene/Time
Monterey Park (A Suburb of Los Angeles), California. Mid-1980s.
The Players
In reference to the character descriptions that follow: 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 following descriptions. But, however limiting the descriptions are, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible and we invite gender non-conforming, gender fluid, 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; we encourage Arab, Asian, Black, Caucasian, Latino, Native, and Multiracial actors to audition for all roles. In addition, we will list disability when specific to a character, but are otherwise seeking actors with disabilities as well as non-disabled actors for all roles. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or if there are any accommodations we can provide.
We are actively committed to casting an inclusive show that reflects the community. For this show, due to the plot and the racially driven content, we are aligning the casting call with the race/ethnicity specifically dictated by the playwright himself.
Buddy Villa (Male/Male-Identifying, 50s, Latinx): Hollywood, Chicano bit-part actor. Buddy
has risen from the barrio of East Los Angeles to a comfortable middle-class suburban life.
Buddy is fiercely proud of having achieved the American Dream of material success, even
though it has been bought with an ignoble career playing stereotypical roles such as gardeners
or “banditos.” Buddy rationalizes his position by pointing to the comfortable life it has given his
family and by anointing himself and his wife “The Silent Bit King and Queen of Hollywood.” Such
bravado compensates for the frustration of never rising to better roles. Buddy's frustration is
manifested by his continuous daydreams of new films in which he is the star. Buddy's latent
bitterness toward Anglo America is often expressed by his reference to a film in which he played
a bandit who dismisses the authorities with the line, “I don't have to show you no stinking
badges!”
Connie Villa (Female/Female-Identifying, late 40s, Latinx): Buddy's wife, a Chicana bit-part
actress. Connie only recently joined her husband in film work after a life as a conventional
homemaker. Although Connie works professionally only when she can do so in tandem with
Buddy, she quietly yearns for better roles and personal independence. When she is offered a
speaking role, Buddy refuses her permission to accept the part because he cannot accompany
her on location. A clash is avoided only when both are offered parts on a soap opera. Connie is
relieved at this turn of events; she usually seems content to defer to Buddy, and she genuinely
appreciates the good life Buddy has provided.
Sonny Villa (Male/Male-Identifying, casting 18+ but passable as 16-18, Latinx): Buddy and
Connie's son, a law school student. Sonny arrives home one day to announce that he is
dropping out of Harvard Law School to pursue a new ambition to become a film superstar.
Buddy and Connie oppose Sonny's decision because they believe that he is throwing away his
opportunity for an autonomous life. Sonny's parents do not see, however, that he is suffering
from a classic identity crisis: As the son of immigrants, Sonny is at home neither in the Anglo
culture of Harvard nor in the Mexican culture of his ancestors. Sonny's impulsive decision to
pursue acting is a self-conscious capitulation to his inability to recover a sense of history in
which to root his identity. Sonny ultimately fails in Hollywood and returns to law school, tacitly
accepting his place in a homogenized American culture.
Anita (Female/Female-Identifying, late 20s, Asian): Sonny's Japanese American girlfriend
from Boston. Anita is also intent on making it big in Hollywood, which is why she accompanies
Sonny home even though she does not return his love for her. Anita's experience in Hollywood
acts as a counterpoint to Sonny's because her healthy self-image and positive outlook are
chiefly responsible for her landing a good part in a television series.
