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To Kill A MockingbirdDate: October 2 - October 25, 2026
Time: Fridays and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Sundays at 2:30 pm. Set in Alabama in 1934, Harper Lee’s enduring story of racial injustice and childhood innocence centers on one of the most venerated characters in American literature, small-town lawyer Atticus Finch. He encourages kindness and empathy in his children, Scout and Jem, but is pushed to the limits of these qualities himself when he resolves to uncover the truth in a town that seems determined to hide it.
By: Christopher Sergel
From the novel by: Harper Lee |
AUDITIONS
Saturday, July 11, & Sunday, July 12
7:00pm both nights
7:00pm both nights
Smithfield Little Theatre Stage
210 N Church Street - Smithfield, VA
210 N Church Street - Smithfield, VA
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Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Sides will be provided.
We are seeking 20+ actors to bring this production to life on stage! Character Breakdown
Ages are approximate ages of the characters, not necessarily the ages of the actors auditioning. Youth roles may possibly be played by young to mid-teens. Makeup and costumes can make a significant difference, and exceptions may be considered for all roles during casting
We welcome and encourage performers of all genders, sexual orientations, and body types to audition. While we are committed to inclusive casting whenever possible, certain roles in this production will be cast based on race to preserve the authenticity and historical context of the story.
Additionally, anyone under 18 years old will be required to have his/her parent/guardian sign that audition form and acknowledge that he/she may audition and participate in this play if offered a role.
Content Advisory
To Kill a Mockingbird is a powerful and challenging period piece set in the racially segregated American South in 1935. In order to accurately portray the historical setting and themes central to the story, the script includes racist language, racial slurs, and depictions of prejudice.
Some characters use this language and express harmful attitudes as part of the narrative and historical context. A few youth and adult roles also use this language in a non-racist context. These portrayals are not reflective of the values of the theatre, production team, or performers, but are presented to support the story’s themes and social commentary. We understand that engaging with this material may be difficult or uncomfortable for some performers. We encourage anyone considering auditioning to review this information carefully and make the choice that feels right for them. Your comfort and boundaries are respected. Character Description (Adapted from the Script Book by Dramatic Publishing)
Everyone in this play lives in southern Alabama and accordingly might be expected to speak with a Southern accent. It would be a disservice to the play, however, if the audience starts admiring the accent rather than listening to the content of the lines. The playwright strongly urges that the actors understate any attempt at a regional accent rather than risk overstating it—thus calling attention to it and hurting the flow of the play. An authentic pattern of Southern speech is already contained in the lines, and this is sufficient.
SCOUT (White—9 to 10): A young girl about to experience the events that will shape the rest of her life, she should, ideally, seem as young as nine. Scout is courageous and forthright. If a question occurs to her, she’ll ask it. JEM (White—12 to 13): He is a few years older than his sister Scout, and like his sister—perhaps even more than his sister—he’s reaching out to understand their unusual and thus not conventionally-admirable father. Probably the strongest undercurrent in Jem is his desire to communicate with his father. ATTICUS (White—late 40s): He’s a lawyer—tall, quietly impressive, reserved, civilized and nearly fifty. He wears glasses and because of the poor sight in his left eye, looks with his right eye when he wants to see something well. It’s typical of Atticus that when he found out he was an extraordinary shot with a rifle, he gave up shooting – because he considered it gave him an unfair advantage over the animals. He’s quietly courageous and without heroics, he does what he considers just. As someone comments about him—“We trust him to do right.” CALPURNIA (Black—40s to 50s): Proud and capable, she has raised the motherless Scout and Jem. She’s a self-educated woman and she’s made quite a good job of it. Her standards are high and her discipline as applied to Scout and Jem is uncompromising. DILL (White—9 to10): Small, and wise beyond his years, he is about the same age as Jem. Dill is neater and better dressed than his friends. There’s an undercurrent of sophistication to him, but his laugh is sudden and happy. Obviously, there is a lack in his own home life, and he senses something in Atticus that’s missing from his own family relationship. MAUDIE ATKINSON (White—Late 30s to early 40s): Younger than Atticus, but of his generation, she’s a lovely sensitive woman. Though belonging to the time and place of this play, she has a wisdom and compassion that suggests the best instincts of the South of that period. WALTER CUNNINGHAM (White—40s to 50s): Cunningham is a hard-up farmer who shares the prejudices of this time and place but who is nevertheless a man who can be reached as a human being. He also has seeds of leadership, for when his attitude is changed during the confrontation with Atticus, he takes the others with him. REVEREND SYKES (Black—40s to 60s): Rev. Sykes is the minister of the First Purchase Church, called that because it was paid for with the first money earned by the freed slaves. He’s an imposing man with a strong stage presence. He should have a strong “minister’s” voice. HECK TATE (White—40s to 50s): Heck is the town sheriff and a complex man. He does his duty as he sees it, and enforces the law without favor. The key to this man’s actual feelings is revealed in his final speeches to Atticus, and this attitude should be an undercurrent to his earlier actions. STEPHANIE CRAWFORD (White—40s): She’s a neighborhood gossip, and she enjoys it to the hilt. There’s an enthusiasm in her talking over the people of her town that makes it almost humorous. Sometimes, she says things that are petty, but partly it’s because she simply can’t keep herself from stirring things up. BOO RADLEY (White—30s): Arthur Radley is a pale recluse who hasn’t been outside his house in fifteen years. It takes an extraordinary emergency to bring him out, and once out he’s uncertain about how to deal with people, and with his mission accomplished, he’s eager to return to his sanctuary. MRS. DUBOSE (White—70s to 80s): She is an old woman—ill, walking with difficulty, her pain making her biting, bitter, and angry. However, she’s fighting a secret battle within herself, a battle about which few people are aware, and her existence has in it a point of importance for Jem and Scout. TOM ROBINSON (Black—25 to 35): Robinson is handsome and vital, but with a left hand crippled by a childhood accident and held against his chest. He’s married to Helen and they have young children. He faces up to a false charge with quiet dignity. There’s an undercurrent in him of kindness, sensitivity and consideration. JUDGE TAYLOR (White—60s+): The judge is a wintry man of the South, who does what he can within the context of his time to see justice done in his court. While he tries to run his court impartially, his sympathy is with Tom. MR. GILMER (White—40s to 50s): He is a public prosecutor who is doing his job in trying to convict Tom. In many ways his manner is cruel and hurtful. And yet under all this, he too has unexpressed doubts as to Tom’s guilt, and his heart isn’t really in this conviction. Still, he goes after it, and it’s a hard thing. BOB EWELL (White—40s to 50s): Ewell is a little bantam-cock of a man who lives with his large family by the town dump. As Harper Lee describes their situation – “The town gave them Christmas baskets, welfare money, and the back of their hand.” Bob thinks this trial will make him an important man, and when Atticus destroys his credibility, Bob’s rage and frustration border on paranoia. MAYELLA (White—19): The oldest daughter of Bob Ewell, she’s a desperately lonely and overworked young woman whose need for companionship – any companionship – has overwhelmed every other emotion. However, when her effort to reach out explodes in her face, she fights just as desperately for what she thinks is survival. NATHAN RADLEY (White—30s to 40s): Boo’s older brother and protector. Not a recluse, but not particularly social, either. CLERK OF COURT (White—40s): Administers the oath of testimony to the witnesses in the courtroom. Must have presence and an authoritative demeanor. GOSPEL CHOIR (Black—Various ages): 3 to 5 members. May provide a couple of Gospel songs prior to the start of the play. They will also accompany Rev. Sykes when he visits Calpurnia and then sit in the balcony in the courtroom. |
