SparKyL Entertainment, Inc. is currently casting for the first show of our 2025 production season. We are seeking talented, non-union actors for all of the roles in this show.

  • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Vince Farmer
  • DIRECTOR: Kyona Levine Farmer 
  • STAGE MANAGER: Hillary Humphries
  • VENUE: Wayne Densch Performing Arts, Sanford, FL
  • SHOW RUN: March 15 – March 16, 2025
  • PAY: Actors will be paid. Details discussed upon casting offer.
  • REHEARSALS: Rehearsals begin in January 2025. Final schedule will be determined by actor conflict. Only local, non-union talent will be considered.

SYNOPSIS: Troy Maxson, one of the greatest characters of American theater, has stepped up to the plate too many times in his life only to go down swinging. Shut out of the big leagues by prejudice, the former Negro League homerun king is now a garbage collector just trying to make a living and do right by his family. When his youngest son shows promise on the high school football team, Troy must come to terms with his past disappointments or risk tearing his family apart. “Universal enough to touch a chord in every human heart.” – The New York Times

  • ★ Revived in 2010 starring Denzel Washington in the lead role.
  • ★ Winner! 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
  • ★ Winner! 2010 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play
  • ★ Winner! 2010 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Revival of a Play  ★Winner! 2010 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Revival of a Play

AUDITION INFORMATION

AUDITION (VIDEO): Prepare and record a video monologue from the show, no more than two (2) minutes. All audition videos should be submitted no later than November 10th, 2024.

  • Submissions should include a slate that includes the actor’s name and role of interest.
  • Monologue should be submitted as one, unedited take. While performing/recording the audition monologue, actors should stand and look directly at the camera.
  • Submissions should be emailed to sparkyl.entertainment@gmail.com. Be sure to include “Fences Audition – Role” in the subject line.
  • Submissions should include actor resume as an additional attachment.

CALLBACKS: Will be held in person on December 7th, 2024.

ROLES

  1. Troy Maxson: Male, African-American, late 40’s-60. Former baseball star in the Negro Leagues,now works for the sanitation department, lifting garbage into truck. Husband to Rose, father toLyons, Cory, and Raynell, and brother to Gabriel, and best friend to Jim Bono. Some singing.
  2. Rose Maxson: Female, African-American, 35-45. Troy’s wife and mother of his second child, Cory. African American housewife, who volunteers at her church regularly and loves her family. Rose’s request that Troy and Cory build a fence in their small, dirt backyard comes to represent her desire to keep her loved-ones close to her love. She has high hopes for her son, Cory and sideswith him in his wish to play football. Some singing.
  3. Cory Maxson: Male, African-American, 15-18. Troy and Rose Masons’ son. A senior in highschool. An ambitious young man who has the talent and determination to realize his dreams, Cory comes of age during the course of the play when he challenges and confronts Troy and leaves home.
  4. Lyons Maxson: Male, African-American, 27–35. Troy’s son from a previous relationship. Lyons is an ambitious and talented jazz musician. He grew up without Troy for much of his childhood because Troy was in prison. Lyons, like most musicians, has a hard time making a living.
  5. Gabriel Maxson: Male, African-American, 40-55. Troy’s younger brother. Gabriel was a soldier in the Second World War, during which he received a head injury that required a metal plate to be surgically implanted into his head. He often thinks he is not a person, but the angel Gabriel who opens the gates of heaven with his trumpet for Saint Peter on Judgment Day. Gabriel exudes a child-like exuberance and a need to please. Some singing.
  6. Jim Bono: Male, African-American, late 40’s-65. Troy’s best friend of over thirty years. Jim Bono is usually called “Bono” or “Mr. Bono” by the characters in Fences. Bono and Troy met in jail, where Troy learned to play baseball. He is married to a woman named Lucille, who is friends with Rose. Bono is a devoted husband and friend.
  7. Raynell Maxson: Female, African-American, 9-12. Troy’s child, mothered by Alberta, his lover, who passed away while giving birth. Her innocent need for care and support convinces Rose to take Troy back into the house. Some singing. Special Requirements: Ability to portray youthful innocence.

 

FENCES AUDITION MONOLOGUES

Troy Maxson makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son’s chance to meet a college football recruiter.

TROY MAXSON (Male, African-American, late 40’s-60): It ain’t about nobody being a better woman or nothing. Rose, you ain’t the blame. A man couldn’t ask for no woman to be a better wife than you’ve been. I’m responsible for it. I done locked myself into a pattern trying to take care of you all that I forgot about myself.  Rose, I done tried all my life to live decent… to live a clean… hard… useful life. I tried to be a good husband to you. In every way I knew how. Maybe I come into the world backwards, I don’t know. But… you born with two strikes on you before you come to the plate. You got to guard it closely… always looking for the curve-ball on the inside corner. You can’t afford to let none get past you. You can’t afford a call strike. If you going down… you going down swinging. Everything lined up against you. What you gonna do. I fooled them, Rose. I bunted. When I found you and Cory and a halfway decent job… I was safe. Couldn’t nothing touch me. I wasn’t gonna strike out no more. I wasn’t going back to the penitentiary. I wasn’t gonna lay in the streets with a bottle of wine. I was safe. I had me a family. A job. I wasn’t gonna get that last strike. I was on first looking for one of them boys to knock me in. To get me home. Then when I saw that gal… she firmed up my backbone. And I got to thinking that if I tried… I just might be able to steal second. Do you understand after eighteen years I wanted to steal second.

ROSE MAXSON (Female, African-American, 35-45): I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you. Don’t you think I ever wanted other things? Don’t you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life? What about me? Don’t you think it ever crossed my mind to want to know other men? That I wanted to lay up somewhere and forget about my responsibilities? That I wanted someone to make me laugh so I could feel good? You not the only one who’s got wants and needs. But I held on to you, Troy. I took all my feelings, my wants and needs, my dreams…and I buried them inside you. I planted a seed and watched and prayed over it. I planted myself inside you and waited to bloom. And it didn’t take me no eighteen years to find out the soil was hard and rocky and it wasn’t never gonna bloom.  But I held on to you, Troy. I held you tighter. You was my husband. I owed you everything I had. Every part of me I could find to give you. And upstairs in that room…with the darkness falling in on me…I gave everything I had to try and erase the doubt that you wasn’t the finest man in the world. And wherever you was going…I wanted to be there with you. Cause you was my husband. Cause that’s the only way I was gonna survive as your wife. You always talking about what you give…and what you don’t have to give. But you take, too. You take…and don’t even know nobody’s giving!

CORY MAXSON (Male, African-American, 15-18): I live here too! I ain’t scared of you. I was walking by you to go into the house cause you sitting on the steps drunk, singing to yourself. You can put it like that. I ain’t got to say excuse me to you. You don’t count around here no more. That’s right. You always talking this dumb stuff. Now, why don’t you just get out my way. You talking about what you did for me… what’d you ever give me? You ain’t never gave me nothing! You ain’t never done nothing but hold me back. Afraid I was gonna be better than you. All you ever did was try and make me scared of you. I used to tremble every time you called my name. Every time I heard your footsteps in the house. Wondering all the time… what’s Papa gonna say if I do this?… What’s he gonna say if I do that?… What’s Papa gonna say if I turn on the radio? And Mama, too… she tries… but she’s scared of you. I don’t know how she stand you… after what you did to her. What you gonna do… give me a whupping? You can’t whup me no more. You’re too old. You just an old man.  You crazy! You know that? You just a crazy old man… talking about I got the devil in me. You took Uncle Gabe’s money he got from the army to buy this house and then you put him out. Come on… put me out! I ain’t scared of you. Come on! Come on… put me out! Come on! Come on!

LYONS MAXSON (Male, African-American, 27–35): You and me is two different people, Pop. You got your way of dealing with the world… I got mine. The only thing that matters to me is the music. I know I got to eat. But I got to live too. I need something that gonna help me to get out of the bed in the morning. Make me feel like I belong in the world. I don’t bother nobody. I just stay with my music cause that’s the only way I can find to live in the world. Otherwise there ain’t no telling what I might do. Now I don’t come criticizing you and how you live. I just come by to ask you for ten dollars. I don’t wanna hear all that about how I live. You can’t change me, Pop. I’m thirty-four years old. If you wanted to change me, you should have been there when I was growing up. I come by to see you and ask for ten dollars and you want to talk about how I was raised. You don’t know nothing about how I was raised.

GABRIEL MAXSON (Male, African-American, 40-55): I’ll take some biscuits. You got some biscuits? Did you know when I was in heaven… every morning me and St. Peter would sit down by the gate and eat some big fat biscuits? Oh, yeah! We had us a good time. We’d sit there and eat us them biscuits and then St. Peter would go off to sleep and tell me to wake him up when it’s time to open the gates for judgement. Troy… St. Peter got your name in the book. I seen it. It say… Troy Maxson. I say… I know him! He got the same name like what I got. That’s my brother! Ain’t got my name in the book. Don’t have to have my name. I done died and went to heaven. He got your name though. One morning St. Peter was looking at his book… marking it up for the judgement… and he let me see your name. Got it in there under M. Got Rose’s name… I ain’t seen it like I seen yours… but I know it’s in there. He’s got a great big book. Got everybody’s name what was ever been born. That’s what he told me. But I seen your name. Seen it with my own eyes.

JIM BONO (Male, African-American, late 40’s-65): Troy… I done known you seem like damn near my whole life. You and Rose both. I done know both of you all for a long time. I remember when you met Rose. When you was hitting them baseball out the park. A lot of them old gals was after you then. You had the pick of the litter. When you picked Rose, I was happy for you. That was the first time I knew you had any sense. I said… My man Troy knows what he’s doing… I’m gonna follow this n—… he might take me somewhere. I been following you too. I done learned a whole heap of things about life watching you. I done learned how to tell where the s— lies. How to tell it from the alfalfa. You done learned me a lot of things. You showed me how to not make the same mistakes… to take life as it comes along and keep putting one foot in front of the other. (Pause.) Rose a good woman, Troy. She loves you, Troy. Rose loves you. I know what Rose means to you, Troy. I’m just trying to say I don’t want to see you mess that up. Well, that’s all I got to say. I just say that because I love you both.

RAYNELL MAXSON (Female, African-American, Actor who can play 9-12): (Choose any dramatic monologue that fits the character.)

By:
On: