Cleveland Public Theatre/ Teatro Público de Cleveland announces Auditions for 

EL COQUÍ ESPECTACULAR and the Bottle of DooM

By Matt Barbot

Directed by Fabio Polanco 

LOOKING TO CAST THE FOLLOWING ROLES… 

ALEX, mid to late 20s, Nuyorican. A comic book artist from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, who has taken to dressing as a superhero of his own creation. Actor will engage in some parkour/superhero like movement and fight choreography. Actor may briefly appear shirtless (if so, staging will be developed within the actor’s boundaries.) 

JOE, 30s. Alexs brother. Works at a marketing startup. 

PATRICIA, mid to late 50s. Joe and Alex’s mother. A widow. Actor will engage in some fight choreography. 

YESICA, mid to late 20s to early 30s. Dominican/Colombian. A photographer and artist from Sunset Park. 

EL CHUPACABRA, ageless. A supervillain. El Coquí’s archenemy and a manifestation of Alex’s anxieties. Any gender. Actor will engage in some parkour/superhero like movement and fight choreography. 

JUNIOR, mid to late 20s. Nuyorican. A former school bully of Alex’s. Currently a rapper. Doubled with El Chupacabra. 

* We are open to seeing both AEA and non-AEA actors for these auditions. 

ABOUT THE PLAY… 

The play follows the journey of a struggling comic book artist, Alex, who grapples with self-doubt and the allure of a steady job in advertising alongside his brother Joe, when fate brings him to take on a secret identity of his own. Now Alex finds himself encountering challenges and finding his way through the uncertainty of what it means to become a hero… Not only on the page… But also, off the page… 

ABOUT THE PROCESS… 

Rehearsals are 5-6 times a week, with evening weekday rehearsals and some daytime weekend rehearsals. 

This production will adhere to the CLEan House Standards. 

This is a paid opportunity. 

Important Dates… 

• First rehearsal: on or around February 3, 2025 

• Technical rehearsals: between March 9–19, 2025 

• Previews: March 20 and 21, 2025 

• Opening Night: March 22, 2025 

• Closing Performance: April 5, 2025 

CONTENT DISCLOSURES ABOUT THE PLAY… 

Play contains fight scenes, some foul language, some conversations involving racism, and references to an untimely death. The actor playing Alex may briefly appear shirtless (if so, staging will be developed within the actors’ boundaries.) 

AUDITIONS… 

Wednesday, December 11 from 6pm to 9 pm 

Sunday, December 15 from 2pm to 5 pm 

Monday, December 16 – Callbacks from 6pm to 9 pm

Auditions are by appointment only and will be scheduled in 90-minute slots. Actors should plan to stay at the audition for up to 90 minutes to potentially read in group scenes, though you may be released sooner. The director will be watching the auditions.  

For the Audition…  

• Sides will be provided at the audition for actors for cold readings. Prepared monologues under 2 minutes are accepted but not required. 

• Auditions will be held in groups in 90-minute slots. 

• Please send a headshot and resume, if you have one.  

To schedule an audition appointment, please email auditions@cptonline.org.  

Please include [EL COQUÍ Auditions] in your subject line. Be sure to include: your name, email address, phone number, role you’re auditioning for & preferred audition date. Send a copy of your headshot and resume as an attachment to our email. No phone calls or walk-ins please. 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Matt Barbot is a writer from Brooklyn, NY. His play El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Kennedy Center Darrel Ayers Award, Kennedy Center Latinidad Award) received its world premiere at Two River Theater in January of 2018 and will receive a production with Long Wharf Theatre in January 2025. His play the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo) will premiere Off Broadway at Pregones/PRTT in December. Infallibility (2018 Sheen Center Playwriting Fellowship) was selected as one of Indie Theater Now‘s “Best of FringeNYC 2013.” Princess Clara of Loisaida (finalist: Latinx Theatre Commons’ 2018 Carnaval of New Latinx Work, 2018 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series, 2021 Miranda Family Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition) and Saints Go Marching (semifinalist: 2018 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference) were selected to feature on Steppenwolf’s “The Mix” list. The Venetians was a winner of Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2019 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series. Recently, his short play A List of Some Shit I’ve Killed was published as part of the Red Bull Theater’s anthology Red Bull Shorts Volume III. Matt’s first play for young audiences, Stoo’s Famous Martian American Gumbo, was commissioned by Peppercorn Theatre and was produced there in Summer 2019, and again in 2021 as part of Hangar Theatre’s KIDDSTUFF series. Matt was invited to be a part of Lynn Nottage’s The Watering Hole at the Signature Theatre; Maya Phillips of the New York Times called his contribution “the strongest.” Matt received his MFA from Columbia University, and was recently a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow, a member of The Civilians’ R&D Group, and part of the Lark Playwriting Group @ Second Stage.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

FABIO POLANCO‘s directing credits include Pride and Prejudice, Somewhere, La Siempreviva, Intimate Apparel, Macbeth, Bus Stop, Night Train to Bolina, the regional premiere of Missionaries by Elizabeth Swados, Measure for Measure, Cloud Tectonics, The House of Blue Leaves, Sunday in the Park with George, readings of Fade, La Gringa, and Manual for a Desperate Crossing by Maria Irene Fornés, and the premiere of In Pieces: A New Musical by Joey Contreras. As an actor, Fabio’s credits include the Broadway national tour of Les Misérables and roles at Cleveland Play House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Signature Theatre, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Great Lakes Theater, Musical Theatre Project, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Porthouse Theatre, Cleveland Musical Theatre, Cain Park, Dobama Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and numerous film and television credits. Fabio holds an MFA from Case Western Reserve University and is a Professor of Theatre at Kent State University, where he received the 2018 Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award and co-founded Latinx in Theatre. Fabio has been a member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1996.