Audition

Time set aside for Rehearsals: Sundays in the range of 1-6pm* for approx. 3 hours (*depending on actor and team availability); and Monday to Thursday
evenings from 7-10pm.

Please bring a list of schedule conflicts to your audition!

Casting Opportunities
AIRLINE HIGHWAY 

2025/26 SEASON OF PASSION 

AIRLINE HIGHWAY by Lisa D’Amour

Directed by Jude Hansen

Performances: Oct. 2 (preview), Oct. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

The production will run for 12 performances, in the 165-seat Gibson Theater.

Auditions: Sunday, June 29, 1-5pm, and Monday, June 30, 7-10pm

PLEASE NOTE: If you are unavailable on the audition dates listed, please let us know. We will accept videos, but prefer in-person callbacks.

Callbacks: Thursday, July 3, 7-10pm

Rehearsals Begin: Sunday, July 20 

Time set aside for rehearsals: Sundays in the range of 1- 6pm* for approx. 3 hours and Monday to Thursday evenings. This is a rough guide, actual schedule TBD depending on actor and team availability.

Please bring a list of schedule conflicts to your audition 

Show Description: 

From the Director: You’re invited to a celebration of life for Miss Ruby, the infamous Bourbon Street Burlesque performer and matriarch to all the misfits, oddballs and vagrants that have once called the Hummingbird Motel their home. Taking place over 24 hours in New Orleans, AIRLINE HIGHWAY depicts the highs, lows, joys, love and pain of an eccentric, eclectic (and perhaps a little bit dysfunctional) “Chosen Family”. Come join us for the party of a lifetime!!

Set in New Orleans, AIRLINE HIGHWAY is a gentle portrait of the tight community of residents of the Hummingbird Hotel.  In the parking lot of the Hummingbird, one of those old-school hotels with an old neon sign, on Airline Highway near New Orleans, the residents have gathered to throw a party to celebrate the life of Miss Ruby, the infamous Bourbon Street burlesque performer who has been a mother figure to them all and whose life is nearing its end. As the party and the celebration continues deep into the night, the stories of this found family, with lifetimes of joy and pain are revealed.

We encourage color-conscious casting and are striving to be an inclusive theater. The idea behind conscious casting is that the casting decisions are made with intent. Productions actively seek to create a more diverse cast while respecting the playwright’s specific character descriptions. Please see playwright’s note below.

Please note: AIRLINE HIGHWAY contains adult language.

To Audition: Please email volunteer@livearts.org with any questions or if you are interested in auditioning and would like to reserve a time slot.  We encourage you to read the script before auditioning. 

Please contact Aldrian (aldrian@livearts.org) and Susan E. Evans (susan@livearts.org) if you need assistance. 

What to Prepare:  Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue from the modern American theatrical repertoire. Be prepared to sing two bars of “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder or similar upbeat track. (NB: This is not a musical. But it is about a party. In New Orleans! So it’s a given that there’s music around and the characters occasionally and drunkenly sing together. ) 

Character List, condensed from Acting Edition of the Script*: 

(This show is set in New Orleans and will be cast to reflect the vibrant diversity and complexity of this rich and unique culture.)

KRISTA: 30s-ish, a stripper at Babe’s on Bourbon Street. A gentle soul who turns rabid, when she feels like she is being threatened or when she gets too close to someone.

BAIT BOY: 30s-ish – in his past he has been a bartender, bouncer, a barker outside strip joints, a karaoke wrangler, a waiter, and a street musician (keyboard?), all in the Quarter. Long romantic history with Krista.

ZOE: Bait Boy’s stepdaughter. She’s a junior at the magnet high school in Atlanta – honors track. Learns fast, too fast –  … she does not realize how little she has lived.

WAYNE: 40s-90s. Manager of the Hummingbird Hotel – he lives in a small apartment below the front office. Of old-school, working-class, Irish-German-NOLA descent. Potbelly. The sweetest man on Airline Highway … Divorced some time ago. No kids.

FRANCIS: 40s-90s. The mind/creativity/energy of a thirty-year-old, but the grizzly beard, worn face, and watery eyes of a much older, lifelong (happy) social drinker. A true poet, child of the Beats …

TANYA: 50s+.  She’s an old-school hooker, been in business for many years, in and out of it, sometimes bartending, a bit of exotic dancing in the early days, not working at all for one year ten years ago when she was married to the rich banker from California … She can handle alcohol but she CAN turn into a crazy person when it comes to pain pills.

TERRY: African-American, age flexible, he could really be anywhere from 45-55. Originally from the country, New Iberia, Louisiana, but he has been in NOLA for quite some time – mostly to get away from the crowd he ran with in the country, which were up to no good. He is a handyman …

SISSY NA NA: African-American or possibly Afro-Cuban or African-Puerto Rican. Gender non-confirming bartender and karaoke wrangler at the Cat’s Meow on Bourbon Street … may be the most functional of all these lovable fools.

MISS RUBY: Dying (literally dying), infamous Bourbon Street burlesque performer. … Kind of the “mama” of Bourbon Street, she has had many ups and downs. [From director: A kind hearted matriarch, educator and surrogate mother to everyone, it’s impossible not to love her.]

ENSEMBLE (Roles will be doubled; all of these roles will also play PARTY GUESTS):

NURSE’S AIDE (home health or hospice worker); 
SHADY CHARACTERS – temporary residents of the “problem room”

MEN – clients visiting Tanya

JUDGE HARMON – long-time friend of Ruby

Please note: ENSEMBLE will also understudy at least one of the named roles. However, there are no dedicated understudy performances. An understudy would only go on in the event of illness or other reason preventing the actor from performing on any given night.