Jade Star Hotel Casting Notice - Libretto Reading

The American Opera Project (AOP) is seeking Actors of Asian descent for an English-language libretto reading of the opera Jade Star Hotel, by Stephanie Chou (Creator & Composer) and Susan Kander (Librettist), taking place from AUGUST 4-6, 2022. There is no singing involved. PAID.

JADE STAR HOTEL is the story of a Chinese ‘comfort woman’, a cruel euphemism for the women who were abducted and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army in the 1930s and ‘40s. In 1939, sixteen-year-old Lian is kidnapped by Japanese soldiers from her own wedding in a rural village in Manchuria and kept at a military ‘comfort station’ with other women. Though she survives, she is rejected by her family as a “cursed one,” and relegated to the edges of society. Sixty-five years later, a letter arrives from America to the extremely modest apartment she shares with her daughter and granddaughter, causing Old Lian to finally share her story with her only family. JADE STAR HOTEL is a tribute to the more than 200,000 comfort women, and to their courage in finally telling their stories.

ROLES

WOMEN

OLD LIAN (DENG LIAN) - An older actor; 82 years old in 2005, sedentary, very used by life.

YOUNG LIAN / FAN FAN

• Young Lian is 16 years old in 1939. She is a poor, hardworking farm girl in love with Young Ming.
• Fan Fan is 16 in 2005, and is Old Lian’s granddaughter.
• They both start out very innocent and gain a little age over the course of the story.

LAO GUA / GUI FEI

• Lao Gua (“Old Crow”) is around 35 years old in 1939, but appears much older. She
• is sarcastic and bitter, and yet emotionally vulnerable. She is a comfort woman so used up that now she is forced to be the Matron.
• GuiFei is around 45 in 2005. Old Lian’s daughter and FanFan’s mother. She is, gentle, very attentive to her mother and patient with her daughter.

MEI MEI (“LITTLE SISTER”) - A comfort girl, around 18-20 years old. She is sweet, shy, and gentle, with a hidden inner strength.

KUANG MAO (“CRAZY CAT”) - A comfort girl, around 20-25 years old. She is tough, prickly, headstrong.

MING’S MOTHER / ENSEMBLE - She is 35 years old in 1939. Poor, illiterate, rural farmer. Tough and pragmatic.

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MEN

OLD MING (LIN HAO MING) - An older actor; 85 years old in 2005, calm, an elderly Chinese gentleman.

YOUNG MING / DEREK

• Young Ming is 18 years old in 1939. He is a poor, hardworking farm boy in love with Young Lian.
• Derek is 16 in 2005 and is Old Ming’s grandson.

DA YAO GUAI (“BIG DEMON”) - A brutal Japanese sergeant stationed at the Jade Star Hotel.

MING’S FATHER / ENSEMBLE - He is 35 years old in 1939. Poor, illiterate, rural farmer. Tough and pragmatic.

KIYOSHI / ENSEMBLE - He is a 16 year old Japanese draftee, the newest soldier to the base. He is kind, inexperienced, and easily bullied by the other soldiers.

JAPANESE SOLDIERS / ENSEMBLE

Requirements

Rehearsal Dates: August 4-5 (Daytime)
Presentation Date: August 6 (Daytime Brush-up Rehearsal, 4pm Presentation)
All calls in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
*Schedule may be able to accommodate minor conflicts.

Application Instructions

Deadline is Wednesday, July 20th.
This is an immediate opening, and offers may be given before the deadline; PLEASE SUBMIT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.
Please email headshot, résumé, and acting reel to info@aopopera.org with the subject line “JSH Libretto Reading Casting”. Also include availability for August 4-6.