Auditions
United Players holds open auditions for each play of the season.
Running Wilde
September 4 - 27, 2026 – By John Lazarus
Directed by Roy Surette – in association with Western Gold Theatre
At 27, young Oscar Wilde embarked on a hugely successful one-man lecture tour of North America. The tour went like clockwork… except when he missed a connection in straight, stuffy Kingston, Ontario. Lazarus imagines what might have happened next – a tangled, farcical web of seductions, betrayals, blackmailings and happy endings.;THE PLAY:
The production is the world premiere of Running Wilde by John Lazarus.
Prior to his enormous success as a playwright and prose writer, 27-year-old Oscar Wilde embarked on a North American lecture tour promoting the Aesthetic Movement, charming his way into becoming a huge celebrity in the process. John Lazarus brilliantly explores early Wilde aspirations with wit and hilarity, as Oscar discovers the locals have their own ambitions. Intrigue and on-the-down-low dalliances abound in a fanciful account of one Canadian stop.
Set in the living room of a hotel suite in Kingston, Ontario, in the spring of 1882,the young Oscar Wilde is staying over during his nearly-year-long lecture tour of North America . Oscar and his African-American valet, Stephen Davenport, get embroiled in the problems of four locals. Alan, the hotel bellboy, and Gwen, an ambitious young reporter trying to get an interview with Oscar, are greatly in love with each other, but their hopes for marriage are being thwarted by their family members, notably Gwen’s Aunt Gussie, the grande dame of Kingston society. Added to the mix is Ernie, a handsome local working man who winds up spending part of the night with Oscar, with noteworthy results. The play involves numerous secrets, some kept and some revealed; several blackmail attempts, successful and not; and one serious love affair, plus a couple of enthusiastic flings and flirtations.
Dates & Details
Performance Dates: Thursday, September 3, 2026 (preview) – Sunday, September 27, 2026 (strike).
Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, first, third, and fourth Saturdays (September 5, 19 and 26) at 8:00 pm, and second and fourth Saturdays (September 12, 26) at 2:00 pm. Please note that on the fourth Saturday (September 26) there is a 2:00 pm matinee and an evening performance at 8:00 pm. All Sunday performances start at 2.00 pm.
REHEARSALS will be at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale, 2490 West 37th Avenue (37th & Larch). The first rehearsal will be held on Saturday, July 18 and thereafter will be Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6:00 – 10:00 pm, and Saturdays 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.
Please indicate if you have any time conflicts or may be unavailable for any of those rehearsal sessions.
Performance Venue: Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery Street, Vancouver
AUDITION DATES:
Saturday, May 30, 2026, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm;
Sunday, May 31, 2026, 5:00 – 10:00 pm
CALLBACKS:
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 5:00 – 10:00 pm
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 5:00 – 10:00 pm
AUDITION VENUE: Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery Street, Vancouver
DEADLINE TO APPLY: by the end of business on Monday, May 25, 2026
CASTING: We are looking for strong actors of the appropriate ages.
We welcome applications from artists of all backgrounds, identities and ethnicities.
NOTE: This is a non-union production with the option to cast one union member on an amateur contract.
Please indicate if you have ANY union affiliations.
THE ROLES:
OSCAR: the 27 year-old Oscar Wilde, already famous, and on a lecture tour of North America. Sociable, pleased with himself, but also sincerely interested in other people. Convincing upper-class English accent, though in one of these scenes he briefly slips into his native Irish. To discover what he looked like: go online and enter keywords e.g. “Oscar Wilde“, “Napoleon Sarony” “photographs” and view portraits taken of Oscar in New York a few months before the events of the play.
DAVENPORT: an African-American, from New York City, aged 25 or older, even much older. A professional valet, good at his job job and good at dealing with others, and proud of his professionalism.
ALAN: a small town Ontario guy in his 20s, working as a bellboy in Oscars hotel, madly in love with Gwen. Not stupid, but not well educated. Has a tendency to burst into tears.
GWEN: a young woman reporter in her 20s. In love with Alan but fascinated with Oscar. Well educated, sophisticated, confident, and ambitious. An early “bluestocking” style feminist.
GUSSIE: the grand Dam of Kingston Society. 40-60 years of age, with an upper-class English accent. Trying to block Alan’s and Gwen’s marriage, and trying to blackmail Oscar into helping her do that.
ERNIE: a local working class guy 40-55 years of age. Personable and good looking. Appears masculine; is secretly bisexual. Not well educated, but intelligent, and curious about cultural matters. In one of his two scenes, he is hoping to go to bed with Oscar, but will settle for some intelligent conversation.(Everything he tells Oscar is true, except his name). In his other scene, taking place the day after, he is angry at Oscar for allegedly outing him.
SIDES-OSCAR-GUSSIE-DAVENPORT-1-2
SIDES-OSCAR-DAVENPORT-GWEN-2-2
SIDES-OSCAR-DAVENPORT-ALAN-1-2
TO AUDITION:
Please prepare the side for the character(s) of your choice. You are not expected to be off book, though a strong familiarity with the text is recommended.
To apply for an audition time slot, please let us know which character you wish to audition for, and submit a resumé and headshot to Linda Begg at lindabeggforrunningwild@gmail.com
Please also bring hard copies of your headshot and resumé to the audition.
Please let us know the approximate date and time that you are available to come for audition.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: by the end of business on Monday, May 25, 2026
Please let us know if you have access needs for the audition process.
NOTE: as a community theatre, United Players strives to offer audition slots to all applicants, but if some shows/roles receive a very large number of applications, we regret that it may not be possible to offer an audition time to everyone.
HONORARIUM:
All non-Equity company members will receive a small honorarium.
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Keep informed of upcoming auditions
We welcome applications from artists of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Auditions are posted on the following:
• This webpage
• The United Players Facebook page
• Vancouver Actor’s Guide
• Vancouver Public Library auditions e-blast
Audition Notices
Audition notices are emailed to actors who are registered on the United Players database.
To register, click here and complete the form.
If you are interested in volunteering in other areas, please fill out the volunteer form.
Additional Information
Call 604-224-8007 or email info@unitedplayers.com