Description:
Pig Iron Theatre Company is looking to cast two performers for our upcoming production of FRANKLIN’S KEY for the MOVEMENT ENSEMBLE, or “Gogglers.”
The Goggler/Movement Ensemble is made up of performers of any gender, 20-45, open to all ethnicities. Inspired in part by the Blob-men in Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, the Gogglers are the functionaries who animate the mystery beneath Philadelphia in Franklin’s Key. Attired in “clockpunk” goggles, they are part Puck from Midsummer Night’s Dream, part subterranean force connected to electricity and tunnels. They are mainly invisible to the characters of the play. Through carefully choreographed object manipulation and movement, they are the engines who propel the scenery and construct the world of the play around the characters. They are also puppeteers who animate automatons (18th-century wooden robots run by clockwork) and other effects.
FRANKLIN’S KEY is a family-friendly adventure that celebrates young, ingenious outsiders who must save Philadelphia from shadowy forces. In an alternate universe where Benjamin Franklin’s undiscovered technology has been hidden for centuries underneath Philadelphia’s landmarks, a mystery is unfolding. Two high school prodigies—Temple, a self-taught scientist, and her brother Arturo, a brilliant musician—find themselves caught in a struggle between secret societies dedicated to safeguarding Franklin’s most dangerous discoveries. Familiar and more esoteric pieces of Philadelphia’s history—including the Museum of Art, City Hall, the Waterworks, and the Wanamaker Organ—become a series of puzzles to be unlocked as the duo embarks on a Goonies-style journey to unravel the truth. With twists reminiscent of Stranger Things and The Da Vinci Code, FRANKLIN’S KEY is Pig Iron’s sci-fi love letter to Philadelphia.
THE STYLE: This production aims to translate the panoramic, fast-paced energy of a graphic novel or a Marvel movie to the theater, using stage magic and other practical effects. Actors will play larger-than-life characters who have bold outlines, but are grounded in an emotional reality. Sound and musical cues linked to carefully choreographed movement will be a key feature of the production.
FRANKLIN’S KEY Creative Team:
Text by: Robert Quillen Camp and Dan Rothenberg
Director: Dan Rothenberg
Movement Director: Yasmine Lee
Set Designer: Anna Kiraly
Lighting Designer: Amith Chandrashaker
Costume Designer: Maiko Matushima
Visual Effects Designer: Skylar Fox
Video Designer: Dave Tennent
Sound Designer: Chris Sannino
Original Score: Rosie Langabeer
Creative Producer: Eva Steinmetz
Requirements:
We are casting Non-Equity Dancers, Circus Artists and Actors for these roles. We are specifically seeking dancers, acrobats, or other movement-focused performers who are comfortable acting and are skilled in mime, puppetry, object manipulation, or contemporary dance. These parts are mainly non-speaking roles, but will include a couple of short cameos as other characters. Gogglers will provide percussive music / live foley effects from stage and should have a strong sense of rhythm. Ability to read music or play an instrument is a plus but not required. Must be able to lift 40 lbs; must be comfortable doing weight-sharing movement work.
REHEARSAL/CREATION PERIODS: (All in Philadelphia)
Rehearsal Process: May 5 - May 20, 2025
Technical Rehearsals: May 20 - June 1, 2025
Previews and Performances: June 3- June 29, 2025
Prepare To Present:
AUDITIONS:
Group auditions and callbacks will be held at Pig Iron Studios, 1417 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia PA 19122. Auditioners should wear comfortable clothes for movement and be ready for improvising and partnering.
AUDITION SCHEDULE:
Group Audition: Saturday, January 25: 9-10:30am
Group Callback: Sunday, January 26: 9-10:30am
Additional Information:
More about Pig Iron:
Founded in 1995 as an interdisciplinary ensemble, Pig Iron Theatre Company is dedicated to the creation of new and exuberant performance works that defy easy categorization. Pig Iron has emerged as a leader in the alternative theater movement, and the company is now a platform for unusual performances that scale up and down, from gallery to nightclub to proscenium theater—creating complete performance worlds with a shifting roster of remarkable actors, designers, and writers. Pig Iron’s work has toured to 15 countries on 4 continents, with notable stops at the Humana Festival, the Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth, TR Warszawa, and the Tokyo Performing Arts Market. Notable collaborators include acclaimed playwrights Toshiki Okada and Will Eno, Emmy-award winning composer Troy Herion, celebrated designers Machine Dazzle and Macarthur Fellow Mimi Lien, and visionary filmmaker Josephine Decker. The company has won 2 OBIE Awards, received the Total Theatre Award from the Edinburgh Fringe, and been nominated for over 50 Barrymore Awards here in Philadelphia (winning 10).
In 2011, Pig Iron launched a 2-year graduate program in physical and devised theater at a new home in North Philadelphia. In 2015, the company partnered with University of the Arts to offer both a Graduate Certificate and an MFA in Devised Performance. The program is on hiatus due to UArts’ collapse in June 2024, but Pig Iron plans to reopen this program in 2025 with a new academic partner. In addition to offering an MFA and Certificate, Pig Iron School also hosts professional workshops in physical theater and devising practices every winter and summer.
Application Deadline:
Jan. 23, 2025
Job Start Date:
May 05, 2025
Job Duration:
2 months
Contract Dates:
May 5, 2025 - June 29, 2025
Job Category:
Performing
Artistic Discipline:
Theater, Dance, Circus
Payment status:
Paid
Pay Scale:
From 795 to 795 USD/week
Job Location:
United States,
Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia
Mexico, TBA
