CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

Haunted

By Tara Moses

Directed by Nailah Unole didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux

LOOKING TO CAST THE FOLLOWING ROLES

AARON, a 20-year-old (but spiritually, now in his 30s) Native man. A little more jaded but not quite emo. Brother to ASH. Looking to cast someone in late 20s to early 30s. Open to seeing first-time performers for this role. 

ASH, an 18-year-old (but spiritually, now in their 30s) Indiqueer Native person. They are trendy. Looking to cast someone in late 20s to early 30s. Open to seeing first-time performers for this role.

VINCENT JONES, a 30-something Black man who is the realtor of the property. He also plays JERRY, a paranormal investigator.

WHITE MAN, a middle-aged white man who plays the standard single dad in like every paranormal horror movie where he moves his family to a strange, new home to “get a fresh start.” This character plays multiple of those dads. He also plays THE QUAKER.

WHITE GIRL, a teenaged white girl who is the daughter of WHITE MAN and is very upset at him for making her move her senior year of high school. You know, the standard angsty teen in those movies. This character plays multiple of those girls.

WHITE GIRL 2, a teenaged white girl who knows all about the mysterious town lore and befriends the new WHITE GIRL. You know the trope. She also plays THE MEDIUM and another WHITE GIRL 2.0.

ABOUT THE PLAY

Ash and Aaron have been dead for twenty years, and the Indigenous siblings pass their time dancing to Britney Spears, haunting the families that try to move into their house, and wondering if they’ll ever be free from the shackles of racist stereotypes. As the cycle begins once more, the siblings ask: will they ever be able to make it to the Spirit World? An Indigenous horror comedy with the coolest Y2K hits, Tara Moses’ Haunted forces us to confront the very land we walk on and our relationship (or lack thereof) with Native communities today. 

CPT’s production will be the third production in the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere of Haunted. The premiere production was at Company One in Boston, and the second will be at Native Voices in LA. 

ABOUT THE PROCESS

This rehearsal process will be conventional in nature and based in script analysis, character analysis, and emotional arc. Actors will be asked to make strong proposals, be generous, and meet deadlines given. There will also be some movement work and heightened physicality throughout the process and production. 

We are open to seeing/working with first-time performers for the roles of Aaron and Ash. 

Rehearsals will begin the week of January 26, 2026.  Rehearsals are 5–6 times a week, with evening weekday rehearsals and some daytime weekend rehearsals. 

Performances begin with First Preview March 5. The production opens on March 7, 2026 and runs through March 21, Thu/Fri/Sat/Mon at 7:00pm and Sunday matinees at 3pm in the James Levin Theatre. 

CONTENT DISCLOSURES ABOUT THE PLAY

Haunted includes frank descriptions and depictions of racism against Native peoples.

AUDITIONS

Thursday, June 26, 6:30pm–9:30pm 

Saturday, June 28, 11am–2pm 

Callbacks for this production will be held Saturday, July 5. 

Auditions are by appointment only and will be scheduled in 10-minute increments. Prepared auditions will be individual. You may be asked to stay and read with a fellow actor after your initial audition. Actors should plan to stay at the audition for up to 75 minutes, though you may be released sooner. Associate Producer Paige Conway will be running the initial auditions for the director, Nailah Harper-Malveaux, who will run callbacks.

WHAT TO PREPARE

• A 60–90 second comedic monologue is preferred but not required. We will have sides to read for anyone who has not prepared a monologue. 

• Some actors may be asked to do cold readings from sides provided by CPT at the audition. 

• Headshot and resume

To schedule an audition appointment, please email auditions@cptonline.org. Please include [Haunted Auditions] in your subject line. Be sure to include your name, email address, phone number, and preferred audition date. Send a copy of your headshot and resume as an attachment to your email. No phone calls please.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

TARA MOSES (she/her) is a citizen of Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Mvskoke, director, multi-award-winning playwright, and co-founder of Groundwater Arts. She is honored to be the first Native playwright to receive a Rolling World Premiere from the National New Play Network and aims to use her work as a catalyst for other Native artists, so that she will not be the last. She is the former Artistic Director in Residence at Red Eagle Soaring, a Cultural Capital Fellow with First Peoples Fund, Fellow with the Intercultural Leadership Institute, member of the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center, recipient of the Thomas C. Fichandler Award, Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and Dramatists Guild member. She is from the Muscogee Creek Reservation and holds an MFA in Directing from Brown/Trinity. www.taramoses.com  

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

NAILAH UNOLE DIDANAS’EA HARPER-MALVEAUX (she/her) is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She serves as the Leader of Artistic Curation and Producing at Crowded Fire, which is a member of the Mellon-funded “Future of the American Theater” cohort. Directing highlights include: the West Coast premiere of The Last of the Love Letters by Ngozi Anyanwu and Edit Annie by Mary Glen Fredrick (co-directed with Leigh Rondon-Davis), the world premiere of Getting There by Dipika Guha, and The Light by Loy A. Webb. She is passionate about experimenting with and implementing new models of collaboration in order to create a more sustainable and abundant theatre ecology. Through the Artistic Caucus and the HIVE Project, she was an integral part of the construction of two inter-theater, multi-year programs designed to systematically change their respective practices in audience engagement and new work curation. She has worked as a freelance artist at Woolly Mammoth, Pasadena Playhouse, Williamstown Theater Festival, Berkeley Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Z Space, and American Conservatory Theater. She received her B.A. in American Studies and Theatre Studies from Yale University.