This is an audition call Ape Play which @hprotman is producing with the help of The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co’s FRINGESHIP Production Program! 🍌
SUBMISSION and MORE INFO at LINK IN BIO or https://forms.gle/ednHhSyMSofMT5PB6 🔗
We are looking for actors eager to embody apelike physicality and who are interested in performing in public environments (potentially outdoors) and who are comfortable performing for young audiences. Actors portraying ape characters will be required to wear stylized face paint. Performers will be offered a guaranteed honorarium of $75 or an even share of the final profit, whichever ends up valued higher.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
I’m Hal (He/They), the writer and director of this play. I’m an emerging theater artist, FSPA graduate, oxford comma enthusiast, and amateur juggler with a passion for creature performance. This play emerged as I challenged myself to overcome my recurring battles with writer’s block which brought me right to the image of a monkey on a typewriter, putting work into something they probably don’t understand. I’m super happy with the way this play has shaped up on the page and I can’t wait to find the right team to shape it into something truly amazing! :)
THE PLAY
The play follows Diane, an ape who spends her days trying to write a masterpiece on her typewriter in the belief that doing so will grant her immortality. Bonzo, her closest friend, doesn’t understand in the slightest and decided to bring her to the great ape sage, Dr. Zaius, in hopes he can give her guidance.
In-person auditions will be held at The Nest (6068 Quinpool Road) on Wednesday, April 29th. This location is up a flight of stairs. If the audition location is not physically accessible to you please let us know and we can arrange an alternative location. For those unavailable to audition during the audition period, there will be the option to submit a self-tape or to be contacted to schedule an alternative audition opportunity.
If there are any questions, feel free to submit them along with your application or to email me at [email protected].
Thank you! Now, on to monkey business...
𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎! Announcing the three incredible projects for the 2026 Fringeship Production Program + Daniel Nwobi Solo Show Fund! 🌟
We were so thrilled to receive so many applications for our fourth year of UDTCo’s Fringeship Production program (our biggest year yet!) and are proud to share with you the three shows and artists we will be supporting at the 2026 @halifaxfringe festival!
𝘼𝙥𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮 by Hal Rotman (@hprotman )w/ @themeetinghalifax
“Writer’s block, existentialism, and the power of friendship- starring a cast of apes.”
𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 by Saf Haq (@saf_haq )
“A staged poetry reading of poems written while witnessing the (current) genocide in Palestine.”
*photo by Yosri Kishawi
𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝘽𝙤𝙭 by Wendy Martin (@wendymartinonline ) w/ The Daniel Nwobi Solo Show Fund
“True stories about hitchhiking (aka being trapped in a metal box, flying down a highway with a total stranger, who never thinks they will see you again).”
Make sure to keep your eyes on @unnaturaldisastertheatre as we share more about the projects, artists, and open calls for creatives!
Coming this September 3-13th to the @halifaxfringefestival ! Will we see you there??
I did a lot this year
Found a new apartment (finally)
Traveled to Europe (Yur'p)
Found some semblance of routine
Beat RDR2 (pretty mid, ngl)
Watched over 200 movies (...again)
Caught up with old friends
Made a few new ones
Started to get out of my head... (it's a process)
And I've got more on the horizon
For yet another year of this world that might not be worth celebrating, try to celebrate what you can within it. Celebration is important and you deserve it.
All the best to you and yours.
-Hal
Thank you to all the breathers who came to see Middletown and who worked on Middletown for making this such an out-of-this-world experience. Much love to the rest of the cast especially, who have helped make this process so memorable from every rehearsal and through every performance
I had to bus an hour to get there. The bridge was closed that day so the detour made it even longer. I arrive to a collage of stickers next to the window: No tacos, No haddock tips, no clams, no scallops, and no coleslaw. I never got to try the clams or the scallops. The haddock tips were my usual. With my options dwindled I ordered a two piece fish and chips, the fish my sibling once called the best fish they ever tasted. A phrase my dad would be sure to repeat to a waiter every time we went back.
I opted for a poutine instead of just fries to go with my fish. Pretty sure not even the most devoted locals praised the fries on their own. "Do you want a copy of your receipt?" I was asked through the take-out window. "Sure," I said. "It's history now I guess."
I ate my last meal in 12 minutes, enough time for me to catch the same bus that dropped me off on its loop back. I was eating outside and felt it would be wrong to let my food go cold.
In those 12 minutes, with my attention fixed closely on the beautifuly fried fish in front of me, I picked up signs of the larger event around me. Regulars and community members reconnecting. Parents of young children trying to give the next generation one last taste of what came before. Who knows how many of those parents were once the same kids introduced by their parents over the past 54 years.
I've been thinking a lot about mourning recently. Wasn't even 6 months ago the 10th anniversary of my brother's passing. I lost my Zaidy at the beginning of the month. And now this, disappearing on its own terms on a set date. Where you can schedule ahead of time the last chance to meet. A death foretold down to the last minute of life.
And maybe I could have gone the day before to get my haddock tips but I find death is rarely ever accommodating. Death isn't terribly interested in the lives of the living. And so, like the last time you ever get to see someone, the result can be good but it'll never feel perfect. So please, go hug someone you love and eat some good food. The best way to mourn the dead is to live. Find the good in the world to make up for the good you lose. And most importantly, don't forget your haddock tips.
RIP
