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Casting Notice

Seeking AEA & Non-Union performers for Holocaust/Social Justice High School/College Touring

 

The Mitzvah Project, an internationally recognized Holocaust/social justice-themed presentation, will be initiating Phase III of its Teaching Artist casting effort in the late spring/early summer 2025. Phase III will continue expanding the program's reach to educational, religious and secular institutions around the country.

 

The Mitzvah Project will consider candidates of any gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation who are firmly aligned with the program's goals, have great communication skills, and a strong desire to reach and teach students and adults with The Mitzvah Project's message of inclusion, tolerance, and equality.

 

Comprised of a twenty-five-minute, one-person play plus a lecture and talkback, the 70-minute program, conceived and created by actor/playwright/lecturer, Roger Grunwald, poses several critical socio-historical questions: “Who decides the meaning of culture, race, and ethnicity?” “How is one’s identity determined?”  “Why do we demonize ‘the other?’” 

 

Over the years, The Mitzvah Project was seen by over 26,000 students at 220 high schools, colleges and community organizations across the U.S. Click on the following link for recent teacher/administrator testimonials. To read recent student comments, click here.

 

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TEACHING ARTIST PROGRAM

 

The Mitzvah Project-Teaching Artist Program (TMP-TAP) is a venture that expands the reach and impact of The Mitzvah Project, a dynamic learning program that combines the power of performance, family history and conversation. Over the last eight years, Grunwald, a classically trained actor and son of an Auschwitz survivor, has presented The Mitzvah Project, to over 18,000 people at 180 institutions in 26 states and four countries. 

 

“The Mitzvah Project goes to the heart and complexity of current issues of prejudice, bullying, racial tension, genocide and war, presented within the historical context of The Holocaust.” — Mónica Olague-Marchán, Ph.D., Catholic Memorial High School, Waukesha, WI

 

TMP-TAP is seeking committed and intelligent actor/teachers, ready and eager to bring their voices to this unique program for teaching about the Holocaust and the corrosive influence of prejudice on society. 

 

Once cast, the performing artists will be trained over 6-8 weeks by Grunwald and award-winning stage director, Nancy Carlin, to become Mitzvah Project presenters. Once trained, these artists will be booked by the program’s outreach staff into various institutions around the country where they will present The Mitzvah Project. 

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Teaching Artist: Qualifications and Requirements

 

Candidates with a direct family connection to the Holocaust or other examples of ethnic cleansing/genocide in the 20th/21st centuries are encouraged. Other qualifications/requirements include:

 

  • San Francisco Bay Area resident preferred but not required. Auditions and rehearsals will take place in San Francisco and Berkeley.

  • Strong interest/experience in teaching students with focus on social justice and human rights

  • Skilled performer

  • Self-starter

  • Good communicator

  • Great listening skills

  • Easy to work with/team player

 

Performer Roles (union or non-union)

 

The teaching artist-performer will portray:

  • A half-Jewish German Army officer (male, early 20s)

  • A Polish Jew (male, early 20s)

  • A Groucho Marx-esque Chorus character (50s-60s)

  • Various SS officers and enlisted men (male, early 20s)

  • Able to perform authentic German and Yiddish accents

 

BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, trans/gender non-conforming, women, disabled, and actors of all ages encouraged.

 

Seeking AEA and Non-Union performers.

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Salary: $30-50/hr (DOE).  Payment for training and presentations.

 

Proposed 1st rehearsal: Spring/Summer 2025 (TBD)

Proposed 1st tour: Fall 2025 (TBD)

 

How to Apply

 

After reading the Qualifications and Requirements section (above), candidates should email their picture and resumé along with a cover letter to roger.grunwald@themitzvah.org. 

Note: please write: T.A.P.  SUBMISSION in your email’s subject line.

 

In the cover letter please include the following:

 

  • Why you’re interested in the position.

  • Describe your personal/family connection, if any, to the Holocaust (or other examples of ethnic cleansing/genocide)

  • Teaching experience, if any 

  • Additional information that responds directly to the “Qualifications and Requirements” (above). 


 

Thank you for your interest in The Mitzvah Project-Teaching Artist Program!


 

Roger Grunwald

Program Director

roger.grunwald@themitzvah.org 

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