Casting Call for Boys and Girls for "Much To Do About Notices"

Six villagers watch the Shakespeare plays within the play. They boo and his & more at performances.

He calls himself “Burbage” after the famous contemporary Shakespearean actor Richard Burbage. He has a big ego. He thinks that he is the greatest living interpreter of Shakespeare’s plays. He overacts and cannot remember his lines. He deludes himself. He thinks the audience loves his acting. He does not understand why the critics are negative. He is a male chauvinist. He does not think women should be allowed to be actors.

Her name is Beatrice. Whilst pretending to be a man, she is called “Benedick.” She is named after the characters in Much Ado About Nothing. She is a “modern” liberated Tudor woman. She thinks women should be allowed to do whatever men can do, including acting. She is strong-willed, like Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew. Like all women, she is strongly attracted to ROMEO. She has a running battle of wits with BURBAGE.

He is called “Romeo” after the romantic lover in Romeo and Juliet. He is tall, dark, and handsome. He is a competent actor. He appears to be a ladies’ man adored by female fans and BEATRICE. Actually, he is a secret homosexual. He plays the romantic leading men in the Shakespeare plays within the play: Romeo and Ferdinand. He also plays Prince Hal.

He is called “Autolycus” after the pick purse in A Winter’s Tale. He accidentally breaks his neck and is paralyzed from the neck … up. His body works from the neck down. He cannot speak. He stares with wide, unblinking eyes and his mouth hangs open. He cannot raise, lower, or turn his head on his own. Before he breaks his neck, he plays a ridiculous Juliet. After he breaks his neck, he plays a silent Falstaff.

She is the proprietress of the Boar’s Head Tavern in Eastcheap, London.