Auditions for Chicken & Biscuits by Douglas Lyons
Directed by Adrienne Martin-Fullwood
Stage Manager Megan Davis
Show dates: Preview November 20, show runs November 21 – December 20, 2026.
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00. No show Friday November 27. Industry night, Monday November 30. Rehearsals begin the week of October 12.
Stipend for actors is $700 for the run. There is also a $50 travel stipend.
Synopsis: Full of Black joy, grief and healing, Chicken & Biscuits contains an extended family who is brought back to St. Luke’s Church to inter their patriarch, Bernard. Told with warmth and delicacy, the play is a touching and hilarious ode to the people in our lives we don’t choose.
Can rivaling sisters Baneatta and Beverly bury their father without killing each other? This proves difficult when Beverly shows up to the chapel with her “blessings” on display. Meanwhile, Baneatta’s son brings his neurotic Jewish boyfriend along, knowing Baneatta disapproves, and Beverly’s nosy daughter keeps asking questions no one wants to answer. Baneatta’s pastor husband tries to mediate the family drama, but when a shocking family secret reveals itself at the altar, the two sisters are faced with a truth that could either heal or break them.
Casting; 2 male-identifying African-American actors, 5 female-identifying African American actors, and 1 white Jewish male-identifying actor. See character descriptions below.
Audition details
Audition dates: Saturday, August 22, 10am to 12pm
Auditions will be scheduled in 5-minute blocks. Come prepared to present a two-minute contemporary monologue.
If all slots are full, email firehousetc@gmail.com with “waitlist” in the subject line. Additional slots may be added.
Please bring a printed photo of yourself (doesn’t need to be on glossy paper) and actor’s resume. Be ready to inform us of any conflicts you’ll have from October 12 through November 6. We expect all actors to be present for ALL rehearsals in the final two weeks of rehearsals/tech and for all performances.
Callbacks: Saturday August 29, 10am to noon.
Callbacks will be readings of scenes from the play. We will send you a link to the drive with sides if you are called back.
Location:
Check-in for auditions will in the lobby of the John Hand Theater in the Colorado Free University building at 7653 E. 1st Place, Denver CO 80230. Auditions will be in the CFU ballroom.
Additional Information:
If you would like to preview the script, email firehousetc@gmail.com and put script in the subject line. Email us with any accommodation that would make the audition process most conducive for you.
If you have questions for the director, you can email Adrienne directly at amfstar43@gmail.com.
Firehouse has adopted the Community Standards for Theatre for Colorado.
The John Hand Theater is wheelchair accessible.
Out of respect for everyone’s time, only reserve an audition slot if you are fully available to attend and your schedule aligns with the rehearsal and performance dates. If a conflict arises, cancel your slot as soon as possible so another actor can take advantage of the opportunity.
Character Descriptions:
BENEATTA MABRY—An upstanding and stern Christian woman. Mother to Kenny and Simone, and wife to Reginald. She’s overbearing fully of love, but quite upright and stubborn in her religious ways. Late 40s-mid 50’s African American.
REGINALD MABRY—Baneatta’s faithful husband and the new pastor of their home church. He’s the peacemaker of the family. Reginald is ball of love with a side of corny dad jokes. 50a, African American.
KENNY MARBY—Baneatta and Reginald’s youngest child. He’s proudly queer but cowers in the presence of his mother. Kenny bites when he needs to, but at the end of the day he just wants to be loved. Mid—late 20s. African American.
LOGAN LEIBOWITZ—Kenny’s neurotic and dramatic Jewish boyfriend of four years. He often spins himself into a tizzy, but always wants to be there for Kenny. Logan’s weed pen is his crutch for tough times. Mid-late 20s, white.
BEVERLY JENKINS—Baneatta’s younger sister. The “fun aunt” who’s always in a push-up bra. But don’t mistake her vibrance for incompetence. She’s a savage, “classy,” not so boujee, but definitely ratchet when necessary. 40s-early 50s, African American.
LATRICE FRANKLIN—Beverly’s daughter. She’s nosy, loud, and in everyone’s business but her own. When not on her phone, she shows love—but in her own Gen Z way. Sarcasm is her love language. 15, African American.
SIMONE MABRY—Kenny’s older sister and Baneatta’s favorite. She followed the “right path.” Though pulled, she can be shady. While fierce on the exterior, Simone is internally wounded from a recent failed engagement. 30s African American.
BRIANNA JENKINS—Baneatta and Beverly’s half-sister through an affair. She didn’t know her father but has come to his funeral for gather more details on him. She’s sweet, vulnerable, and collected. Early 40s-50’s African American.