AUDITION INFORMATION
We will offer combined audition dates for both of our 2026 plays on
THE GREAT GATSBY
By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Adapted for the stage by Simon Levy
Directed by Devan Mathias
Except where historical significance, age, gender or racial specificity are required by the narrative, all actors will be considered for open roles regardless of gender identity, age, race or ability. While casting decisions are subjective and driven by the vision of the director and the creative team, Civic Theatre is committed to a diverse and inclusive cast, crew and staff whenever possible.
Audition Dates
Auditions :
November 2 at 2:00PM or November 3 at 7:00PM
Please fill out the audition form completely including conflicts (required), headshot & resumé (not required). You will have the opportunity to select your audition date. 24 hours before your selected date you will be provided with a specific time. Video auditions will be accepted. In general, we cannot arrange for individual times outside of the scheduled auditions. Should we deem it necessary, we MAY schedule alternate dates at a later time.
Callbacks TBD
Details
Director: Devan Mathias
Production Dates
Rehearsals – December rehearsals - 12/8, 12/15, 12/27, 12/28, 12/29, 12/30. Regularly scheduled rehearsals begin in earnest on or around January 1st.
Performances – February 6 - 21, 2026
In general, rehearsals will be held Sunday 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm and Monday through Thursday 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm. All actors are not called for all rehearsals. Actual schedule will be determined once the show is cast.
Public performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM.
Student matinee performances are scheduled for February 11, 12, 13 and 18,19, 20 at 10:30AM.
A stipend will be offered for the matinee performances as compensation for travel and lost work. The stipend will be determined when the number of matinees is finalized.
What To Prepare:
Please plan to read sides provided for the character you’re interested in playing.
SHOW SYNOPSIS
Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, passionately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger. The breathtaking glamour and decadent excess of the Jazz Age come to the stage in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, and in Simon Levy’s adaptation, approved by the Fitzgerald Estate.
THE GREAT GATSBY
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
JAY GATSBY
About 30-40. A hopeful, desperate chameleon. Elegant and refined until he’s not, his optimism is his greatest strength and his biggest flaw. Gatsby is willing to do anything and everything to gain social currency to regain Daisy’s attention and favor. An introvert who has trained himself not to be. He has never been able to shake his need for affirmation, and that comes from someplace deep. Most of what he does and says is incredibly calculated because he is so easily rattled by the unexpected.
NICK CARRAWAY
About to turn 30. Honest and authentic. Introverted? Nick is a nonjudgmental, trusted confidant for almost everybody who meets him. Open-minded, quiet, and a good listener but also very attracted to the glamour and fast pace of wild parties. Has probably never felt truly at ease or at home anywhere, and recognizes the safety in spending time with Jordan; probably not into women–or equally into men and women, but it’s the 1920s. He is a curious, detailed observer of the real truth regarding the people he spends time with.
DAISY BUCHANAN (AND OTHERS)
About 25-30. Zelda Fitzgerald. So charming and so magnetic, it’s dangerous. Uses humor and affection to deflect and diffuse, and nothing is more painful to her than being uncomfortable or uncouth. Flirting is her default mode. Could rescue herself (maybe) if she really had to, but she never has had to and probably never will. Daisy was raised in a world where her only currencies were her reputation and her femininity. She would love nothing more than to throw those ideas to the wind, but that would mean being uncomfortable and we can’t have that now, can we?
JORDAN BAKER (AND OTHERS)
About 20-30. Calls it like she sees it (unless it’s about herself) and deeply competitive. Witty. Recognizes something in Nick that is just like her. Assertive and commanding before it was cool or acceptable for women to be so. Good at flirting with everyone in the room, but in a way that catches people off guard rather than puts them at ease. Probably not into me–or equally into men and women, but it’s the 1920s. Nothing disappoints Jordan more than a woman trapped in a marriage with a man like Tom; she sees Nick as Daisy’s only lifeline to an authentic life.
TOM BUCHANAN (AND OTHERS)
About 30-45. Wears his old money as his identity. We would call him arrogant, but Tom would describe himself as confident. After all, there isn’t a bad situation he hasn’t been able to work his way out of. He knows how the world works. Proud of his worldview—we would call it intolerant but he would call it traditional. Expects others to live by a moral code he leaps over. Wields money, power, his physical size, and all the charm he can muster up to ensure things go his way. He doesn’t like that Daisy calls him brutish because there is something brutish about him, but he would never admit that. Only by the end of the play do we see how much he deeply needs Daisy and what losing her would cost him.
MYRTLE WILSON (AND OTHERS)
About 25-35. The polar opposite of Daisy. “Not mindful. Not demure,” but honestly that’s what’s so appealing about her. She flirts in caps lock and curved shapes and outuendo rather than innuendo. She doesn’t hold her cards close to her chest and she’s not afraid to speak her mind—ever. Myrtle fell in love with George because he was in love with her, but she wants a lot more. She’s also very insecure, especially about Daisy, and that’s often what causes her to lash out. Desperate to get out of her current situation.
GEORGE WILSON (AND OTHERS)
About 35-45. The polar opposite of Tom. Myrtle is this man’s everything. He has translated that into a lifetime of sweat and grease to build a better life for her because that’s what she deserves. Is making the best of what he’s been given, and is decent. George lives a deeply moral life because he believes that means only good things will come his way. When he is betrayed by those noble ideals and ultimately loses the woman who was his whole world, that’s what pushes him to his violent and tragic end.
MEYER WOLFSHEIM (AND OTHERS)
About 40-65. What a weirdo. Helped Gatsby acquire his fortune so he feels like he’s owed something. There is definitely something vaguely threatening about him, but also it feels like some of that is all bark and no bite? Sure, he’s in the mix of powerful men willing to do anything to make a buck, but that means he’s also constantly falling at the feet of men like Gatsby. Has a habit of sneaking up on you at a party and then you’re trapped in a conversation with him.
MR. MCKEE (AND OTHERS)
About 35-50. “He was a real artistic guy. Sensitive. A Painter.” Probably super into Nick. Probably not subtle about it. He might be a good photographer, he might not be? Talent aside, he lives his life artistically, and that’s what counts, right? Always up for a really fun and really messy night.
MRS. MCKEE (AND OTHERS)
About 35-50. Unrefined, but not if you ask her. Today she would read gossip magazines and blind items and feel like she’s connected to that world because she is in the know. Loves being the one to spill the tea because that makes her feel powerful. Buys into Tom’s charm because of his money. Always up for a really fun and really messy night.
“And others” may include police officers, Mrs. Michaelis, dancers and gossipy partygoers, waitstaff for Gatsby, waitstaff for the Buchanans, gamblers, bootleggers, attendants at Wilson’s station, etc. The role the cast plays in world building—that is, establishing a world where class and status is a matter of life and death to those that ascribe to it—is a vital and exciting part of this adaptation.
Operating Partners
