Auditions

We are holding auditions for both shows in our 2026 season.

Silk Moth Stage is seeking professional, non-union actors for two plays: Above Ground, performing in May, and The Human Museum, performing in September. Read below for further information; if you have questions that are not answered here, please email us at hello@silkmothstage.com .

Roles to be filled:

  • Above Ground:
    • Woman, over 40. Any race, ethnicity, disability status, etc.
  • The Human Museum
    • Four people of any gender/age/race/ethnicity/disability status, etc
    • One person, late 20s to early 30s, of any gender/age/race/ethnicity/disability status, etc
    • One woman of color over 50

Compensation: 

All production artists will be paid a stipend of $1000. Half of the stipend is paid midway through the rehearsal period, and half on opening night. We pay all artists, even if we have weather cancellations. Housing may be arranged for actors who are not local to the Shenandoah Valley, on a case-by-case basis.

Audition Form

To audition:

To audition, fill out this form.

There are a couple of options for auditions:

1) You may submit a self tape and submit a video

2) You may schedule an in-person audition on January 28 from 6-8 pm or January 30 from 1-3 pm. It will take place in Bridgewater, Virginia.

There will be in-person callbacks the first week of February, exact dates TBD. Out-of-town actors will have a different callback option.

Prepare one of the following:

  • A 1- to 2-minute monologue
  • OR a 2- to 3-minute scene with a scene partner (who may or may not be auditioning)
  • OR a 2- to 3-minute clip of a performance that you have permission to share and in which you play a major role.

Details: 

Seeking professional, non-union actors for Silk Moth Stage’s productions of Above Ground by Ginna Hoben, directed by Heidi Winters Vogel, and The Human Museum, by Miyoko Conley, directed by Aili Huber.

Performance dates:

  • Above Ground: Performances May 22-24 and 29-31, 2026. Music begins at 6, and the play begins at 7. Actor call will be 5:30.
  • The Human Museum: Performances September 11-13 and 18-20, 2026. Music begins at 5 and the play begins at 6. Actor call will be 4:30.

About the theater:

Silk Moth Stage is a small, professional theater creating high-quality performances outdoors in Rockingham county. We are a leader in the Radical Welcome movement, which endeavors to create accessible and supportive environments where theater creators can do their deepest and most meaningful work.

Learn more about our values, mission, and history at https://silkmothstage.com. 

About the Plays:

Above Ground

Above Ground, by Ginna Hoben, directed by Heidi Winters Vogel. 

Above Ground is an examination of death, anxiety, and the infinite mark left by social media (or any media) activity– a comedy! In 1995, Virginia made a “dead sister pledge” to carpe diem. At the same time, she began a practice of daily writing. Above Ground uncovers her decades of journal entries as she investigates her choices in the years following her sister’s fatal car accident. Did she seize the day …?

Rehearsals begin late March/early April. As the director is out of state, early rehearsals will be conducted via zoom (the actor might be at SMS, or another location, to be determined by mutual agreement). Exact days and times of rehearsal can be organized around the actor’s schedule.

Performances May 22-24 and 29-31, 2026. Music begins at 6, and the play begins at 7. Actor call will be 5:30.

We are seeking one female-presenting actor, over 40, for this production. 

The Human Museum

The Human Museum, by Miyoko Conley, directed by Aili Huber. 

As robots on Earth finalize a museum exhibit commemorating the 100th anniversary of humanity’s extinction, an unexpected radio transmission disrupts everything they thought they knew. This darkly comic new play delves into our legacy and who will carry it forward.

Rehearsals begin in early August. Exact days and times for rehearsal will depend on actors’ conflicts, but a typical rehearsal schedule would be 6-9, Sun-Thurs, calling only the actors who are needed for a particular evening (and we try to be mindful and respectful of people’s time).

Performances September 11-13 and 18-20, 2026. Music begins at 5 and the play begins at 6. Actor call will be 4:30.

We are seeking six actors for this production.

The Robots can be played by a person of any age, race, gender, etc. 

  • DIRECTOR: Robot. Director of the Human Museum. The oldest robot on Earth, and the only surviving robot who knew humans. The Director has shared mannerisms with the Scientist.
  • 237: Robot. Head of Physical Artifact Curation at the Human Museum. They are more sensitive than other robots and feel a connection to humans.
  • 65: Robot. Head of Digital Data Storage at the Human Museum. Obsessed with collecting data. They have a large capacity for storage and are constantly managing the museum’s data.
  • SCIENTIST: Human, a woman of color. Age ranges from 75-113 (although who knows what aging will be like in the future – we’re welcoming submissions from actors over 50). Appears in flashbacks. The Scientist that built the Director. Strong, brilliant, a fighter until the end.
  • DELIVERY BOT: Robot. A delivery robot that is not part of the Human Museum, but very curious about it.
  • AVERY: Human, any gender. Late 20s to early 30s. Born and lives on the spaceship the Eternal Cruise, which was a last-ditch effort to save humanity. Never been to Earth.

Rehearsals: 

Our rehearsal schedule is responsive to the needs of the director and actors. We base it on mutual availability. It is generally 15-20 hours per week. While it is often at Silk Moth Stage, depending on weather and actor location, we sometimes hold rehearsals at various locations in Bridgewater, Harrisonburg, Staunton, or Waynesboro.

All actors must be over 18. All genders, races, ethnicities, and disability statuses welcome.