Character Breakdown:

Cast Size: 8

***Casting may be creative, so bring your A game. Open to those 12 – 112, but remember this show is intense and we are looking for the right fit. “Stage Age is open to Director’s Discretion so do not pay too much attention to that.***

MIKE TALMAN (Stage age 30-50) At one time, Mike was a decent human being, and still has impulses that way – unlike Roat or Carlino. He has natural empathy and compassion, but has chosen the life of a small-time grifter. He is rootless and alone in the world; a gambler. He has natural charm and a good-natured style. He’s easy to talk to and thinks fast on his feet. However, as a result of a doublecross at the hands of Lisa, his former partner in the con game, he and Carlino were both sent to prison. Mike’s been out of prison for three months now, and in that time, he’s gotten into serious debt with a loan shark. He has to come up with a large sum to keep the loan shark from hurting him.

SERGEANT CARLINO (Stage age 35-50) Carlino is a small-time grifter. He is a coarse, uneducated man who isn’t bothered by a conscience. He lives from day to day just trying to survive in a world that is smarter than he. He’s not a cruel or sadistic person, but he does what he has to do in order to survive without much moral compunction. He is a fairly good con man, although he’s never the brains behind any scheme – but he has an air of authority and that makes him a natural for impersonating police officers. He’s willing to do pretty much anything if the price is right. He seldom thinks more than one step ahead of the game, and so he very often ends up on the short end of any con. Carlino teamed up with Mike years ago and he has also just been paroled from prison and is broke.

HARRY ROAT (Stage age 40-55) Roat is a true sociopath with a sadistic streak. Like many sociopaths, he is highly intelligent and manipulates people with ease. He is an excellent con man, although, unlike Mike and Carlino, that’s not Roat’s only game – he’s a versatile and audacious criminal and will do anything for money or a thrill. He enjoys seeing others in pain. He has no conscience. Roat is a master of disguise who is adept at using people’s weaknesses to gain an advantage. He is a supreme narcissist believing other people are far beneath him and he enjoys playing them. Think Ted Bundy. He will stop at nothing.

SUSY HENDRIX (Stage age 28) Susy is a vivacious young woman who was blinded in a car accident a year ago. Possessed of a very strong will, she decided not long after her accident that she would not let it ruin her life. She met Sam a few months after the accident and was drawn to his refusal to see her as handicapped and she married him. She is highly intuitive and a very sensitive person. These traits sometimes give her an air of vulnerability that is a counterpoint to her strong spirit. Susy is still adjusting to her blindness – and to her relatively new marriage – and is happy to subjugate her natural free-spiritedness to Sam’s more rigid way of living.

SAM HENDRIX (Stage age 30-40) Sam is a tough ex-marine and a man who has lifted himself up by his own bootstraps. He is intelligent, but not an intellectual. He’s a practical man who never wallows in sentiment and, while he has a sensitive side, he is not comfortable showing it, even to Susy. He is a photographer, but not possessed of an artistic temperament. He works hard, does a good job and enjoys his life with Susy. He loves her very much and wants to see her reach her full potential as a person regardless of her blindness.

GLORIA (Stage Age 12-13) Gloria is at that very awkward age between childhood and adolescence. She is a bright child and has a good heart, but her home life is fairly rough (her mother is undependable, and her father abandoned the family not long ago) and she’s terribly uncomfortable in her body. Gloria desperately wants to be seen like a young woman – but she is very much still mired in childhood. She can be very petty and given to tantrums, and she has a vague crush on Sam which makes her jealous of Susy. However, she also likes Susy because Susy sometimes takes the role of surrogate mother/big sister to her, offering kind words and advice and giving her responsibilities like doing the grocery shopping for Susy and Sam.

TWO POLICE OFFICERS (Stage age flexible) Two cops come in at the end right after the climax of the play. Both men are serious about their work and very professional. However, they’ve never seen anything like what greets them at 27B Grogan Street.