character ROLE DESCRIPTIONS
Below are descriptions of the character roles with links to the audition scenes and monologues.
Everton ‘Jazzy’ Sampson:
18 -25 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, artistic and charismatic, open and gregarious people person, a soulful songster full of fire and sex appeal, carefully carved from suffering and tribulation yet poised for eventual triumph, a true rebel with a cause, a supreme talent in multiple areas, not religious but deeply spiritual, lives to serve a higher purpose, capable of hoping beyond hopelessness, finding and sourcing a flickering of light in the darkest room, fearless, brave, courageous and confident, loves wide and deep overlooking weakness, a born leader whose train is bound for glory.
Dudley ‘Doc’ Sinclair:
18 – 25 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, academic and materialistic, prone to fear and blind-ambition, forgets the past, foregoes the present to fantasize about a well plotted future, academically brilliant but emotionally barren, dependent on people he loves for protection and nurturing, has had a lifelong friendship and brotherhood with ‘Jazzy’, experienced a traumatic and abusive childhood alongside ‘Jazzy’.
Arlene ‘Pepper’ Guy:
18 – 25 years old, female, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, dynamic and intense, speaks and loves from the depths of her soul, intolerant of folly and fuckery, supremely talented dancer, singer and storyteller whose life is ruled by passion and purpose. A dangerous yet deliciously scarred by the streets type of sex appeal, wounded but wiser for it, a militaristic devotion to PCEC and its mission, deep and abiding love for her people and political party, street and book smart, mentee and disciple of Mother Francis, Jazzy is the love of her life.
Dawn ‘Cookie’ Campbell:
18 – 25 years old, female, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, beautiful and poised yet somewhat goofy and unaware of her sexual prowess, she speaks with a babyish voice and a lisp, has a big mouth but larger heart and very little common/book sense, she shrouds herself in innocence, vulnerability, gullibility to protect herself from the depth and throbbing constant pain life’s circumstances has placed her in, she is smarter than people give her credit for, she plays stupid sometimes to protect her sensitive heart, she is fickle, but in love with being in love, love is her only vice.
Rosemarie ‘Mother Francis’ Sampson:
55 – 70 years old, female, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, a born leader and visionary, fearless and committed member of a left-wing Afro-centric movement in Jamaica during the late 1960’s, a formidable and well-respected community activist, a former head teacher, married a wealthy and well educated Garveyite, founder and executive director of Papine Cultural and Educational Center, somewhat of a paradoxical creature - her old Christian beliefs clash with newly embraced radical political ideology, part aristocrat yet part Mother Teresa, a woman who has experienced earth-shattering pain yet continues to give endlessly to her darling birth city, Kingston, renowned artist and educator, bestowed with the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 1972.
45 – 60 years old, female, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, a woman with a big and loving heart and a big mouth to boot, a town crier who is prone to gossip, meddling and prying, she is a bag of intriguing contradictions, book smart but street smart also, successful and independent but desperate for romantic love and lust, believes in Christianity, but prefers the manipulative elements of Obeah, beauty that has wilted from sleeping under sheets weaved of loneliness and bitterness, sacrificial in one moment then self-absorbed in the next, big and bad revolutionary one minute, scared of a mouse the next, mentee and former student of Mother Francis.
Pearl ‘Ms. Pearl’ Priestley:
40 - 55 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, AfricanCaribbean or racially Ambiguous, a true revolutionary whose belief in the Garvey movement led him away from his middle-class Jamaican family values to the Rastafarian Movement at its earliest and most extreme representation, (he was/is during the course of this play, a crocus bag Rasta man – (he only wears a loin cloth and slippers made of old car tires throughout the play), who rejects most of the material things created by the Western World as a means of protest, charismatic, inspirational, with multiple artistic talents ,a man prone to extremes and rigidity of beliefs, a loud and booming voice with the delivery and elocution of a Shakespearean actor, explosive and raw sex appeal.
Douglas ‘Haile Celibacy’ Divine:
25 – 35 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, a strikingly handsome man with a loving and open heart, he puts an illustrious Broadway career in NYC on hold to find his roots in Jamaica, he believes that finding where you belong is more important than material belongings, he is multi-talented, and has a revolutionary spirit hidden behind a rich and spoiled brat surface, his journey is also about finding unconditional love not attached to his fame and wealth, he is cooler and cagier than Jazzy yet his inner warmth and playfulness shines through, his calm charisma and compassion for the less fortunate, buys him a ticket to the world of purpose and belonging to PCEC and its posse.
Guy ‘Saint’ Naringi:
Sherida ‘Sugus’ Sharpe:
35 – 45 years old, female, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, a strange but fascinating and hypnotic woman, with hidden secrets and pain, a great dancer, a Rasta Revolutionary whose love and use of Obeah has her at odds with the rest of this revolutionary movement, she is cautious and suspicious in large groups or around adult strangers, and appears to be missing something, her inner rage and suffering is evident and only dissipates around children, she is a great mother waiting to be born.
King Conquer:
40 – 55 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, Eighty percent Obeah man, Twenty percent con-artist, the conduit of loose ends being tied in a manner that is transformational, good friend and business partner of Ms. Pearl.
40 – 55 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, Eighty percent Obeah man, Twenty percent con-artist, the conduit of loose ends being tied in a manner that is transformational, good friend and business partner of Ms. Pearl.
Little Jazzy
6 - 10 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, a baby that was thrown away like garbage in the bushes of St. Mary, who was found by a child slaver and had the presence of spirit and mind to know there is somewhere in the world he belongs, and someone he belongs to, a charismatic dreamer.
6 -10 years old, male, African-Caribbean/Racially Ambiguous, a one year old sold into child slavery by his own parents, loves to read and eat, untrusting, fearful and hopeless.