The North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NC Black Rep) in Winston-Salem, NC, is accepting submissions from Equity and non-Equity performers for PURLIE VICTORIOUS by Ossie Davis. The play will be directed by NC Black Rep Producing Artistic Director Jackie Alexander.
Weekly pay for rehearsals/performances.
Please email your headshot and resume to submissions@ncblackrep.org. Actors chosen will receive an appointment for initial auditions on Saturday, April 19, from 12 to 5 p.m. Callbacks will be held on Tuesday, April 22, from 6 to 9 p.m.
*First rehearsal for PURLIE VICTORIOUS: September 1, 2025.
*Performances: October 3-19, 2025, in Winston-Salem, NC.
Synopsis
Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson, a Black self-made traveling preacher returns to his segregated Georgia hometown to buy back his family’s church, Big Bethel. To acquire Big Bethel, Purlie must obtain a $500 inheritance left to a deceased member of the Judson family, an inheritance controlled by the Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee, a racist plantation owner who twenty years earlier had beaten Purlie. With the help of a young black woman, Lutiebelle Jenkins, Purlie plots to reclaim his inheritance, and exact vengeance on Ol’ Capn’n Cotchipee.
SEEKING THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS
[PURLIE VICTORIOUS JUDSON] African American in his mid-or late thirties. Charismatic and eloquent preacher who has returned to his home with the singular goal to buy back his family’s church, Big Bethel, and is willing to do so by any means necessary. Purlie hasn’t been able to decide on a career but proclaims that his current pursuit is his last one.
[LUTIEBELLE GUSSIE MAE JENKINS] African American woman early/late twenties. From the backwoods of Alabama, Lutiebelle has been a servant in a white household. Naïve, innocent, and good-hearted, she first met Purlie as a preacher and accompanied him back to the plantation.
[MISSY JUDSON] African American woman, thirties. Purlie’s sister-in-law and the matriarch of the Judson clan. Missy sees obstacles in Purlie’s plans, but she too is caught up in his dream of acquiring Big Bethel, which for her is also a symbol of African American freedom.
[GITLOW JUDSON] African American man, thirties. Purlie’s brother but in many ways his antithesis. He accepts the realities of plantation life. His accommodation to the white-dominated world results in the white owner selecting him as “the Deputy-For-The-Colored,” to lead his fellow African Americans and ensure that they remain in their place and that the cotton gets picked
[Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee] White man, fifties/sixties. Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee, the white plantation owner and Purlie’s antagonist. An unreconstructed white Southerner, the Ol’ Cap’n intends life to go on as it always has. The symbol and at times the reality of his authority is his bullwhip.
[CHARLIE COTCHIPEE] White man, late twenties. Charlie Cotchipee, the Ol’ Cap’n’s son, who represents the new South. Inspired in part by the influence of his old African American nurse, he is willing to accept the court decisions that challenge the racist institutions and Jim Crow practices that have long dominated American life
[IDELLA LANDY] African American woman, sixties. Charlie’s nurse and still is his confidant. Unlike Charlie, Idella is cautious about uttering her opinions, warning Charlie that discretion is often necessary.
[THE SHERIFF] White man, fifties. Not the brightest bulb. Actor should have good comedic timing.
[THE DEPUTY] White man, twenties. Akin to Barney Fife
