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Casting: Juno & The Paycock
- Scranton Shakes
- Jan 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 16
Presented by Scranton Shakespeare Festival
Production: Juno and the Paycock by Seán O’Casey
Director: Brian McGurl
Location: Scranton, PA
Venue: The Shakes Space @ The Marketplace at Steamtown
Rehearsal & Performance Period: February 2026 – March 9, 2026
Performance Dates: March 5–8, 2026
Compensation: Low stipend-based pay
Housing: Not provided
Scranton Shakespeare Festival is seeking actors for our upcoming production of Juno and the Paycock. We are looking for performers who can balance the sharp comedy and deep tragedy of O’Casey’s writing with honesty, discipline, and emotional range.
AUDITION INFORMATION
In-Person Auditions
Thursday, January 22. 6:30 PM–8:30 PM
Friday, January 23. 3:00 PM–5:00 PM
Saturday, January 24. 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
Please email recruitment@scrantonshakes.com to book a time slot.
Video Submissions
We are also accepting video auditions. Please email submissions to: recruitment@scrantonshakes.com
Deadline: Saturday, January 24 by 5:00 PM
ABOUT THE PLAY
Set in the grim tenements of Dublin during the early 1920s, Juno and the Paycock follows the Boyle family as they struggle through poverty, political violence, and personal betrayal.
Juno Boyle works tirelessly to hold her family together while her husband, Jack, avoids responsibility in favor of drink and fantasy. When the family believes they are about to receive an inheritance, hope briefly blooms. That hope quickly collapses, leaving the family facing devastating consequences. As tragedy strikes, Juno must choose between staying in despair or seeking a better future for herself and her daughter.
The play is a powerful blend of social realism, humor, and heartbreak, demanding actors who can move confidently between comedy and tragedy.
ROLES AVAILABLE
“Captain” Jack Boyle — Lead
Male | 50s Accent: Irish. Dublin, 1923
The “Paycock” of the title. A blustering, larger-than-life figure who styles himself a sea captain despite long abandoning honest work. Jack is jovial, comic, and endlessly evasive of responsibility. His refusal to face reality brings suffering to those around him.
The actor must be:
Comfortable carrying a lead role
Strong with text and sustained character work
Capable of balancing broad comedy with devastating dramatic consequence
A leader within the ensemble
Juno Boyle — Lead
Female | 40s–50s Accent: Irish. Dublin, 1923. Irish Civil War
Juno Boyle is the title character, wife of “Captain” Jack Boyle and mother to Mary and Johnny. She is the moral and emotional center of the play. The only member of the family who works, Juno struggles relentlessly to keep her household afloat amid poverty, political violence, and personal failure.
Her daughter is on strike, her son is a wounded IRA veteran, and her husband claims leg pains that prevent him from working. A promised inheritance briefly lifts some of her burden, but when that hope collapses, the full weight of the tragedy falls squarely on her shoulders.
Juno Boyle is one of the great dramatic roles in modern theatre. The actor must be fully at ease leading a production, disciplined with text, and capable of sustaining deep emotional truth while anchoring the ensemble.
Mary Boyle — Supporting
Female | Late teens–20s Accent: Irish. Dublin, 1923
Daughter of Juno and Jack. Idealistic, intelligent, and searching for escape from her circumstances. Her romantic hopes collapse into heartbreak and hardship. By the final act, Mary embodies the play’s deepest sense of injustice and resilience.
Johnny Boyle — Supporting
Male | Late teens–20s Accent: Irish. Dublin, 1923 Physicality: Character has lost an arm and carries a hip injury
A traumatized veteran of the Easter Rising and the Anglo-Irish War. Haunted by guilt and fear after betraying a former comrade. Johnny is volatile, fragile, and tragic. His fate represents the brutal cost of political conflict on working-class families.
Charlie Bentham — Supporting
Male | 20s Accent: Irish. Dublin, 1923
A schoolteacher studying law. From a higher social class than the Boyles. Well-mannered and hopeful on the surface, yet ultimately irresponsible. His disappearance leaves Mary and the family devastated.
“Joxer” Daly — Supporting
Male | 30s–50sAccent: Irish. Dublin, 1923. Irish Civil War
Joxer Daly is the drinking companion of “Captain” Jack Boyle and a fellow resident of the Boyle tenement building. A comic foil and opportunist, Joxer flatters and agrees with Boyle when it suits him, only to voice very different opinions when Boyle is not present.
He is evasive, charming, and perpetually self-serving, yet quick to realign himself when circumstances change. Joxer sticks with Boyle as long as the drink and money last, providing much of the play’s humor while reinforcing its themes of illusion, loyalty, and moral weakness.
ENSEMBLE ROLES
Two IRA Irregulars. Young adult males
Two Furniture Removal Men. Young adult males
Sewing Machine Salesperson. Any gender, any age
Two or Three Neighbors. Any gender, any age
All ensemble roles require Irish accents and strong character work.
AUDITION SIDES
Audition sides can be found here:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lG_0YcVmX--tN1-CtaKUa7jjshFLFz7o
SUBMISSION NOTES
Prepare sides for the role(s) you are most interested in.
Accents are important. Dialect work will be supported in rehearsal, but a strong foundation is expected.
Please arrive early to in-person auditions to complete any required paperwork.
Video submissions should include your name, role(s) of interest, and contact information at the start of your recording.