Staged Reading
SXSW EDU Conference
NON-UNION

Auditions: Eco Cast Self Tape
Callbacks: Will be held virtually
Rehearsal Dates: July 2-3, 2024
Reading Date: July 4, 2024

IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE SUBMIT ACTOR’S ONLINE DEMO CLIPS ALONG WITH EACH ACTOR SUBMISSION.

Seeking Actors of all ethnicities, backgrounds, and gender identities.

RANKED premiered in Northern California, weeks after the College Admissions Scandal took the nation by storm, and is the subject of the 2022 HBO feature documentary, “My So-Called High School Rank.” RANKED tells the story of a dystopian world where competition reaches new heights as publicized academic excellence defines each student’s worth. Numbers from the musical have been performed by Broadway stars Joshua and Amanda De La Cruz singing a duet of “Come Up For Air”, as well as Amber Ardolino, JJ Niemann and Alex Wong covering “Eye on the Prize”. This abridged 45 minute reading will be featured as part of the SXSW EDU Conference.

[ LILY LARSEN ]
(Female, 18+ TO PLAY 14, Open Ethnicity) Our anxious freshman protagonist, Lily is new to the world of high-stakes academic rankings and still learning the ropes. She feels tremendous pressure from her older sister Alexis, and her peers, and goes to great lengths to try and get just one moment of reprieve from it all. John and their budding relationship eventually comes to represent what her life could be if she let all of the stress go. Vocal Description: Strong Pop/Rock mezzo-soprano belts to an Eb5

[ JOHN CARTER ]
(Male, 18+ TO PLAY 15, Open Ethnicity) Sophomore. Earnest and playful, John and his older sister Jordan stopped caring about academics and being “Above the Average” after their mother died. He uses humor to get by, but after meeting Lily and developing an interest in her, begins to question if maybe he should care a little bit more about his future. Vocal Description: Strong Pop Baritone belts to a F#4

[ SYDNEY SUMMERS ]
(Female, 18+ TO PLAY 17, Open Ethnicity) Senior. Sydney is driven and cutthroat. She’s ranked #1 in her class, and got there by being brilliant, staying focused, and knowing exactly how to play the game. She wields her power and keeps everyone in their place through her Squad. Despite her cold demeanor, she has a soft spot for her twin brother Ryan. Vocal Description: Powerful Pop Alto/Soprano with vocal riffing belts to an Eb5

[ RYAN SUMMERS ]
(Male, 18+ TO PLAY 17, Open Ethnicity) Senior. Charming, charismatic, and blissfully unaware of his privilege. Girls love him, and guys want to be him. He’s ranked near the top of his class, but certainly doesn’t show the same intellectual promise as his Above the Average peers. Ryan lives his life carefree, and doesn’t understand why his girlfriend, Alexis, can’t do the same. Vocal Description: Tenor Belts to an A5

[ ALEXIS LARSEN ]
(Female, 18+ TO PLAY 17, Open ethnicity) Senior. Cautious and concerned, Alexis has worked incredibly hard to be near the top of her class. She lets her guard down for Ryan, but shows her drive and determination when coaching Lily on how to follow in her footsteps and keep their family’s secrets. Vocal Description: True Alto, Sweet and endearing pop/folk voice. F3-D5

[ CARLY ]
(Female, 18+ TO PLAY 17, Open Ethnicity) Senior. Carly is part of Sydney’s Squad. While she is smart enough academically to be at the top, she lacks some social competence and is usually a step behind whatever point her squad is making. Vocal Description: Mezzo-Soprano, strong with harmonies

[ FRANCIS ]
(Male, 18+ TO PLAY 16, Open Ethnicity) Junior, Francis is the snark of Sydney’s Squad. He carries himself with a bit of a strut, his comments are often backhanded and he would not hesitate to take Sydney’s place if the opportunity presented itself. Vocal Description: Tenor, strong with harmonies

[ ENSEMBLE ]
(Any gender, 18+ TO PLAY 14-18, Open Ethnicity) 2 Ensemble tracks cover a variety of characters that fill out the personality of the cutthroat, oftentimes sadistic, school. Overzealous student government kids, the cutthroat freshman study group, anxious Below the Average students, and the librarian who just wants to be left to his books. Vocal Description: Strong with harmonies, solos throughout.

Storyline: Lily is Above the Average, barely. Soon the giant, and very public, academic leaderboards will update everyone’s class rank, and for another day, everyone will know their place. If you fall Below the Average – say goodbye to college, and pretty much everything else. In the face of an intense and perverse culture of performance, Lily must find her place in the status quo as she watches friends and enemies alike destroy themselves and each other to score their way to the top. When an impossible lie is discovered, the fate of these students’ futures hangs in the balance.