Upcoming Auditions

Roles Available

SYLVIA — The dog (female) An exuberant and beautiful Lab/poodle mix, found astray in Central Park, looking for a new home. Street-smart, coquettish, and adoring — she jumps, slobbers, sits on the couch, and can rarely focus on anything serious for long, being more interested in flipping off the neighborhood cat or flirting with Bowser at the dog park. The role demands enormous physical range — crawling, leaping, wagging — and a broad emotional spectrum. This is the star vehicle of the piece.

GREG — Male, middle age A restless empty-nester, tired of his job in finance, looking for meaning in his life. His career as a financial trader is winding down, and Sylvia offers him an escape from the frustrations of middle age. When he finds Sylvia in the park, it's love at first sight. Goofy, warm, and increasingly obsessed — he's the straight man to everyone else's chaos.

KATE — Female, middle age Kate's career as a public-school English teacher is beginning to offer her more opportunities, and she is looking forward to some independence now that the couple no longer has children to care for. To her, Sylvia is a rival for affection, and the marriage is put in serious jeopardy. She's wry, grounded, and increasingly exasperated — a wonderful comic foil who also carries real emotional weight.

TOM / PHYLLIS / LESLIE — One actor, all three roles

Gurney specifies these three supporting characters are played by a single actor (any gender). Each is distinct:

• Tom — A macho, know-it-all dog owner Greg meets at the dog park, and the owner of Sylvia's bow-wow boyfriend, Bowser. He offers wit and wisdom to Greg about dogs — and women.

• Phyllis — A Vassar grad and sorority sister of Kate's who can certainly relate to Kate's challenges. Her own husband had a thing for animals once, and the mere sight of what Kate is enduring sends her over the edge.

• Leslie — An androgynous marriage counselor who gathers insight into the challenges faced by Greg and Kate, then offers some unorthodox steps — some of them bolder than Kate expected. Leslie invites patients to choose whether they want a male or female therapist, as (s)he can be either.