Auditions For In Memory Of

SUBMIT TO AUDITION

Written by Alyssa Cokinis | Directed By Pax Bennett

Dramaturg: Amanda Clark

A WRITE|IGNITE Workshop production, part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works

Spark Plug Theatre Collective is seeking actors to submit to be part of the cast of In Memory Of by Alyssa Cokinis, which was selected as their Write | Ignite project for Fertile Ground 2026!

Actors will participate in workshopping the piece through feedback sessions and rehearsals with the goal of presenting the piece in an elevated staged reading as part of the Fertile Ground Festival in April 2026. Everyone participating in this project is donating their time and talent and no one is receiving financial compensation. Learn more about the creative team below.

Please submit your materials below by end-of-day on Sunday, February 1. The creative team will review submissions and you will receive an email by Sunday, February 8 if you are invited to audition for the workshop production.

ABOUT IN MEMORY OF: Nonbinary aspiring actor Vale fails to pay rent and other necessities in memories as decreed by the U.S. government after the war, and Vale must choose whether to join the resistance to abolish memory currency or give up their most precious moments to survive.

VALE - non-binary person (they/them), 20s, bi/pan, an aspiring actor and former overseas ESL teacher, can’t seem to find their footing or voice

DOM - male-identifying/non-binary person (he/him/they/them), 20s-30s, gay, Vale’s roommate, appreciates communication and tidiness

KANDALA - cisgender Indian woman (she/her), 30s, Vale’s overseas friend, usually appearing via WhatsApp, hasn’t seen Vale in person in a few years

LAUREL - female-identifying/non-binary person (she/her/they/them), 20s-30s, bi/pan, comrade of the Organization to Abolish Forgetfulness, a lifelong activist

CASTING NOTE: Actors portraying Vale, Dom, and Laurel can be any race/ethnicity. 

ABOUT SPARK PLUG THEATRE COLLECTIVE: Spark Plug Theatre Collective is an ensemble-based theatre company based in Beaverton, Oregon that seeks out Stories That Ignite Conversation and Inspire New Perspectives, celebrating the essential power of the theatre to illuminate our common humanity. Alongside volunteers, SPTC works to elevate the burgeoning arts scene in Beaverton, enhancing our community through collaborative artistry. Productions are developed in a fully produced, elevated black box/studio-style. Currently, Spark Plug loads their full production in-and-out of a UHaul for each performance, transforming the back room of Ki Coffee into an intimate, 22-seat theatre space for raw, authentic performances.

About The Creative Team

Click the + sign to learn more about the artist.

  • Alyssa Cokinis is a writer and theatre artist from Iowa, currently based in Oregon. She has an MA in Intercultural Communication Studies (Shanghai Theatre Academy) and a BA in English and Theatre Arts (University of Iowa). Their plays have been produced off-off-Broadway at FRIGID New York’s Little Shakespeare Festival (The Lark and the Nightingale, co-written with Mindy Mawhirter) and at Oregon Fringe Festival, Atlanta Fringe Audio, YUZ Museum (Shanghai, China), New Plays from the Heartland Festival, MadLab Theatre, and the University of Iowa. The MadLab Theatre production of her LGBTQ+ dystopian play Happy Pills received recognition from Ohio Congresswoman Beatty due to its themes on mental health. Publications include work in mini plays magazine, WE/OURSELVES: Ten-Minute Plays Celebrating Gender Diversity (Smith & Kraus), the Nonbinary Monologues Project, fifth wheel press, Beatdom, Chaotic Merge Magazine, and elsewhere. She is also the founder/editor of the publication some scripts, which in 2023 published the curated anthology Monologues by LGBTQIA+ Writers for LGBTQIA+ Actors. Outside of writing and theatre, she loves reading, playing video games, and getting into mischief with her partner Keegan and their cat Crescent. Website: alyssacokinis.com

  • Pax Bennett studied, produced, performed, and directed through schools and theatres in New York, Connecticut, and Georgia before moving to Oregon in 2014. After a short break became a long one, she returned to directing with Inherit the Wind at Mask & Mirror and The Lifespan of a Fact at Spark Plug Theatre Collective. She has also stage managed (For Better, M+M; A Sleeping Country, SPTC), and crafts puppets, prose, or props whenever anyone asks (apparently).  

  • A founding member and the Producing Artistic Director of Spark Plug Theatre Collective, Amanda Clark is consistently fueled and inspired by incredible artists who give their time and their talent to share stories with the community. Originally from the Midwest, she holds degrees in both Acting and Advertising from Ball State University.  Since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2011, she’s been active in the area’s theatre scene as an both an actor and director. In 2023, she started Spark Plug Theatre Collective with her collaborators Les Ico and Alex Woodard and the theatre has quickly become known as a place for high-quality and challenging theatre on the Westside. By day, she is the Marketing Manager for Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg working to keep art accessible to all.

  • A founding member of Spark Plug Theatre Collective, Alex has been the Technical Director of the theatre since the company's debut show, FUTURA, in 2023. He holds degrees in both psychology and environmental design and was inspired to put his architectural design creativity to good use designing sets for Westside theatres over the past 10 years. By day, he works for a youth day treatment center.