LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE THEATRE ARTS
Bringing professional theatre training and productions to Los Angeles's Northeast Valley since 2015
Audition or interview for Zoot Suit
LA Mission College Theatre Arts will present Luis Valdez’s classic musical, Zoot Suit, as its Spring 2026 production.
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Auditions for all acting roles will be held on December 6th, 2025. Dance auditions and interviews for all design and production roles will be held in February 2026.
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​Zoot Suit tells the true story of Henry Reyna and 21 Chicanos who were tried in court as a group for the Sleepy Lagoon murder in Los Angeles. Discriminated against for their zoot suit-wearing Chicano identity, twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang are placed on trial for the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in San Quentin prison. Through the efforts of lawyers and activists, the boys win their court appeal and are freed. But the trauma of bigotry and incarceration dooms Henry and his young friends to compromised futures. ​
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Luis Valdez’s groundbreaking musical, Zoot Suit, premiered in 1978 in Los Angeles, bringing the unfiltered Chicano experience to the community from which it was born. Valdez uses the mythological figure, El Pachuco, the music of Lalo Guerrero and Duke Ellington, and swing and mambo dancing to bring this undeniably American tale to life. The LA Mission College production will draw parallels between Los Angeles of the 1940s and the streets of the Northeast San Fernando Valley of 2025.
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Zoot Suit will be directed by Robert Cucuzza. It will play for May 15-31, 2026 in the LA Mission College AMP Theater, with scenic design by Dorothy Hoover, costume design by Lena Sands, and lighting design by Bri Pattillo.
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If you'd like to know more about the play, Zoot Suit, click this link for an excellent study guide.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Before auditioning or interviewing, it's important to read all of the following information and then fill out the info form linked here.​
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If you are interested in auditioning for an acting role or participating behind the scenes, you need to first fill out the info form. After filling it out, you will be contacted prior to the audition or interview day at the email you provide with a link to sign up for a time slot. To be considered you MUST fill out the info form before your audition or interview, AND sign-up for an audition or interview time slot.
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Read through all the information below
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Fill out the info form
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Expect to receive an email with audition and/or interview slots
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Sign up for your slot/s
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Audition or interview
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IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING...
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS
To participate in this production you must be enrolled as a student at LA Mission College and have no academic holds or over-enrollments. You can be a full- or part-time student, or even only be enrolled the one class required for the production.
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Actors and stage managers
If you are cast in a role or a stage manager, you will need to enroll in the course Rehearsals and Performances TH291 (1 unit), Rehearsals and Performances TH292 (2 units), or Rehearsals and Performances TH293 (3 units), depending upon the amount of time you will be required to work each week. Generally, actors and stage managers are enrolled in Rehearsals and Performances 293 (3 unit) and are required to commit to around 15 hours of rehearsal a week.
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Design and production team members
If you are added to the design and production team, you will need to enroll in the course Technical Stage Production TECTHTR 342 (2 units)
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Rehearsals and production schedule
Rehearsals and production begins in the third week of February 2026. We try to maintain a consistent schedule through the rehearsal process, which will be determined once the show is cast. Once the show goes into technical rehearsals, around the beginning of May, the schedule changes and the amount of time required increases.​
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Tech and dress rehearsal schedule
All company members must to be available for full technical rehearsals in the week leading up to opening. In the info form, you will see the production schedule.
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FOR ACTING ROLES
​AUDITION INFORMATION FOR ACTORS
Auditions for speaking roles will be held on December 6, 2025 at 10:00 am.
Audition sides will be posted on this page on November 24, 2025.
Auditions for dance ensemble will be held in early February.
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Casting information
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There are approximately 30 roles in Zoot Suit. We are looking to cast around 15-20 actors. Some actors will play multiple roles.
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Although Zoot Suit is technically a musical, the primary singing role is El Pachuco. Other actors will sing some chorus parts, but all roles other than El Pachuco will be cast based upon acting, rather than singing skills.
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Zoot Suit has a few dance sequences, but dance ability will be considered an additional skill, rather than a requirement. We will be holding dance auditions in February for "featured dancers" who are skilled in swing and mambo.
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The role of El Pachuco may be cast with a guest artist who is not a student. All are welcome to audition for it, but if you do, you should prepare a second role.
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Since this play is about ethnicity and culture, we will make every effort to cast roles as they are defined in the script and to tell the story clearly. However, actors of all ethnicities and races are encouraged to audition for all roles.
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There are not audition sides for all roles. Please choose from the sides that are linked below.
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Lead Roles
El Pachuco. Serves as both a narrator and a part of Henry’s consciousness, often talking to him and giving him advice. This is the only major singing role.
Audition side: El Pachuco
Henry Reyna. Henry is a 21-year-old member of Los Angeles’s Chicano community, and the protagonist of Zoot Suit.
Alice Bloomfield. Alice Bloomfield is a reporter and activist who is eager to counter the predominant narrative about the Chicano community in the press. Although the character is white, all races and ethnicities are welcome to audition.
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George Shearer. George is an attorney who wants to defend Henry and the other members of the 38th Street Gang in court.
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Lieutenant Edwards/Judge. Edwards is a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. Edwards is a racist man who has a long personal history with Henry. The Judge presides over Henry and his friends’ trial is played by the same actor who portrays Lieutenant Edwards.
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Sergeant Smith. A member of the Los Angeles Police Department who unfairly and mercilessly persecutes Henry and the rest of the 38th Street Gang.
The Press. The lawyer who serves as the public prosecutor in Henry’s court case is a manipulative and crafty man who stakes his entire strategy on trying to convince the jurors that the Chicano community poses.
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Secondary Roles
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Dolores Reyna. Dolores is Henry’s mother.
Enrique Reyna. Enrique is Henry’s father.
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Lupe Reyna. Lupe is Henry’s younger sister, and one of the people who hangs out with the 38th Street Gang.
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Rudy Reyna. Rudy is Henry’s younger brother. Eager to be like Henry, Rudy is sometimes overzealous and hotheaded.
Della Barrios. Della is Henry’s girlfriend.
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Smiley Torres. Smiley Torres is a member of the 38th Street Gang.
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Joey Castro. Member of the 38th Street Gang. While in prison, Joey decides to give up leading the life of a pachuco.
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Tommy Roberts. Tommy Roberts is a member of the 38th Street Gang. Unlike the other members, though, Tommy is white. All races and ethnicities are welcome to audition.
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Bertha Villareal. Bertha is Henry’s ex-girlfriend who bothers him at a dance party because he’s dancing with his new girlfriend, Della.
Rafas. Rafas is the leader of the Downey Gang, the rivals of the 38th Street Gang.
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FOR DESIGN AND PRODUCTION POSITIONS
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To be considered for a design or production position you must first fill out an info form here.
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We are seeking students to join the company in the following positions:
Stage management — assist with the running of rehearsals and performances
Production assistance — general assistance in all areas
Sound operator — assist in rehearsals with sound design and operation
Scenic design and construction — assist with building, fabricating, and organization of scenic elements
Props design and construction — assist with building, fabricating, and organization of props
Projection design — assist with creating video projections
Lighting —assist with hanging, cabling, focusing, and programming lights
Costumes — assist in the shopping for and construction and organization of costumes
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INTERVIEW INFORMATION
After filling out the info form, you will be contacted at the email you provided in prior to the interview day.
To be considered you MUST fill out the info form before your interview and sign up for an interview time slot.
DESIGN AND PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
If you are assigned a position in stage management, you will be required to attend all rehearsals.
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All other design and production team members will fulfill their hours during "shop hours," which will be determined.
These days and times are all tentative and any positions in the company should be prepared to fulfill their responsibilities at other times that they are available.​​​​​​​