Double-casting (two actors sharing a role) has been an Antaeus practice since we formed our Company in the early 1990s. As an actors' ensemble, we needed to find a way for our members -- working Hollywood actors -- to commit to the demands of a legitimate theatre schedule.

    The vast majority of "working actors" in Hollywood make their living portraying the secondary characters that move the plot forward, roles that may pay well and make it possible to raise a family, but roles that often leave us feeling underutilized and unsatisfied as artists.

    The theatre allows us to challenge, improve, and reinvigorate ourselves, but the demands of film and television work make it very difficult for an actor to commit to the three-to-five months of intensive work it takes to rehearse and perform a play.

    Most of us just can't afford to turn down a television job which might cause us to miss an 8:00 curtain, or to pass on a film job which will take us out of town for ten days in the middle of a run. To survive in the current job environment, an actor has to have a flexible schedule. That's where role-sharing, or double-casting, comes in.

    When we share a role, we have the flexibility to actively seek and accept work. And because of this, we know as a Company that we can count on our members to commit to projects with an untroubled mind, not having to worry about making the difficult choice between
                     A: turning down work and losing income and career opportunities, or
                      B: taking the job and causing one or more performances to be cancelled.

    As we've learned how to share roles, we've also discovered certain unexpected benefits: Actors frequently have to miss part of a rehearsal day for an audition. With doubling, their partner is usually available to rehearse and keep the production on schedule. Also, the ability to sit out and watch a rehearsal from the audience gives us a point of view we don't normally get when we're acting onstage. We can see how our character helps to tell the story, and glean insights and make connections that might otherwise elude us. And in performance, the constantly changing cast lineup from night to night keeps us from becoming mechanical or setting a performance in stone. We must, by necessity, be constantly on our toes and open to the unexpected.

    For the Company, double-casting means we can attract and utilize some of the best stage actors living in Los Angeles, artists who might never be free to commit to a play under traditional, single-cast circumstances, even on a major stage under a full-salary Equity contract.

    There are indeed unique challenges and inherent frustrations in the double-casting process, especially in finding the balance between our individual ownership of a role (an actor must feel the role "belongs" to him or her) and the necessity of sharing that role and splitting the rehearsal and performance schedule.

    But, ultimately, we find the trade-offs are more than worth it. And the audience at an Antaeus Company show can count on seeing an ensemble of first-rank actors working at the top of their game. If you return on another night (and we urge you to do so!) you'll likely see a substantially different ensemble performing the same show. The consistency, quality, and strength of that ensemble is a direct result of the double-casting process.