A Christmas Story – Youth Actors
by Philip Grecian
Directed by Heather Cant
It’s 1938 in Holman, Indiana, and little Ralphie Parker wants just one thing for Christmas – a shiny new Red Ryder BB gun. But his mother, his teacher, and even Santa Claus insist, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Rebuffed at every turn, Ralphie schemes to achieve his ultimate desire in time for Christmas. Based on the much-loved film, perfectly capturing childhood fantasy and the nostalgia of family Christmases past.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Character descriptions provided, including age range and gender, describe the character’s traits only. Youth performers aged 7 – 14, based in Saskatoon and the surrounding area, of all genders, race, and ethnicity are encouraged to apply for the following roles. Youth roles will be double cast.
Roles
| Role | Type | Gender | Number |
| Ralphie | Lead | Male Identified | |
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RALPHIE (he/him), 9 years old: our fearless main character; a dreamer with relentless imagination; charming and persuasive.; always scheming to achieve his goal of a Red Ryder BB gun.
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| Randy | Supporting | Male Identified | |
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RANDY (he/him), 6-8 years old: Ralphie’s annoying younger brother; hates oatmeal; likes to oink like a pig; prone to whining and crying a lot.
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| Flick | Supporting | Male Identified | |
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FLICK (he/him), 9 years old: Ralphie’s best friend and classmate; gullible; always has the worst luck; most likely to be picked on by Scut Farkas; inseparable from Schwartz. Also plays a Desperado..
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| Schwartz | Supporting | Male Identified | |
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SCHWARTZ (he/him), 9 years old: Ralphie’s best friend and classmate; knows everything about everything. inseparable from Flick. Also plays a Desperado.
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| Ester Jane | Supporting | Female Identified | |
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ESTER JANE ALBERRY (she/her), 9 years old: Ralphie’s classmate; kind-hearted; likes dolls; has a crush on Ralphie; best friends with Helen.
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| Helen | Supporting | Female Identified | |
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HELEN WEATHERS (she/her), 9 years old: Ralphie’s classmate; smart as a whip; loves science and reading; best friends with Ester.
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| Scut | Supporting | Female Identified | |
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SCUT FARKAS (he/him) 12 years old: the bully who terrorizes the neighborhood. Also plays Black Bart.
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- or -
Please submit a picture of your child along with a resume or overview of their performance experience to Artistic Associate of Youth Programming, Kristi Friday, at [email protected] with the subject line: YOUTH CAST – A CHRISTMAS STORY. Please indicate the role your child would like to be considered for. Previous stage experience is ideal but not required.
If there is a potential barrier that might prevent your child from being able to audition, we encourage you to let us know so we can work with you to dissolve it. Due to the volume of submissions, we regret that we won’t be able to see everyone and only those youth performers selected for an audition will be contacted. Reading copies of the script are available at the theatre.
Submission Deadline
May 23, 2025
AUDITION DATES: June 1, 2, and 3, 2025
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 23, 2025
CONTRACT DATES: November 11 – December 21, 2025, with a potential to extend until December 28.
Artists will be engaged under the CTA, with anticipated rates set at “C” House category.
Rehearsals start: November 11, 2025
Opening: December 5, 2025
Closing: December 21, 2025
Potential to extend until: December 28, 2025
ABOUT PERSEPHONE THEATRE
Persephone Theatre is located on the beautiful lands of Indigenous peoples who have lived here since time immemorial, including the Nêhiyawak, Nêhithawak, Anishinabek, Nakawe, Nakota, Nehinawak, Lakota, Dakota and Dene peoples. This place is also the homeland of the Métis. At Persephone, we also like to acknowledge the contributions of the Whitecap Dakota and Round Prairie Métis peoples in establishing our city of Saskatoon. Persephone Theatre is located on Treaty 6 territory and is committed to living in good relations with our Indigenous neighbours, in the spirit with which the Treaties were intended.
Persephone Theatre is committed to a reflecting the rich diversity of our community in the stories we tell and the ways in which we undertake creating our work. We prioritize a workplace culture that centres equity, inclusion, and authentic representation. We strongly encourage submissions from artists who self-identify as members of historically excluded communities, which includes (but is not limited to) those who identify as IBPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, d/Deaf, or who have a disability or chronic illness. We also strongly encourage artists to submit for the roles they feel align with their gender identity and/or gender expression.
COVID-19 WORKSAFE POLICY
Our current Covid-19 protocols require artists to provide proof of vaccination to Persephone prior to commencing work. Other Covid-19 protocols, such as masking, may also be in place at the time of production. These protocols will be communicated clearly to artists at the time of offer and be included in a rider to their contract
Persephone Theatre encourages submissions from diverse artists of all backgrounds, regardless of race, colour, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
