ALL ROLES OPEN
Actor One – Male or Female
Don Pedro – the Prince of Aragon. He has just won a war against his illegitimate half-brother Don John. He is the most politically and socially powerful character in the play.
Actor Two – Male or Female
Don John – the bastard half-brother of Don Pedro. The villain of the play
Sexton – in charge of examining the men detained by the Watch (commanded by Dogberry)
Actor Three – Male
Claudio – a young Count on Don Pedro’s suite. He is in love with Hero. His unfortunately suspicious nature makes him quick to believe evil rumors and hasty to despair and take revenge.
Actor Four – Male
Benedick - an aristocratic soldier who has recently been fighting under Don Pedro, and a friend of Don Pedro and Claudio. Benedick is very witty, always making jokes and puns. He carries on a “merry war” of wits with Beatrice, but at the beginning of the play he swears he will never fall in love or marry.
Actor Five – Male or Female
Leonato – the governor of Messina and father of Hero. He is also the guardian of Beatrice.
Actor Six – Male or Female
Conrade - one of Don John’s more intimate associates, entirely devoted to Don John. Possibly Don John’s potential male lover, intensifying Don John’s feelings of being a social outcast and therefore motivate his desire for revenge.
Actor Seven – Male or Female
Borachio - an associate of Don John. Borachio is the lover of one of Hero’s servants. He conspires with Don John to trick Claudio and Don Pedro into thinking that Hero is unfaithful to Claudio.
Messenger – as needed
Actor Eight – Male or Female
Balthasar – a waiting man in Leonato’s household and a musician. Balthasar flirts with Margaret at the masked party and helps Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro trick Benedick into falling in love with Beatrice.
Verges – Dogberry’s partner as commander of the Watch
Friar Francis – a long-winded, well-meaning interfering gentleman who thinks it is a fine idea to make believe a young girl is dead!
Actor Nine – Male or Female
Dogberry - the constable in charge of the Watch, or chief policeman, of Messina. Dogberry is very sincere and takes his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning. The comic of the play.
Actor Ten - Male or Female
Antonio – Leonato’s elderly brother and Hero’s uncle. Father of Beatrice.
Watchman - as needed
Actor Eleven – Female
Hero - The beautiful young daughter of Leonato and the cousin of Beatrice. Hero is lovely, gentle, and kind. She falls in love with Claudio when he falls for her, but when Don John slanders her and Claudio rashly takes revenge, she suffers terribly.
Actor Twelve – Female
Beatrice - Leonato’s niece and Hero’s cousin. Beatrice is “a pleasant-spirited lady” with a very sharp tongue. She is generous and loving, but, like Benedick, continually mocks other people with elaborately tooled jokes and puns. She wages a war of wits against Benedick and often wins the battles. At the outset of the play, she appears content never to marry.
Actor Thirteen – Male or Female
Margaret (or male version) - Hero’s lower-class servant who unwittingly helps Borachio and Don John deceive Claudio into thinking that Hero is unfaithful. Though she is honest, she does have some dealings with the villainous world of Don John: her lover is the mistrustful and easily bribed Borachio.
Watchman – as needed.
Set Manager – arranging the set as necessary for the play.
Actor Fourteen – Male or Female
Ursula (or male version) – another of Hero’s servants. More upper-class than Margaret.
Watchman – as needed.
Set Manager – arranging the set as necessary for the play.