AUDITION
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
By Neil Simon
Directed by David Ratliff
Show Dates:
September 5th - 21th, 2025
Audition Dates:
- Saturday, June 28th at 4PM
- Sunday, June 29th at 3PM
Laughter on the 23rd Floor is Neil Simon’s fast-paced, character-driven comedy inspired by his time writing for Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. Set in the 1950s, the play takes place inside the writers’ room of a hit television variety show. Max Prince, the show’s brilliant and volatile star, leads a team of sharp, eccentric writers based on real-life comedy legends like Mel Brooks and Larry Gelbart. As McCarthyism spreads and political scrutiny tightens, network executives begin censoring the show, fearing its smart, satirical edge is too bold for mainstream audiences. Told through the eyes of Lucas Brickman, the newest member of the team, the play captures the humor, tension, and camaraderie behind the scenes of television’s golden age.
Audition Requirements
- No monologue is necessary. The audition will consist of cold readings from the script.
- A headshot and resume are recommended but not required.
- Please bring a detailed list of conflicts for the next 3 months.
Roles
Available roles: 7 male, 2 female
All roles are open. Please address any questions about auditions to the director, David Ratliff, at
LUCAS BRICKMAN (Male, 20s-early 30s)
The newest and youngest member of the writing staff. Nervous, observant, and earnest, Lucas serves as the audience’s lens into the world of the show. Often narrates the action with dry wit and growing insight. Based on a young Neil Simon.
MILT FIELDS (Male, 30s-40s)
Flashy, fast-talking, and full of bravado. Milt loves a loud suit and a loud joke. He’s a born showman and provocateur, always stirring the pot but deeply loyal to the team underneath the bluster.
Flashy, fast-talking, and full of bravado. Milt loves a loud suit and a loud joke. He’s a born showman and provocateur, always stirring the pot but deeply loyal to the team underneath the bluster.
VAL SLOTSKY (Male, 40s–50s)
A senior writer with a heavy Russian accent. Stern, deadpan, and perpetually exasperated, Val brings a European intellectualism to the room and often plays the reluctant voice of reason. Formerly a political refugee, he keeps his emotions tightly in check.
A senior writer with a heavy Russian accent. Stern, deadpan, and perpetually exasperated, Val brings a European intellectualism to the room and often plays the reluctant voice of reason. Formerly a political refugee, he keeps his emotions tightly in check.
BRIAN DOYLE (Male, 30s-40s)
A heavy-smoking, heavy-drinking Irish American writer with a sharp tongue and darker sense of humor. Brian masks his cynicism with biting wit and often challenges authority. There’s a sense that he’s too smart for his own good.
A heavy-smoking, heavy-drinking Irish American writer with a sharp tongue and darker sense of humor. Brian masks his cynicism with biting wit and often challenges authority. There’s a sense that he’s too smart for his own good.
KENNY FRANKS (Male, 30s)
The most grounded and even-keeled member of the team. Intelligent, dry, stylish, and efficient, Kenny is often the quiet observer who steps in with reason when the room spins out. He takes his work seriously but avoids the drama.
CAROL WYMAN (Female, 30s)
The lone woman on the writing staff. Smart, ambitious, and fast on her feet, Carol constantly has to prove herself in a male-dominated room. She matches the men joke for joke and brings a sharper awareness of how the outside world views them.
The lone woman on the writing staff. Smart, ambitious, and fast on her feet, Carol constantly has to prove herself in a male-dominated room. She matches the men joke for joke and brings a sharper awareness of how the outside world views them.
MAX PRINCE (Male, 40s)
The star of the variety show. Brilliant, magnetic, and mercurial. Max is passionate about smart comedy and deeply protective of his writers, but his temper and paranoia grow as network pressure mounts. Inspired by Sid Caesar.
The star of the variety show. Brilliant, magnetic, and mercurial. Max is passionate about smart comedy and deeply protective of his writers, but his temper and paranoia grow as network pressure mounts. Inspired by Sid Caesar.
IRA STONE (Male, 30s–40s)
Neurotic, hypochondriacal, and always late. Ira is a brilliant comic mind, but he’s a mess—physically, emotionally, and mentally. He thrives in chaos and brings plenty of it with him.
Neurotic, hypochondriacal, and always late. Ira is a brilliant comic mind, but he’s a mess—physically, emotionally, and mentally. He thrives in chaos and brings plenty of it with him.
HELEN (Female, 20s–30s)
Max’s secretary. Efficient, professional, and often overlooked by the writers. Helen is more perceptive than she lets on and occasionally cuts through the nonsense with dry humor or quiet disapproval. A small but memorable role.
This project is being supported in whole or in part, by federal award number 21.027 awarded to the City of Knoxville by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance