Perusal Script

Auditions for Firebringer are just around the corner! To help you prepare, we’re making a perusal script available so you can get familiar with the story, characters, and humor of this unique musical.

Link to Perusal Script

The version you’ll be reading is the school edition of the show. Our production will differ slightly as we work with the licensing company to find a balance between the original script and the school edition. The school edition tones the language down heavily, sometimes in ways that feel overly “infantilized” (for example, replacing certain words with “forking”) and and in other ways we found improvements (such as the exclamation "what the duck?!"). Our version will not be reverting to the full original script with repeated strong language, but we will be restoring some of the humor and word choices so that it feels more authentic (for example, “Smelly-Butt” becoming “Smelly-Balls,” or “forking” shifting to “blazing”). The end result will be a version that maintains the comedy and bite of Firebringer without being overly inappropriate for our community. 

We encourage you to read through the script before auditions so you can start imagining which characters speak to you and get a feel for the show’s playful, ensemble-driven style.

CHARACTERS

I have also included the character list and descriptions below to help you get to know the roles and start imagining where you might fit in the tribe. This should serve as a companion to the script and give you a clear sense of each character’s traits and relationships.

Zazzalil (F)
An ambitious and resourceful freethinker whose ingenuity changes the stablished ways of life, for better and worse.
Likable, ironic, clever, jealous, brash, fun

NOTE: there is a request for physical intimacy between this role and Jamilla

Jemilla (F)
The capable, levelheaded leader of the tribe whose life is upturned by a changing world. 
Benevolent, authoritative, kind, warm, diplomatic, a little bit petty

NOTE: there is a request for physical intimacy between this role and Zazzalil, and intimacy between this role and certain Neanderthal chorus members.

Molag (F)
The narrator of the show, mad as a box of bats. Molag is the old chief, retired from a bloody war career to mock the audience. 
Self-aware, eccentric, wise, powerful, around the bend
Low vocal load, but requires a strong comic actor

Emberly (F)
The wide eyed worker, a big mind and heart whose horizons are broadened by an unlikely relationship. 
Intelligent, quirky, empathetic, love sick, vulnerable

NOTE: there is a request for physical intimacy with this role and Grunt

Grunt (M)
An outcast, artistic fool abandoned by his people. Sharing his talent and finding companionship within the (at first) hostile tribe. 
Clueless, sweet, talented, well meaning, a bit insecure

NOTE: there is a request for physical intimacy with this role and Emberly

Keeri (F)
Zazzalil’s right hand, a head full of fairies and optimism. Keen to do whatever is asked of her until it clashes with her strong sense of right and wrong. 
Friendly, dopey, agreeable, honest, invests dancing

Ducker (M)
The tribe’s cunning shaman/religious leader. He is allowed privilege and status as the interpreter of the great Duck god’s will on earth. 
Self-serving, manipulative, calculating, supreme-egg-head-wizard

Schwoopsie (F)
The world’s first stand up comic, doing her thing until circumstances bring on an existential crisis. 

Seeks validation, earnest, corny, directionless, teller of “The Joke”

Tiblyn (F)
The work-horse of the tribe, (not) literally holding the world upon her shoulders. Her life is grounded in her job of holding up the sky. This (not) very important duty gives her purpose, but also separates her from her friends and desires. 
Stressed, driven, pining, important, excellent upper arm strength

Smelly-Balls (M)
A warrior, he does his party to serve and protect his tribe; that mostly means shouting at the sun. Smelly-Balls is a staple of his community with a soft side.
Ug ug, primitive, brave, likes to hits things with sticks, also likes slam poetry

Chorn (NB)
The tribe’s strange half-human-half-ape presence. Apparently primitive and simple, grunting the monosyllabic “Chorn”, there is concealed depth.
Comic, feral, grounded, tough, is also the infinitely intelligent alien deity who shapes humanity’s destiny. 

Neanderthals 
Clark (M), Claire (F), Nicolai (M), Kids (Any)
Mysterious strangers, appearing in moments of need to show a better way of life.
Immediately charming, striking, calm

NOTE: there is a request for physical intimacy with certain Neanderthal roles and Jemilla

Puppets
Trunkell (woolly mammoth), Snarl (sabertooth tiger)
Larger-than-life animals that bring the dangers and wonders of the prehistoric world to the stage. These characters are portrayed through puppetry, blending spectacle with comedy and threat.
Imposing, memorable, physical, comic-dramatic

The Tribe
The heart of the community, the Tribe represents the collective life of prehistoric humanity. They forage, work, dance, squabble, worship, and worry together as they navigate the dawn of civilization. The Tribe embodies the humor, unity, and chaos of the show, creating the world in which the main story unfolds.
Ensemble, playful, versatile, energetic, communal, ever-present