Seeking Actors for Z Space’s Upcoming West Coast Premiere of Becoming A Man

Written by P. Carl and directed by Lyam Gabel. 

For 50 years, P. Carl lived as a girl and then a queer woman, building a career and a loving marriage while waiting to realize himself in full. When he decides to affirm his gender, his transition puts everything—family, career, friendships—at stake. A stage production based on the memoir, Becoming a Man is a poignant and honest story about the courage and community it takes to become one’s true self and poses the question: “When we change, can the people we love come with us?”

Adapted from P. Carl’s memoir BECOMING A MAN: THE STORY OF A TRANSITION.


Auditions: 

Tuesday, March 10th from 3 pm - 8 pm, at Z Space (450 Florida St, SF)

Wednesday, March 11th from 3 pm - 8 pm, at Z Space (450 Florida St, SF)


Callbacks: 
Thursday, March 12th from 3pm - 10 pm, at Z Space (450 Florida St, SF) 
(times subject to change)


Submit Headshot and Resume to: casting@zspace.org by March 10th, 2026

Local AEA and non-AEA actors are highly encouraged to submit. 


PLEASE NOTE: We are happy to receive submissions from non-local performers but we are unfortunately unable to provide local housing or transportation assistance. 

Please see below for descriptions of the production and audition requirements. 

  • Rehearsals Begin: Week of April 27th

  • Load-in/Tech: Week of May 18th

  • Dress/Preview: Week of May 25th

  • Opening: Saturday May 30th

  • Closing: Sunday, June 14th

*All rehearsals will take place in Z Below (470 Florida St. San Francisco, CA 94110) and tech and performances will be on the Steindler Stage (450 Florida St. San Francisco, CA 94110). 


Contract -  Becoming a Man

AEA BAT Tier II $519 /wk + health & pension. 

NON-UNION $519 /wk

About Z Space: Z Space is a non-profit theater company located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District. We produce our own works, foster and subsidize the development of other creative artists with our residency program, and serve as a presenting home to a wide variety of performing arts organizations through our curated rental program. Operating out of an old can-making factory, we activate two performance venues, an 83-seat intimate theater (Z Below) and a 236-seat flexible theater space (The Steindler Stage), with a warehouse aesthetic and an adventurous edge. Z Space is also home to Word for Word, our resident theater company that brings works of fiction to the stage in their own unique style.

Roles for Becoming a Man:


The role of Carl has been precast.


LYNETTE — (40s-50s) Carl’s spouse. Beautiful. Perfect skin. Looks younger. Doesn’t leave the house without makeup, reapplies lipstick before an appointment.. Elegant, incisive, and deeply feeling, Lynette loves through detail and care; as Carl transitions, she struggles to reconcile devotion, sexuality, and the changing terms of their shared life.


NATHAN — (30s-40s) Carl’s best friend. Athletic and smart. He transitioned a decade before Carl. He keeps Carl honest. Also doubles as psych ward NURSE.

POLLY — (30s) Stylish, smart, funny, and cutting. She presents as more masculine in terms of fashion and style, though is not necessarily “butch.” Style of dress resembles more of a fashionable gay man. Polly is Carl’s past and enters throughout the play as a reminder of where he’s been. Trans*, non-binary, genderqueer, and gender expansive actors are encouraged to submit.


CARL’s MOTHER — (60s-70s) Loving, capable, and stretched thin. A therapist who is used to caring for others, she meets crisis with warmth, denial, and practicality in equal measure. Both before and during dementia, she remains a figure of tenderness and intelligence. Also doubles as WOMAN, MRS. BOLTON, HEIDI, BARBARA, and JANICE.

CARL’s FATHER — (60s-70s) Blustery, self-centered, and steeped in old-school masculinity. Funny until he is cruel, pathetic until he is dangerous, he is a man who expects the world and his family to orbit him. Also doubles as SWIM TRUNKS GUY, JOHN BOLTON, IRISH GUY, and BILL.

EDDIE — (30s-40s) Carl’s trainer. Focused, precise, and quietly kind, he embodies a version of masculinity that is disciplined, embodied, and unexpectedly generous. Also doubles as the BARTENDER, MARIO, BOB, and psych ward NURSE.