CHUM – male, 51 and 18, Cambodian
NEARY – female, 26, Cambodian American (also plays SOTHEA)
TED – male, 25, Thai Canadian (also plays CADRE, LENG)
DUCH – male, ageless, Cambodian
ROM – gender-neutral, 20s-30s, Cambodian (also plays JOURNALIST)
POU – gender-neutral, 20s-30s, Cambodian (also plays S-21 GUARD)
Chum, Neary/Sothea, Ted/Leng, and Duch serve mainly as actors. Rom and Pou serve mainly as musicians. Note: Rom and Pou are written as male and female, respectively, in this script, but the characters can be played by actors of any gender.
In scenes from the past, Chum, Leng, Sothea, Rom, Pou, and Duch speak in perfect English, standard American accents, to reflect that they are speaking fluent Cambodian/Khmer.
THE BAND
You can adapt this (and corresponding dialogue) according to your actors’ musical talents, but here’s a possible blueprint:
CHUM – electric bass guitar, vocals
LENG – electric guitar, vocals
SOTHEA – lead female vocals, tambourine
ROM – drums/percussion
POU – keyboard, vocals
DUCH – tambourine or cowbell (should he be so moved)
A sax and more percussion would be great, but not necessary.