Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea

RAIN CLOUD (pronounced like ) – No age, then 28 / A rain cloud, then a female human
BESSIE (pronounced like 🐄?) – Age unknown / A cow? A sea witch? A human? A dream?
RALMOND (pronounced like “almond” with an R in front) – 28, then no age / A male human, then a rain cloud
MIDI (pronounced like “mini” but with a D in the middle) – 29 / A female human
EDVARD (pronounced like “Edward” with a V in the middle) – Just Old Enough to Marry / A royal male human
INA (pronounced like “I? Nah.”) – Old Enough to Marry / A secretly royal female human
DOLAN (pronounced like “Dole Whip” except instead of “whip” you say “an”) – Timeless / Hans Christian Andersen
LITTLE ONE (NOT pronounced like “mermaid”) Little / A female hero and storyteller

While all of the characters speak as the people in Hans Christian Andersen’s life, they do not look anything like them (or else Dolan would recognize them). This is a play about overturning old narratives and these characters live in fantastical realms removed from our realities, so think carefully about who populates your fantasy world today. If there are going to be mostly white people on this stage for your production, please pick a different play. It is particularly helpful for the narrative if Rain Cloud, Ralmond and Ina are played by actors of mixed race or international backgrounds. It is even more helpful if Rain Cloud is played by an actor of Indian descent. Bessie can be played by an actor of any gender – Bessie takes ownership of gender fluidity in a way that Hans Christian Andersen wanted to but could not. “Midi” is actually short for “Midori,” which is the Japanese word for green. Like the grass. So think about that when casting too...