09/01/2026
***CASTING CALL****
Now Casting: "Jacob" — a lead role in Leela's next production, HOUSE OF INDIA
Leela — An Indian Community Theatre is seeking an Southeast Asian male actor (late 20s–early 30s; Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean or Japanese) for the pivotal role of Jacob in House of India, a acclaimed new English play by Deepak Kumar — developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and given its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe in 2025. Leela's production will be on November 15, 2026 at Austin's Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.
House of India unfolds in a struggling family-run Indian restaurant in a fading strip mall, where a mother fights to hold on to what her late husband built while the next generation pushes to reinvent it. It's a story about family, inheritance, ambition, and what we hold onto — and what we're willing to trade away — as immigrant dreams pass from one generation to the next. For Asian and Asian American audiences, it lands close to home.
Who is Jacob? He's the spark that lights the play's central conflict — an ambitious, charming, food-obsessed dreamer with a pitch, a plan, and a slightly-too-big suit. Equal parts comic energy and genuine heart, Jacob is the outsider who becomes family, convinced he can turn a beloved neighborhood restaurant into the next big thing. He's the role audiences will laugh with, argue with, and ultimately be moved by. It's a leading part with real range — sharp comedy up front, real emotional depth underneath — and a wonderful showcase for the right actor.
We're looking for: an actor with strong comedic timing and dramatic instincts who can carry warmth and vulnerability beneath the hustle. Stage experience is welcome but not required — we care most about presence, honesty, and range.
This is a chance to originate a major role in one of the most talked-about new plays in Asian American theatre, with a passionate, community-rooted company right here in Austin.
Auditions on Sep 3 & Sep 8, 7pm. Register today: https://forms.gle/2idNJyictmkZtRLP7
Leela — An Indian Community Theatre · Now in our twelfth year of telling our stories, on our stage.
