Local playwright Judith Offer presents "Compared to What?" a play that tells the story of Oakland's Pullman Porters. She will host a casting call for parts including:

Willie Joe Johnson: 17-year-old from Texas
Mary Heany: Boardinghouse owner, mid-30s, Irish
Virgil Strother: Pullman Porter, early 50s
Seamus Gibson: Pullman Porter, 40-ish
Hetty Tooker: wife of pharmacist, club woman, 40s
Archibald Snoddy: Superintendent of Porters, Oakland
Fifth Business: one actor, male or female, to play Pullman passengers and associates of Snoddy

(Willie Joe Johnson, Virgil Strother, Seamus Gibson, and Hetty Tooker are African-American; Mary Heany, Archibald Snoddy, and the actor playing multiple small roles are European-American.)

Rehearsals begin March 1. The show will be May 9-25.

For additional details contact Judith Offer at joffer@juno.com.