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Acting for a Cause Live Readings
Acting for a Cause Live Readings
Show type	Staged reading
Creative team
Creator	Brando Crawford
Director	Brando Crawford
Host	Brando Crawford
	Official website

Acting for a Cause is a live read series of classic plays and screenplays created, produced, directed and hosted by Brando Crawford. The script is typically announced days before the event alongside a playbill featuring the cast and an animation on Instagram. The actors have one rehearsal ahead of time. Each reading is organized to raise money for charity.^[1] The readings garnered over 500,000 viewers between the first play read on March 27, 2020 and the last announced read on July 31, 2020.

The series has featured young Hollywood actors such as Florence Pugh, Margaret Qualley, Ruby Rose, Madelaine Petsch, Zazie Beetz, David Corenswet, Jacob Elordi, Natalia Dyer, Corbin Bleu, Julia Fox, Tommy Dorfman, Madeline Brewer, Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, Cameron Monaghan.^[2] Recurring participants include Auliʻi Cravalho, Brandon Flynn, Justice Smith, Alex Wolff, Ronen Rubinstein, Jessica Frances Dukes, Mason Alexander Park, Sydney Lemmon, and Xxavier Lavell. While Brando Crawford serves as director and producer for every reading. Alex Wolff co-produced the reading of "This is our Youth", and Xxavier Lavell co-directed the reading of "Hit the Wall".

The reading series was a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Readings

Brando Crawford directs and reads the stage directions unless otherwise noted. Many of the actors play multiple supporting roles. Specific roles are stated only when information is known.^[2]

2020

March 27, 2020

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Justice Smith as Jack
Alex Wolff as Algernon
Auliʻi Cravalho as Gwendolen
Jessica Frances Dukes as Cecily
Sarah Ramos as Lady Bracknell
Odessa Young as Lady Prism
Jessica Carlson as Lane
Brando Crawford as the Master of Ceremonies

Note: This cast originally included Diana Silvers but she was unavailable at the last minute.

April 10, 2020

This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford, co-produced by Alex Wolff

Florence Pugh as Jessica Goldman
Justice Smith as Dennis Ziegler
Alex Wolff as Warren Straub
Brando Crawford as the Master of Ceremonies

April 24, 2020

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Willa Fitzgerald as Hamlet
Brandon Flynn as Ophelia
Madeline Brewer as Claudius
Hari Nef as Polonius
Auliʻi Cravalho as Laertes
Ronen Rubinstein as Horatio
Mason Alexander Park as Rosencrantz
Christopher Collins as Guildenstern
Chandler Lovelle as King Hamlet's Ghost
Brando Crawford as Queen Gertrude and the Master of Ceremonies

May 1, 2020

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Margaret Qualley as Juliet
David Corenswet as Romeo
Brandon Flynn as Mercutio
Skylar Astin as The Prince
Michael Gandolfini as Benvolio
Jackie Cruz as Lady Capulet
Kathryn Gallagher as Friar Lawrence
Erin Sanders as Nurse
Samuel H. Levine as Tybalt
Will Hochman as Lord Montague
Brando Crawford as Lord Capulet and the Master of Ceremonies

May 8, 2020

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Melissa Barrera as Elizabeth Bennet
Jacob Elordi as Mr. Darcy
Madelaine Petsch as Jane Bennet
Sam Corlett as Mr. Bingley
Sydney Lemmon as Mrs. Bennet
Andy Allo as Kitty Bennet, Caroline Bingley
Katherine McNamara as Lydia Bennet
Lexi Underwood as Mary Bennet
Ronen Rubinstein as Mr. Collins
Daniel Newman as Mr. Wickham
Auliʻi Cravalho as Lady Catherine
Matthew Postlethwaite as Sir William
Brando Crawford as Mr. Bennet and Master of Ceremonies

May 15, 2020

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Natalia Dyer as Jane Eyre
Alexander Hodge as Mr. Edward Rochester
Sophia Lillis as Helen Burns
Elle Loraine as Mrs. Fairfax
Sydney Lemmon as Bertha
Richard Ellis as St. John Rivers
Jessica Frances Dukes as Mrs. Reed
Rudy Pankow as Brocklehurst
Brando Crawford as the Master of Ceremonies

May 22, 2020

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Ruby Rose as Viola
Brandon Thomas Lee as Duke Orsino
Taylor Trensch as Sebastian
Froy Gutierrez as Sir Andrew Aguecheek
Ben Levi Ross as Feste
Will Roland as Malvolio
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Olivia
Nicole Kang as Maria
Brando Crawford as Sir Toby Belch and the Master of Ceremonies

June 23, 2020

Hit the Wall by Ike Holter^[3]

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Ryan Jamaal Swain as A-Gay
Angel Bismark Curiel as Newbie
Daniel Kyri as Mika
Eve Lindley as Peg
Clark Moore as Cliff
Dilone as Roberta
Jan Luis Castellanos as Tano
Travis Bryant as Carson
Imani Hakim as Madeline
Xxavier Lavell as Narrator and Co-Director
Brando Crawford as the Cop and the Master of Ceremonies

June 30, 2020

Up in the Air by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner^[4]

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Zazie Beetz as Natalie Keener (originally played by Anna Kendrick)
Pom Klementieff as Alex Goran (originally played by Vera Farmiga)
Michael Zegen as Ryan Bingham (originally played by George Clooney)
Corbin Bleu as Craig Gregory (originally played by Jason Bateman)
Jessica Parker Kennedy as Kara Bingham (originally played by Amy Morton)
Benjamin Barrett as Jim Miller (originally played by Danny McBride) and Steve (originally played by Zach Galifianakis)
Mason Alexander Park as Bob (originally played by J. K. Simmons) and Maynard Finch (originally played by Sam Elliott)
Zoey Burger as Julie Bingham (originally played by Melanie Lynskey)
Brando Crawford as Master of Ceremonies

July 7, 2020

Ferris Bueller's Day Off by John Hughes

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Cameron Monaghan as Ferris Bueller (originally played by Matthew Broderick)
Brando Crawford as Cameron Frye (originally played by Alan Ruck) and as Boy in Police Station (originally played Charlie Sheen)
Emeraude Toubia as Sloane Peterson (originally played by Mia Sara)
Charlie Weber as Rooney (originally played by Jeffrey Jones) and as Economics Teacher (originally played by Ben Stein)
Auliʻi Cravalho as Jeannie Bueller (originally played by Jennifer Grey)
Jeanine Mason as Grace (originally played by Edie McClurg)
Xxavier Lavell as Narrator

Note: This cast originally included Kelvin Harrison Jr. but he was unavailable at the last minute.

July 31, 2020

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Directed and produced by Brando Crawford

Brando Crawford as Bottom the Weaver, Egeus, and Master of Ceremonies
Tommy Dorfman as Puck (also plays Quince – this script has them being the same person; as if Puck has disguised himself as Quince entirely)
Julia Fox as Hippolyta (also plays Titania)
Andrew Matarazzo as Theseus (also plays Oberon)
Erinn Westbrook as Hermia
Pauline Chalamet as Helena
Drew Starkey as Demetrius
Wyatt Oleff as Lysander
Lauren McCrostie as Mustardseed/Snug/Lion
Paris De Chantal Smith as Cobweb/Starveling/Moon and Philostrate
Alyssa Jirrels as Narrator/Snout/Wall
Ashleigh Morghan as Peaseblossom/Flute/Thisbe

Other events

On June 5, 2020, Brando Crawford, Xxavier Lavell, and Daniel Wilson uploaded the Black Lives Matter Manifesto on Acting for a Cause's YouTube channel unannounced, in place of a reading.

In 2023, Crawford directed a greenscreen-based remake of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 cult favorite The Room, starring Bob Odenkirk, Bella Heathcote, Cameron Kasky, Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Arturo Castro, and original star Greg Sestero.^[5]